L STORY 
 
 MAN
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 AT LOS ANGELES 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 G.C.DeGarmo
 
 THE STRANGE STORY OF 
 AHRINZIMAN
 
 IMI \|v| l)N IN nil I.ISKKT.
 
 THE STRANGE STORY OF 
 AHRINZIMAN 
 
 BY 
 
 A. F. S. 
 
 CHICAGO 
 
 R. R. DONNELLEY & SONS COMPANY 
 1906
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1906 
 BY ANITA S1LVANI 
 
 Entered at Stationers' Hall 
 
 Copyrighted in the United States 
 and Great Britain
 
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 TOLD BY HIMSELF 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 J~ The philosophy of Ahrinziman, the Persian what life hath taught 
 
 I him of the Soul; life lived on Earth and life of ages in the Abyss and in the 
 
 _ Heavens of the Beyond. 
 
 ^ To each one comes life's lessons in different form. Let him that would 
 
 ( learn the meaning of this tale attend to these words that he may the better 
 
 ^ understand, and let him that is but the idle hearer of a story pass them by. 
 
 He who would write truly the history of any Soul must take 
 into account the prenatal conditions, that is, those which have 
 preceded its conception into mortal form. 
 
 A Soul germ is but an incomplete unit until it touches the 
 Plane of Earth Life, because until then it is still wanting in one, 
 at least, of the elements which go to form the Perfect Whole. 
 Lnd although at the death of the earthly body the Soul would 
 appear to cast off entirely its purely earthly attributes with the 
 earthly shell, which, like the husk of the wheat, has concealed 
 \j the grain within, yet it does not do so. From every one of the 
 \\ lower faculties it has retained the Spiritual germ, and these germs 
 of the grosser propensities may be called, for lack of a better 
 ^*J term (there being no word in the English language which exactly 
 expresses this element, and this element only, in the Soul), the 
 al Soul," since they are typified in Man's lower, or animal, 
 propensities and are the "Soul" elements of these propensities, 
 fore, the idea which has prevailed among many religious 
 faiths, that at death there is a complete severance between the 
 Animal Soul and the higher Spiritual faculties, is an error as 
 absurd as it is pernicious, because men are thereby led to give 
 undue prominence to the purely intellectual and moral faculties 
 to cramp and neglect the due, proper, and judicious develop- 

 
 2 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 merit and regulation of the faculties of this Animal Soul, which 
 i> truly not only an immortal part of the Soul itself, but quite as 
 needful as any other to its complete evolution. 
 
 The Animal Soul contains all those elements which give 
 force to the character. Strength to will and to act with decision. 
 1'mver to command and to contend. Perseverance to struggle 
 and battle with the trials of the Earth life here and with the con 
 tending forces of the Spiritual World hereafter. All the elements 
 which go to make Man great in a physical as well as moral sense 
 are born of the passions of this Animal Soul, and no one ever 
 emerged from the condition of the Dreamer and Visionary into 
 the active agent for the fulfillment of his dreams unless he cul 
 tivated the powers of his Animal Soul as fully as those of his 
 moral and intellectual ones. 
 
 The love of conquest, the thirst for power from purely selfish 
 and greedy motives, becomes in the properly developed Spirit 
 of the higher spheres the strength by which he protects his weaker 
 brethren, and by which he contends with the Powers of Evil to 
 overthrow them a strength and force of will which are developed 
 first in the rapacious conflicts of the Animal Soul during the 
 life of Earth and of the lower spheres. 
 
 From the equal development of all three of man's Moral, 
 Intellectual, and Physical attributes are born those seeds which 
 spring up into the beautiful flowers of a truly Spiritual character. 
 
 All the lower propensities of Man's Soul have each their 
 spiritual seed, and although when unduly developed and un 
 equally balanced by the development of Man's higher nature 
 and uncontrolled by his moral and intellectual powers these 
 lower propensities bring suffering and destruction on all sidt-s, 
 yet their very excess of development creates a force of character 
 which (when the higher attributes become equally developed 
 and in their turn the controlling powers of Man's Soul) will 
 send the Soul upwards with a velocity and a strength of flight 
 equal to that with which the evil propensities dragged it down, 
 and these natures will possess a grandeur of character, a power 
 and breadth of thought, which, when combined with the per 
 fections of the higher Soul enable their possessors to become 
 rulers in the Spiritual World. 
 
 Our teachings are that the Soul, in its passage downwards 
 from the central source of life, travels through all the intermediate
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 3 
 
 spheres by a series of what may be termed "Births," since it 
 clothes itself in each sphere with something appertaining to 
 that sphere which is requisite to the completion of its individu 
 ality, and when it touches the Earth sphere, and comes in con 
 tact with the material organisms of its mortal parents, it obtains 
 the last elements necessary to form the Perfect Whole. At 
 this stage it has completed the first half of its pilgrimage and 
 assumed all those materials from which it is to evolve an in 
 dividual consciousness for itself, and becomes at the moment 
 of its final birth into Earth life a responsible being, to reap the 
 reward or suffer the penalties of its own actions. 
 
 From this stage (the Earth life) it proceeds upwards through 
 a series of Deaths; i. e., castings off of the grosser husks from 
 which it has extracted the Spiritual germs (which husks are no 
 longer needful or useful to the Soul). There are some who 
 object to the word "Death" as signifying to the ordinary mind 
 a condition of decay. Very good; let them, by all means, if 
 they prefer it, say that the Soul returns through the second half 
 of the cycle of its progress through a succession of re-births; 
 only, let them also remember that the process of Death, or dis 
 integration of the form which the Soul has left (a process not 
 experienced until the Soul has entered the Earth life), is no less 
 essential to its progression. This is because so long as a shell 
 once inhabited by a Soul (be it a mortal, an astral, or an envelop 
 of any of the higher spheres) retains any cohesion in its particles, 
 so long will it act as a weight, retarding the Soul's progress to a 
 higher sphere; the ties between a Soul and its envelop remain 
 ing in a greater or less degree as long as the envelop retains any 
 impression of the Soul's individuality. 
 
 The sooner, then, that the Soul's envelop is disintegrated 
 and dispersed into the elements of the sphere in which it was 
 formed, the sooner will the Soul be free from all ties to it, and 
 able to rise into the higher sphere for which it has become fit. 
 Hence the reason that Fire, the most powerful and purifying 
 disperser of atoms, was used by the Ancients of my country 
 and of others to hasten the process of Death, which is disin 
 tegration. Hence the reason *hat the earlier Fire-worshipers, 
 as they have erroneously been called, paid homage to the Divine 
 Fire, or Source of Life, which the Sun and earthly fire were 
 thought to symbolize. Heat is life; cold is death; and it is
 
 4 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 the antagonism between them which makes fire so valuable 
 an agent in dispersing the dead elements of a body which the 
 Soul has ceased to animate. 
 
 The Soul then at birth passes into matter and the full 
 measure of its descent being thus accomplished, it arises from 
 it as a glorious resurrection, ascending stage by stage until 
 the full cycle of its progression being completed, it assumes 
 a God-like state, subordinate only to that of the Supreme. But 
 so great, so vast, so far-extending, is the limit of the orbit of the 
 Soul's progress, that it is impossible, even in thought, to follow 
 it from the first departure from the sphere of the Divine till its 
 return to it again. Neither can we know or even guess at the 
 possible future of the Soul which has attained to the God-like 
 condition, and the first cycle of whose development has thus 
 been accomplished. So far we can see, and no farther, but 
 what we do see gives us an earnest of our hope that as we climb 
 to each mountain-top of knowledge a fresh Land of Promise 
 shall lie open before our eyes. 
 
 Upon the threshold of life stand two Angels the Angels 
 of the Light and of the Dark Spheres and it is their task to 
 observe into which sphere the Star of the Soul that has just been 
 born ascends. These two Angels are represented as weaving 
 eternally the light and dark threads to produce the golden or 
 the somber texture that is to prevail in the web of the Soul's 
 existence, the happy or sorrowful days of its life. And as a 
 man leads a moral or an immoral life, so will he draw down 
 to him from the light or the dark spheres good or evil, light or dark 
 qualities with which to endow the Soul which shall be trans 
 mitted into life through him, and thus will his children be in 
 affinity with the light or dark spheres, and so will the stars of 
 those spheres rule or control their destinies and be the dominating 
 influence in shaping their lives. 
 
 These two spheres of light and dark qualities exist eternally 
 because they are the antithesis of one another, the poising scales 
 which keep the balance of progress even and hold up each other 
 by the equality of their power, causing between them that fric 
 tion which prevents stagnation, the true death of progress, and 
 ;ibling (the light and the dark, the good and the evil) two 
 great millstones which, grinding on eternally, free the Soul from 
 the rough rocks of ignorance and the coarse dross of purely 
 material desires.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 5 
 
 To the student of the Spiritual firmament these two spheres 
 appear to revolve round two mighty stars the star of each 
 typifying by its color the distinction between the qualities be 
 stowed by each while another, a third star with its spheres, 
 seems to hover ever between them, reflecting in its rays a blend 
 ing of color drawn from the higher qualities evolved from the 
 influence of both. 
 
 In the spheres of the Star of pure unsullied light are found 
 the dwelling places of those Souls who have been uncontaminated 
 by any earthly sin. They have but touched upon the borders 
 of Earth life, and so have attained conscious existence only to 
 pass onward. They have not known Earth life save for a brief 
 period during which mortality has clothed their Souls, but in 
 which their consciousness has been too slight to enable them to 
 learn any of Earth's lessons. They are free from sin because 
 they have never felt temptation. Their garments are unsullied 
 by the mire of life because they have never felt the cravings 
 of their animal Soul for those things through which it derives 
 its nourishment. In them the Animal Soul entirely slumbers; 
 the strength and power with which its development endows the 
 Soul who has conquered its temptations and made it subject to 
 the higher self is not theirs, for they have never shared in life's 
 conflicts, and the fierce fires of passion have never been kindled 
 in their hearts. 
 
 In the pure white and silver rays of the Star which dominates 
 this sphere there are found no traces of any color, no shadow 
 of a darker, deeper tint, no warmth, no glow of passion: all is 
 pure and perfect in its purity as the driven snow, and as cold, 
 for those whom no earthly passion has ever sullied live in a 
 land of dazzling silver light where there is no sun; no fire has 
 ever warmed them, no shadow darkened their lives, no regrets 
 from their own lives or from the lives of others have saddened 
 or touched them; no green moss of hallowed memories hides 
 their sorrowful or sinful past, as moss and ivy cling to and cover 
 up the broken stones of an earthly ruin, veiling its ragged fis 
 sures with a tender touch, and hiding its marred and broken 
 walls and its disfigured beauties. No flowers but the snow 
 white flowers of purity and the pale blue and silver blossoms 
 of truth bloom in the lands of the snow white spheres: all is 
 pale and colorless like the lives of its Angels and its Saints. Those 
 who live here cannot enter into man's joys and sorrows, his sins
 
 or his triumphs over sins, his hopes and ambitions, his disappoint 
 ments, his anguish and despair, for they have felt none of tin-si- 
 things. For them the gates of Paradise are open continually 
 and they can behold the fair things within, but they cannot 
 behold at all the dark gates of Hell. All that is beautiful, all 
 that is pure in Art, in Music, in Literature, in Science, yea, in 
 all Life, lies open before their eyes, and they can read of the 
 beautiful in everything: but of the dark books of sorrow and 
 suffering and sin they cannot read one line, and their sight cannot 
 behold material things save very dimly, for material life has been 
 a sealed book to them. 
 
 Thus even in the beauty of their lives there is a want. Per 
 fect as they would seem, their lives are yet incomplete, since one 
 half of their Souls still slumbers, and it is for such as these that 
 reincarnation has been thought an aid, and for such Souls as 
 these the process of assuming the earthly body which has been 
 prepared for them will be different from that of a Soul which 
 has not yet attained a conscious life. 
 
 There are others who are sent to learn Earth's lessons by so 
 closely and completely identifying themselves with some Soul 
 of the same sex already incarnate in the flesh, and which is, in 
 all its tastes and aspirations, in closest affinity with their own, 
 that through all its earthly life and trials they may share the 
 same emotions and the same experiences. To make the ex 
 perience valuable to the disincarnate Soul they must become 
 in all essential respects as one, and share as twins the material 
 development given to them by Mother Earth. Even then the 
 disincarnate Soul will but imperfectly learn its lesson, and the 
 full meaning of sorrow and suffering and trial. It will feel but 
 the reflected emotion of its twin Soul, never its fullest and deepest 
 anguish, its warmth of passion, its depths of despair; and there 
 fore it is that many celestial teachers would bid the Soul return 
 to Earth and in its own proper person live the life of Earth. 
 
 The sphere of darkness is dominated by a deep Red Star, 
 which glows like the heart of a furnace, surrounded by black 
 and blo<xl tinged rays. In the regions dominated by this Star 
 all appears clouded with a black sulphurous smoke, and all 
 vegetation is withered up by the blasting fires of unrestrained 
 passion and unchecked desires. The dry ashes of burnt-out 
 volcanic lives have buried the blossoms of the Soul beneath 
 their scorching dust, and the withered sticks of what were once
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 7 
 
 the trees and shrubs of good intentions and good desires stand 
 out like gau.ii sentinels to mark where the purer life of the Soul 
 once flourished. The desolation of despair, of crushed and 
 blighted hopes, is shed around on everything. The dark rivers 
 of bitter tears shed by tardy and unavailing regret alone water 
 that sad land, and their scalding streams can never fertilize it, 
 but only add to its dead seas another rolling wave where already 
 there are too many flowing over the sad ruins of the city of the Soul. 
 
 Yet in the fierce glowing fires within the heart of the Star 
 a healing balm is found by those who have the fortitude and 
 courage to seek it; a purifying bath, in which the pure gold of 
 the Soul is refined and freed from the alloy of gross and material 
 passions. And from this purifying crucible the Soul shall come 
 forth to rise to the spheres of that glorious third Star which 
 gleams, golden rayed and crystal clear, above both the other 
 Stars, even as the Golden Star is the Crown and Diadem of the 
 heavenly spheres. From this Star dart many rays tinged with 
 all the colors of the rainbow, which sparkle like the jewels in 
 a victor's crown. The crimson rays no longer typify the passions 
 of the Soul, but its tenderness and its love. The blue and white 
 no longer show alone its purity, but its truth and constancy. The 
 soft green denotes its sympathy, the violet its regal power, the 
 Gold its spiritual strength. 
 
 The dwellers in the spheres of the Golden Star have all 
 learned the lesson of Earth life. They have all cultivated the 
 sympathies as well as the purity and intellect of their Souls, 
 and none enter its gates who have not learned <n their own lives 
 to suffer and be strong that they may sympathize with and 
 strengthen others. 
 
 In the complex nature of man and the conditions of his Earth 
 life it is but seldom that we see the distinct characteristics of 
 each of these Stars clearly defined, and as a rule men partake 
 in a greater or less degree of the attributes of both the light and 
 dark spheres. Those who show either class of qualities in an 
 abnormal degree, so that they stand forth as great moral teachers, 
 or as cruel and degraded tyrants, are decidedly the exceptions. 
 
 And yet it is the exceptional lives which stand forth for all 
 time from the lives of their fellow men, like pictures painted 
 upon large canvases in broad, strong touches, whose meaning 
 can be read even by the most ignorant, while the delicate minute 
 finish of a miniature, requiring a close inspection and a knowl-
 
 8 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 edge of its workmanship to reveal its beautic>, is lost upon the 
 world at large. 
 
 The minute lives of ordinary men and women are no less 
 useful and beneficial than those of exceptional characters, but 
 they do not serve the same purpose in the lessons afforded by 
 them. It is the lives of those who are great, either in their virtues 
 or in their vices, which mark the progress \\hich the world has 
 made, and serve either as beacons to warn others of the shoals 
 and rocks and quicksands upon which their own lives were wrecked, 
 or as guiding stars to light the Soul upon its Heavenward way. 
 
 In this "Story of Ahrinziman " will be found the record of 
 such an exceptional life. In it will be shown, not alone the evils 
 wrought by himself, but those for which others were responsible, 
 the threads of whose lives were interwoven with his own; and 
 also the blossoming into baleful flowers of those seeds of ambi 
 tion and pride, of passion and intrigue, of revenge and murder, 
 which were sown ere he was born, and which bore such terrible 
 fruits, not alone for him himself to feed upon, but for all those 
 whose hands had sown the seeds and whose actions had nour 
 ished them. 
 
 In the story of his Earth life will be told how these seeds were 
 sown, and in his experiences in the Spirit \Yorld will be shown 
 what fruit was reaped from each seed, and what share of the 
 harvest each Soul whose hands had sown them had to garner 
 into the storehouse of his memory and his life.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 PART I 
 
 PROLOGUE 
 
 When El Jazid, King of Persia, returned from a successful 
 campaign against the Greeks, he brought with him a captive 
 maiden of the most surpassing beauty and the most exquisite 
 grace and charm, a captive destined to reign over the heart of 
 the mighty monarch as its sole queen, and to cause the powerful 
 king to bow before the potent sway of love as her most abject 
 slave. 
 
 And yet this maiden was gentle and timid as a wild fawn, 
 and ignorant of all artifice as a little child. 
 
 In the devastating march of the Persian conqueror a splendid 
 Temple of the Greeks had been plundered, its priests slain, 
 and its vestals carried off to become the prey of their conquerors. 
 
 Among the captives brought before El Jazid to see if per 
 chance there were any who would find favor in his eyes, there 
 were none so beautiful as Cynthia, the daughter of Archelaus, 
 a maiden of barely fifteen years of age, who had from her in 
 fancy been dedicated to the service of the Gods. Like a child 
 she had lived within the temple walls, ignorant of all things 
 beyond them; ignorant alike of the passions which stir the 
 hearts of men, of the joys unspeakable, the woes unfathomable, 
 that spring from their loves and their hates, their ambitions 
 and their pride; ignorant of all the tender joys of relationship, 
 and of the varied hopes and fears which fill the hearts of those 
 who dwell amidst the whirlpool of life, and learn in the struggle 
 for existence the force of the latent powers within the soul. 
 
 Cynthia was terrified like a child at being brought before 
 the monster who had slain or taken captive all those among 
 whom her brief life had been spent, and yet she was without 
 that fear of death which inspired the terror of her companions,
 
 io THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 for she had lived all her life with the Dead, she had held com 
 munion with them as with iH-ar and dear friends, and thus the 
 word "Death" had no meaning of fear for her. But she felt 
 bewildered and full of dread of this unknown and powerful 
 being who inspired grief and fear in all around her. 
 
 And when the eyes of the king beheld how fair she was, 
 and when he felt the strange thrill of love and admiration which 
 the sight of her beauty inspired, he bade all others to depart 
 that he might speak alone with this beauteous maid. And as 
 Cynthia raised her soft dark eyes to the King's face to read 
 therein her fate, she felt neither fear nor terror, but only a sense 
 of wonder, and a dim consciousness that her heart was stirred 
 by an emotion unknown before. 
 
 \Yhen all had left the king's presence but the lovely Greek, 
 he arose from his throne of state, and, approaching his captive, 
 took her hand and gazed into her calm, childlike eyes; and as 
 he did so he felt abased at the thought of the fate he had at first 
 destined for her, and ashamed at the baseness of his own de 
 sires. Involuntarily the haughty conqueror knelt at the feet 
 of this young maiden and kissed, like a humble slave, the hem 
 of her robe and the soft white fingers of her fair hand. 
 
 At the touch of his lips the soul of the woman awoke in 
 Cynthia, and the days of her childhood were forever past. She 
 tasted of the first fruits of the tree of knowledge, and felt for the 
 first time a shadowy sense of the power which love can exercise 
 over the hearts of women and of men, for in her heart there was 
 the first throb of that awakening love which was to make for 
 her and for the king the reality and the tragedy of their lives. 
 The days of her dreaming were over. From henceforth she 
 was to live the real life of Earth, and to descend from those 
 mystic mountains of the Soul whereon she had communed tmly 
 with the Past; she was to live henceforth on the lower plane of 
 life, the true existence of the Present. 
 
 And for El Jazid also, a new era had begun: he, too, was to 
 learn how all-powerful can be the sway of love as distinguished 
 from mere passion; how even ambition and the love of con 
 quest could sink into secondary things and be as feather-weights 
 in the balance. He who had treated all women as playthings 
 with which to amuse the idle hours, learned to hang upon every 
 word, every look, of his lovely captive, and to obey her every 
 wish. When he was exiled from her presence he was restless
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN n 
 
 and unhappy until he could return to her again. He assigned 
 to her the most gorgeous tent, the most luxurious litter to travel 
 in, slaves and attendants innumerable, who were bidden to 
 study her every wish as though she had been the Queen herself. 
 And for it all he exacted no favors save such as she willingly gave. 
 
 And Cynthia herself, when the first wonder at the strange 
 ness had passed, gave back to the king a love as deep and tender 
 as his own; yea, even more tender, for to the innocent affection 
 of a child she joined the infinite tenderness of a woman. In 
 her pure soul ignorant of all passions, the king's love awakened 
 a mingled feeling of gratitude and love, which showed itself in 
 an anxious desire to please him in all things; and, with the un 
 erring instinct of affection, she learned a thousand ways in which 
 to touch his heart, so that ere long, had she but chosen, she could 
 have become the most powerful person at his court. 
 
 El Jazid's first idea had been to marry Cynthia and raise 
 her to the position of his second queen, but reflection caused 
 him to abandon that idea as endangering, it might be, her very 
 existence. For the king had a queen already: a beautiful, 
 haughty princess, the daughter of one of his most powerful 
 neighbors and richest ally, and a woman whom he knew would 
 brook no rival in his affections or sharer of his throne, and he 
 felt that Cynthia's life would be a brief one did Queen Artemisia 
 know of his infatuation for her. Had Cynthia herself desired 
 to become the acknowledged wife of the king, her influence over 
 him was so great that there is little doubt he would have braved 
 even the anger of his proud queen and the enemity of her haughty 
 family to make her so, but she was innocent and ignorant as a 
 child of the world's standards of rank and honor: ambition and 
 power had no meaning for her, and she had no sense of the in 
 ferior position she held as simply an acknowledged favorite of 
 the king. 
 
 Within the temple walls Cynthia had seen none save those 
 few attendants who waited upon her and the aged priests under 
 whose instructions she had grown up. She regarded the king 
 as a wise and powerful being, whose ability to make all around 
 him bow to his will gave him a position akin to that which she 
 had associated with the idea of a God. Her ignorance of the 
 true relations of men on Earth towards each other was as great 
 as was her power of seeing and describing the beauties of the 
 far-off spirit spheres, and she never thought of resisting or ques-
 
 12 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 tioning any wish of the man whose devotion had won her heart 
 and whose power had subjugated her mind. Of herself she 
 never thought, because all self had been so steadily repressed 
 and so thoroughly neutralized that she had become but the pliant 
 echo of the thoughts of others that were transmitted through 
 her. Her own individuality had been so early and so long re 
 pressed that she had lost the power of thinking, either for or of 
 herself. Placed in the temple in her infancy, she had remained 
 almost an infant in heart and mind. 
 
 To El Jazid, accustomed to the intrigues and self-seeking 
 ambitions which tainted the atmosphere of a court, the strange, 
 dreamy innocence of the young Greek came as a rest and a 
 relief. Her arms were a refuge to which he could escape when 
 the cares of state and the incessant intriguing among those who 
 sought to raise themselves in his favor became a burden and a 
 weariness. From Cynthia he heard of none of these things, 
 but she would tell him wondrous stories of her Dream- World, 
 and the beautiful visions she had seen, the bright and glorious 
 beings with whom she had held converse, and would paint with 
 playful childish pleasure the future she imagined for them both 
 when the ties of Earth should no longer chain their souls. 
 
 In yielding to the king's love she had in a measure descended 
 to his level and taken upon her the conditions of his life, so that 
 she no longer beheld the glories of the higher spheres. Their 
 gates were closed to her, but she still possessed the power of fore 
 seeing things which lay near the Earth, and although her ab 
 sorption in the happiness which filled her life made her in a 
 measure blind even to these things, she was yet able to relate 
 to the king much concerning himself, and to warn him of more 
 than one threatened disaster. 
 
 Thus between a dream life and a life of active reality did 
 the king and Cynthia spend the first few months of their strange 
 union. El Jazid lingered afar from his kingdom, although the 
 necessities of conquest no longer constrained him to do so, and 
 was loath to return to his palace at Agbatana and to the queen, 
 whose jealous eyes he feared might discover his secret attachment. 
 
 He was, however, soon aroused from his dreaming. A mes 
 senger arrived one day, travel stained and exhausted with his 
 riding, bearing to the king the announcement that the Queen 
 had borne him a son, an heir to the throne, and that she bade 
 him leave all else and hasten to her side.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 13 
 
 With mingled feelings of joy and apprehension the king 
 read the letter. This event, which had been hoped for in vain 
 for several years, and which would once have filled him with 
 the greatest joy and pride, quickening anew all his love for the 
 mother of his child, was no longer the greatest desire of his am 
 bition, and awakened no feelings towards the Queen but one of 
 regret that her son must ever come in succession before any 
 which his beloved Cynthia, the true queen of his heart, might 
 bear him. The letter also, couched in terms of the fondest 
 affection, read like a reproach from one whose love he had well 
 nigh forgotten. Return to the Queen he must, but ere doing 
 so it was necessary that he should provide for the safety of Cynthia, 
 and for her rejoining him as soon as possible. 
 
 In this emergency he bethought him of his chief commander, 
 Ben al Zulid, a man of noble and intrepid character, upon whose 
 fidelity he knew he could rely even in so difficult and delicate a 
 matter. After a short conference between them it was agreed 
 that the safest thing was for the king to appear to bestow the 
 beautiful Cynthia upon his favorite general, together with a 
 small palace which closely adjoined the king's own apartments 
 in his palace at Parsagherd, and which might almost have been 
 considered to form part of its outer buildings. Between the 
 king's apartments and this small palace it was resolved to con 
 struct a secret passage underground, with two hidden doors, 
 one at either end, and the method of opening which was to be 
 known to the king alone. Al Zulid was commissioned to bring 
 a cunning artificer from Hindustan, at that time much celebrated 
 for such kinds of workmanship, to construct the passage and 
 the spring by which the doors should be made to open and close. 
 Meanwhile, Cynthia was to be taken care of by Al Zulid, and 
 treated by him with as much respect as though she was in reality 
 the queen: neither he nor any of his household were to see her, 
 the attendants given to her by the king, upon whose fidelity he 
 could rely, being alone allowed to wait upon her. 
 
 In return for these services the King bestowed upon Al Zulid 
 much treasure, and raised him to a still higher position of honor 
 than he already occupied. 
 
 This agreement Ben Al Zulid kept with the most scrupulous 
 exactness, and a delicate regard, not alone for the position and 
 welfare of the beautiful Cynthia herself, but also for the best 
 interests of the King,
 
 14 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 Having thus confided the care of his Beloved to his friend 
 the King made all haste to return to the Palace at Agbatana, 
 where his impatient and proud Queen awaited him. 
 
 Had beauty been sufficient to win and hold the King's heart, 
 then surely had he remained captive to the charms of the fair 
 Artemisia, for she was one of the most beautiful of women. Na 
 ture had lavished upon her intellect and beauty, its fairest gifts. 
 Of commanding stature yet slender form, her supple, perfectly 
 rounded limbs might have formed the model for a sculptor, while 
 the finely cut features, the lustrous dark eyes, the perfectly arched 
 eyebrows, the clear pallor of the skin, the full exquisitely moulded 
 red lips, were rendered yet more beautiful, and more alluring 
 to the eyes of most men by the air of haughty pride and queenly 
 dignity which pervaded their expression. The sensuous droop 
 of the full lidded eyes, the gleam of anger which at slight pro 
 vocation shot from them, the full strong chin and jaw, with the 
 quick tightening of the shapely mouth when roused to anger, 
 would all have been signs of temper unheeded by most men, or 
 else would only have served as incentives to them, to try whether 
 they could not conquer the heart of this proud beauty, and make 
 those haughty lips whisper fond words for their ears alone, and 
 those dark eyes brighten at their approach. Thus had it once 
 been with El Jazid. Artemisia had roused his passions and 
 charmed his senses and allured his lower Soul, but her beauty 
 had been powerless to awaken the love of his higher self, the 
 purer and truer love she had been unable to win; Cynthia, and 
 Cynthia alone, could do that, and at her touch the lower, coarser 
 love of the King for Artemisia had melted like a castle of cloud 
 and mist before the glowing beams of the noon-day sun. Thus 
 when El Jazid reached Agbatana, and beheld again the wondrous 
 sensual beauty of his haughty Queen, the mother now of his 
 child, it awoke but a faint echo of the old passion, a feeble return 
 of the old warmth. And though his words were as tender, and 
 full of affection as of old, his phrases as complimentary, his 
 attentions as carefully studied, the heart of the proud, passionate 
 woman, hungering for love and thirsting for devotion, detected 
 at once, the hoDownen of his set phrases, the emptiness of his 
 honeyed words, his formal caresses, the artificiality of his endear 
 ments, and in vehement anger and disappointment refused to 
 be satisfied with the pretence of a love which her woman's in 
 stinct told her she had somehow lost.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 15 
 
 To El Jazid, she said nothing to show that she perceived 
 any difference in his manner, but she sought to win back from 
 the returned husband, the devotion of the lover who had left 
 her less than a year before. She used every art of which she was 
 mistress, and used them in vain, and she felt it was no longer 
 possible for her to keep his love, since between their hearts some 
 barrier had risen which no attentions on the King's part could 
 hide. 
 
 And still, while he remained with her she made no sign, dis 
 sembling with oriental caution the anger that she felt; but when, 
 after a brief stay, and with a slender, ill-acted show of regret, 
 for El Jazid was but a poor dissembler, he had left her again, 
 declaring that he must return to his army, the anger of the slighted 
 woman broke forth in a violent storm of rage, and she felt a 
 fierce thirst for vengeance upon the woman who had stolen from 
 her the King's heart, and usurped that first place in his thoughts 
 which belonged by right to his Queen alone. 
 
 She felt certain that there was some woman; nothing else 
 could have so changed the King's manner to her, and she was 
 seized with a wild determination to learn who this unknown 
 beauty could be, and to behold one whose charms had proved 
 more potent than her own, strong enough to draw El Jazid from 
 the side of the Princess, who had distinguished him above her 
 many suitors and conferred upon him the honor of becoming 
 the husband of the proud Artemisia. Wounded love struggled 
 in her heart with wounded pride, and from the conflict was born 
 a hatred as deep and all-absorbing as the love had been. 
 
 ^When the first burst of passion was over Artemisia, with the 
 craft of her oriental nature, resolved to conceal her suspicions 
 from El Jazid, and to act towards him as before, in order that 
 she might better accomplish her revenge upon him and his new 
 favorite. She set spies to follow the King, and report to her his 
 every movement, and it was not long ere she learned of the exist 
 ence of Cynthia, and of the devotion El Jazid had shown to her, 
 although so quietly had she been taken away by Al Zulid, and 
 so effectually had he hidden her, that no trace of her whereabouts 
 could be found. None knew what had become of her, nor by 
 whom she had been taken away. The King's own visits to 
 Cynthia being now made with the utmost secrecy and caution, 
 the spies of Queen Artemisia were for a time completely baffled. 
 
 Meanwhile, the making of the secret passage between the
 
 16 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 two Palaces at Parsagherd was being rapidly hurried forward. 
 The Hindoo artificer, whom the King's large bribe had tempted 
 from his own country, was assisted in his work by a clever, black 
 slave only. The care taken in making the passage was so great 
 that all the workmen were brought from a great distance and 
 carefully prevented from holding any communication with per 
 sons employed in the Palace itself. When the work was at 
 length completed, these foreign workmen and the Hindoo artisan 
 were carefully escorted back to their own country, the poor black 
 slave, alone, being left behind. This unfortunate man, belonging 
 to the city of Agbatana, and being employed about the Palace, 
 it occurred to the King that the safest thing to do was to put him 
 to death, lest at any time he should be tempted to betray the secret 
 of the passage, and orders vere therefore sent for his execution, the 
 life of one poor slave being but a feather's weight in the balance 
 compared to the preservation of an Emperor's secret. 
 
 \Yhen all was at last completed, Al Zulid installed himself 
 and his household in the house assigned to him, and then brought 
 Cynthia safely to the part of it which had been prepared for her, 
 and which was surrounded by high walls, and everything which 
 it was thought could serve for her protection. Shortly after this, 
 the court was moved to Parsagherd, and the King was once more 
 able to visit his beloved freely, and, as he believed, unsuspected. 
 
 To the Queen, he maintained always the same scrupulously 
 careful show of devotion, and so well did Artemisia act her part, 
 so carefully did she dissemble her wrath, that El Jazid imagined his 
 secret was in no immediate danger of discovery, and gave him 
 self up to the unrestrained enjoyment of Cynthia's society, scarce 
 observing as he otherwise might have done, the smouldering fire 
 which gleamed in the eyes of Artemisia, when he pleaded the 
 cares of state as a reason why he could not devote more of his 
 time to her. 
 
 Yet not so easily was the death of even a poor slave to pass ovec 
 unavenged. It was but a seed, and a small one, in that harvest 
 field of sorrow which was to surround poor Cynthia. Yet that 
 seed became a Upas tree whose branches were to blight at their 
 source the well-spring of hope and love and maternal tenderness 
 which had sprung up amidst the cramped and blighted affections 
 of a heart which had been denied all the natural ties of earthly 
 kindred, all interests which might have abstracted her thoughts 
 from the contemplation of Heavenly things. The tender joys, the
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 17 
 
 soft sweet holy thoughts of expectant motherhood, were awaken 
 ing in Cynthia's Soul, and with a trembling, half fear half hope, 
 she looked forward to the unfolding of a tiny life within her own, 
 the blossoming into life of a little emblem of their love; hopes 
 which gave a new soft light to her eyes and imparted a new mean 
 ing to her love for El Jazid. 
 
 One evening as the sun was setting and the twilight shadows 
 were gathering over the valley that lay below, Cynthia and El 
 Jazid were seated together upon a low divan; and her head rested 
 upon his shoulder in the sweet abandonment of happy love; her 
 long dark hair hung loose upon her shoulders and as the King 
 caressed it with loving touch he spoke 1 3 her of those new hopes 
 which filled with happiness both their Souls. 
 
 Suddenly Cynthia whose dreamy eyes had been gazing into 
 El Jazid's turned her head towards the hangings in the corner of 
 the room where was the secret door, and with a fixed stony look of 
 fear, such as one sees in a bird which is fascinated by a snake, she 
 seemed to be following the passage of something or someone along 
 the wall. Then clutching the King's arm, with a low cry and an 
 almost frenzied expression of terror, she exclaimed, "Oh look! 
 look! It is that black shadow of a man again! He is creeping, 
 creeping, towards us, with the most awful look of hatred in his eyes! 
 He fixes them upon me, and I feel as though I could not move, 
 could not escape from him! Oh! save me from him! Save me 
 from him! " and with a cry she fell insensible into El Jazid's arms. 
 
 In vain did the King, thoroughly alarmed lest it should be 
 some spy who had found the secret of the passage, search the hang 
 ings, the walls, everything. He could see nothing to account for 
 her alarm, no means by which anyone could have entered, and 
 though he had followed the direction of Cynthia's eyes and seen 
 where she had pointed he could see nothing to explain the fright. 
 The secret spring was intact, the door fast closed, yet Cynthia 
 had seemed to see the figure come from there. Where it had gone 
 was a mystery, yet El Jazid had too great a belief in her powers 
 of beholding unseen things to doubt that she had truly seen some 
 thing, and its invisibility to his own eyes greatly added to his 
 superstitious apprehensions. 
 
 To revive and to soothe Cynthia was his first care. He dare 
 not call any of her attendants as he did not wish his presence 
 there suspected, and it was some time before she was sufficiently 
 restored to calmness to allow him to leave her. When he did so
 
 i8 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 it was nearly dark, and in order to see his way through the pas 
 sage he lighted a small lamp. 
 
 He had almost reached the door leading into his own apart 
 ments when by the feeble light of his lamp he saw a black shadow 
 in front of him, resembling the crouching figure of a man. To 
 draw his dagger and to stab at it was the work of a moment, for 
 only some meditated treachery could cause anyone to havefollowed 
 him into this passage. To his surprise the weapon, and also his 
 hand and arm, went through the figure, and at the same moment 
 his lamp seemed to be extinguished by a blast of cold air; as it went 
 out he saw the figure roll over and then rise and, as it seemed, 
 envelope him like a cloak, and it required all his efforts of strong 
 will and undaunted courage to free himself from the nameless, 
 shapeless thing which he now knew to be nothing earthly, and as he 
 thrust it from him with all his force it seemed to vanish with a 
 wild unearthly cry of rage. 
 
 Convinced that the being he had encountered was some evil 
 genie, El Jazid consulted the court astrologers and wise men, and 
 also the Priests at to what could be done to protect himself and, 
 what was still more important, his beloved Cynthia from the ap 
 proaches of this horrible thing. 
 
 The advice he got was to the effect that this being evidently a 
 Spirit of darkness, one of the devils of Ahriman, it would be 
 desirable that El Jazid should at once set forth upon a pilgrimage 
 to the Temple of Baku, and bring back from there a vessel lighted 
 by the sacred fire which arises from the earth and burns there 
 continually. This would combat the evil power of Ahriman, and 
 draw down to his aid the good Angels of ORMUZD, and thus 
 would the sacred fire possess a double efficacy for keeping at bay 
 all the ghouls and genii of the dark kingdom. 
 
 From Cynthia the King parted with the utmost reluctance. 
 Only the assurance of the Priests that it was needful that he him 
 self should go, and in his own person pay homage at the sacred 
 altar, would have induced him to leave her at such a time and 
 under such circumstances. To Ben Al Zulid he confided her, with 
 the oft repeated warnings to guard the secret door and above every 
 thing to keep a special lamp containing the sacred fire ever burn 
 ing in the room, and station fresh guards round her apartments. 
 
 Cynthia herself was most unwilling to allow the King to leave 
 her. She was filled with the most anxious fears, the most terrible 
 apprehensions, and dreaded to lose sight of him even for a few
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 19 
 
 hours. Still her belief in the advice of the Priests at last overcame 
 her fears, and with much emotion Cynthia and the King parted. 
 
 For some days nothing occurred to justify Cynthia's fears, and 
 Al Zulid watched over her safety with a care and devotion only 
 second to that of the King himself, so that she grew gradually 
 ashamed of her fears and more confident, and began to amuse her 
 self picturing El Jazid's return. 
 
 Thus the time passed, and it was calculated that the King must 
 already be well advanced upon his homeward way, when one 
 evening as Cynthia lay upon her cushions, wearied out with anxious 
 watching for him, she fell asleep. 
 
 She had slept but a short time, and was alone for a few moment 
 the attendant having but just left the room, when the hangings 
 before the secret door wen drawn aside by a hand, a real living 
 hand, a woman's firm white shapely hand bejewelled with many 
 rings, and the Queen herself stepped into the room. Drawing 
 near to the couch of the sleeping girl she stood looking upon the 
 rival who had stolen from her the King's love. Cruel hatred 
 gleamed in her eyes, and her white hands were clenched in a fierce 
 desire to clutch the fair white throat of the beautiful girl and 
 strangle her. Yes! this girl was beautiful. Perfect in all re 
 spects as was she herself, and with a subtle charm in her beauty 
 which the powerful Queen could never hope to rival. Instinctive 
 ly she felt the source of Cynthia's power over El Jazid, and she 
 ground her teeth in silent rage as she drew a step nearer to the 
 couch, at the same time making a sign with her hand to a slave 
 who was behind her. 
 
 Perhaps it was the proximity of her foe that awakened her, or 
 it might be that her Guardian Angel sought to save her even then; 
 be it as it may, Cynthia woke with a scream of terror and sprang 
 from the cushions, uttering sharp cries for help as the slave sprung 
 upon her and plunged his cruel dagger into her shoulder and white 
 throat ere the affrighted attendant could rush to her aid; the 
 slave himself being almost cut to pieces by those who hurried 
 into the room. The Queen, leaving her minion to his fate, had 
 retired into the secret passage and closed the door, and there was 
 therefore nothing to show how or by what means the murderer had 
 entered. 
 
 In truth Artemisia had been for many days and weeks trying 
 to discover by what secret means the King visited her rival, for that 
 she was somewhere near and that he saw her dailv Artemisia was
 
 20 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 convinced. She learned that Al Zulid possessed a very beautiful 
 and mysterious inmate of his seraglio, and guessed that his house 
 might well be chosen as the asylum for El Jazid's favorite. With 
 a woman's capacity for receiving and profiting by impressions and 
 ill-defined and apparently groundless suspicions, she had become 
 convinced that there must be some secret passage somewhere, 
 and aided by the vengeful Spirit of the murdered slave she had 
 spent the time of El Jazid's absence in searching for it, and, still 
 guided by the Spirit of the man whose knowledge of its secret had 
 cost his him life, had at last, that very day, found it. 
 
 It was this Spirit whom Cynthia had seen, and whom El Jazid 
 
 had encountered hovering around the cause of his untimely end, 
 
 and who had led the Queen to seek her rival's room at a moment 
 
 when she was alone and unprotected. 
 
 Thus did the first seeds bear their fruits, and send forth shoots to 
 
 poison yet other lives. 
 
 ***** 
 
 Cynthia was not dead, although fatally wounded, and Al Zulid 
 sent in all haste to hurry the King, hoping that haply he might 
 still be in time to receive her last breath. 
 
 She lay almost unconscious ! ut it seemed as though she could 
 not die till her beloved came. 
 
 As day dawned the attendants saw the end was drawing near. 
 The grey shadows of death were gathering fast upon her fair face; 
 her eyes were glazing, and all seemed almost over, when the King, 
 covered with the foam from his horse and the mire from the roads, 
 haggard and distracted with grief, arrived at last. At his touch 
 Cynthia's eyes opened once again; her white lips tried to utter his 
 name, and her dying hand to clasp his, but even as they did so the 
 silver cord was loosed, and the Soul of the gentle, murdered 
 Cynthia sank to rest. 
 
 ***** 
 
 And in the hour my mother died, I, Ahrinziman, was born. 
 The moment of her death was also the moment of my entrance 
 into life. 
 
 Not amidst joyous congratulations and happy hopes fulfilled 
 was I ushered into life, but amidst bitter tears and wailings of grief; 
 amidst anger, revenge, and strife. War and murder and jealousy 
 had shadowed me before before my birth, and the Star of my des 
 tiny arose upon the horizon of Earth tinged with the blood red rays 
 of the Fiery Star.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 PART I 
 
 SOWING THE SEED 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE DAYS OF BOYHOOD 
 
 My earliest recollections are of a lonely herdsman's hut among 
 the Caucasian mountains, where, under the care of my foster 
 parent and amidst the peaceful obscurity of my humble surround 
 ings, my childhood's days were passed. 
 
 None knew who my father was, nor whence I came. I had 
 been brought to the valley as an infant of scarcely a month old 
 by a Persian, whom the shepherd and his wife had nursed 
 when badly wounded two years before, and who had passed 
 through their valley with a few of his soldier companions. Little 
 was known even of this man, but from his dress and costly armour 
 it was judged that he must belong to the higher ranks of the King's 
 army. He had brought me himself, unaccompanied by any 
 one, and had left a large bag of money to pay for the cost of 
 my maintenance, saying that so long as I was well cared for and 
 kindly treated my foster parents should never want for flocks and 
 herds of their own to tend, nor gold with which to dower their 
 children, but that no attempt must be made to learn whose son I 
 was, nor why I was thus given into the care of strangers. 
 
 Twice after that this man came to enquire after me, and to 
 see that I was thriving well in that wild mountain valley, and then 
 for several years he came no more. However, as far more than 
 sufficient money had been left with me to provide for all my wants, 
 no great surprise was felt at this. Indeed the gold given had been 
 so considerable a sum that from a humble tender of other men's 
 flocks my foster father was able to purchase a fine flock of his own. 
 
 21
 
 22 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 and to remove from the tent where he hid dwelt to the little stone 
 building which I remember, and which, though it seems but a poor 
 humble place to my thoughts now, was yet the summit of h^ ambi 
 tion. Thus he and his wife had every reason to tend me well. 
 
 They had a numerous progeny of their own, some older and 
 some younger than myself, but by them, even in our childish games, 
 I was always treated with a certain degree of deference, as being of 
 a superior rank to themselves. And thus I learnt early to rule, 
 even in my small world, and to exact from others a submission to 
 my wishes which did much to develope in me that love of command 
 which I had inherited from my royal ancestors. 
 
 Apart from these considerations, I had certain peculiarities of 
 taste and temper which served to widen the barrier between myself 
 and those whose care supplied to me that love of kindred that I 
 have never known. 
 
 I was a strange wayward boy, subject to violent bursts of pas 
 sion, and full of vague longings for I knew not what; striving al 
 ways for some state of happiness that was for me unattainable; 
 thirsting ever for more knowledge, and fretting against the narrow 
 limits of my little world. 
 
 When I grew wearied of the rough games of my companions, 
 and tired of watching the habits of the many animals my foster 
 parents reared, I would wander away by myself into the mountain 
 passes of that half cultivated land, and throwing myself down 
 upon some grassy mountain top would watch the clouds and 
 sky and glorious sun, until the lonely and desolate region around 
 would appear to grow instinct with life, and myriad forms of 
 every kind of aerial beings would people the solitude, moving 
 around me and floating between me and the rising or setting sun, 
 for it was at early dawn or sunset that I beheld these shapes most 
 often and most clearly. 
 
 Again at noonday, as I watched the clouds sail over the sky, 
 their shapes would change for me into castles and palaces and 
 wondrous oceans with white winged ships and huge galleys sailing 
 across; into huntsmen and horses, into warriors engaged in battle, 
 into horses and hounds and swift antelopes. Whole panorama- 
 would unroll themselves before my eyes, until it was no longer 
 cloud shapes I was watching but the wonders of a celestial world. 
 
 Then when darkness fell, and I lay in my little room, I would 
 behold a glorious Star, like unto one of the Stars of Heaven, that 
 would seem to approach nearer and nearer to me, and expand and
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 23 
 
 expand, till my whole room was bathed in its silver light, and I 
 myself enveloped in its dazzling brightness. In the heart of the 
 Star I would see the most radiant Angels, their white and glistening 
 robes shining as though powdered with silver dust, and in their 
 hands they would bear wreaths of silver palm, with blue and white 
 flowers. Troops of bright Peris or spirit children would assemble 
 and dance around me in the light of the Star. Lovely maidens 
 with long floating tresses of hair and snow-white arms would glide 
 in and out before me in all the mazes of the most graceful dances 
 I have ever beheld. Soft strains of music would float to me, borne 
 by some passing Zephyr from the Spirit Land, and lovely glimpses 
 of scenery like unto the white and glistening regions of some fairy 
 land of the Blessed would appear to my eyes for a few moments, 
 and then fade away to give place to another scene of delight. Then 
 on a sudden my Star would grow pale and dim, and vanish, leav 
 ing me alone in the darkness once more. 
 
 When I was between ten and twelve years old my visions took 
 a new shape; intsead of seeing such troops of Spirit forms I began 
 to see only one a woman a very lovely woman, almost like 
 a girl, whose presence seemed to move my heart with a strange 
 feeling of emotion, between the most intense sorrow and the 
 greatest joy. While she was visible I felt happy; when 
 she faded away I felt as though the light of my life had gone 
 with her, and I would be seized with an intense longing 
 to break free from my earthly body and follow her. At first 
 she would appear to lie floating in the heart of the silver Star, as 
 though she were asleep; her eyes were closed and her head drooped 
 upon her shoulder, while her arms hung limp and powerless at 
 her side. Her face was the most lovely one imaginable, and a 
 a great wealth of dark hair hung loosely on her shoulders. On 
 her head she wore a single Silver Star, and in the heart of this 
 Star there was a drop of crimson dew, like a ruby, while her white 
 robes were bordered by silver stars, and below them there 
 came a border of crimson, that seemed to me at first to flow from 
 two red spots, one on her neck and the other on her shoulder. 
 She neither smiled nor spoke to me for a long time, but her presence 
 always woke in me the same strange emotion, and her coming must 
 have stopped that of the other Spirit forms, for I saw them no 
 more; the scenery would be there at times, the troops of dancing 
 children, never. 
 
 Again and again I saw her, and at last one day her eyes opened
 
 24 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 and she appeared to be awake, for she gazed at me with wondering 
 dark eyes, strangely like my own. By degrees she grew more and 
 more awake, and would smile sweetly at me, and then one night 
 she drew near and touched me. 
 
 But Oh! with what painful emotion her touch filled my Soul. 
 I wept in bitterest anguish, and my tears caused the Star to fade 
 and she vanished away, and not for long did I behold her again. 
 
 For long I kept these visions to myself. I shrank instinctively 
 from sharing my secret with anyone; but at last I told my foster 
 mother, and she was much disturbed by my recital, fearing that 
 my beholding these things must portend the death of someone, or 
 trouble of some sort. She also feared there must be something 
 unearthly and strange about me, and in her anxiety she first gos 
 siped about the matter with all her neighbors, and then decided to 
 consult the Priests of a little Hill Temple five miles away, built 
 upon one of the highest mountains where it could catch the first 
 and last rays of the rising and setting sun. 
 
 By the Priests she was somewhat reassured as to my probable 
 origin, which she had begun to fear must be due to the influence 
 of some of the genii, and that possible I was not mortal after all. 
 She was advised to bring me with her, that they might judge for 
 themselves whether my visions were of the delusions of Ahriman 
 and his fallen Angels, or whether they were truly sent from the 
 Angelic spheres and betokened the possession of prophetic powers. 
 
 In this way I was first brought under the notice of these Priests, 
 and amongst them I soon found a congenial friend in the person 
 of one of the brothers of the humbler order of Priesthood. He 
 was a man of about forty years of age, an enthusiast and a vis 
 ionary, and one well calculated to develope in me a!! these strange 
 powers of divination I had inherited from my mother. By this 
 Priest I was taught to read and write in the Zend characters, and to 
 decipher the hieroglyphics upon the rolls of illuminated sheep-skin 
 whereon were recorded the histories of other Faiths than our own. 
 He taught me also to read the meanings of many of the symbolical 
 pictures carved and painted upon the various vessels in use in the 
 service of the Temple. 
 
 From him I learned also of the teachings of the great Zerdusht 
 (or Zoroaster, as some call him), and of the pure doctrines and 
 reformed sect founded by him. 
 
 He also taught me that it was possible to acquire the art of 
 leaving the earthly body, and wandering at will through the Spirit
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 25 
 
 spheres, even as had been done by the great Zerdusht himself 
 in order that he might bring back from thence the teachings of 
 the higher Spirits. To do this required a long and severe ap 
 prenticeship to spiritual things, and could only be safely practised 
 by those within the precincts of a Temple or other holy spot. 
 (* See note B.) 
 
 Besides these things he spoke to me of many other mysteries, 
 into which he said it would not be lawful to initiate me unless I had 
 first become one of the neophytes of the Temple. He told me 
 that such powers as mine were clearly intended to be dedicated to 
 the service of God, and so worked upon my imagination and en 
 thusiasm for occult things that I was all eagerness to be taken into 
 the Temple as he and the other Priests advised. This was, however, 
 impossible without the consent of the man who appeared to be my 
 guardian, and matters had to be left in abeyance till he should 
 come again to inquire about my welfare. 
 
 Two years passed ere this event, and meanwhile my constant 
 visits to the Temple, and the unusual and rare knowledge I was 
 thereby acquiring (and of which I was so proud that I did not keep 
 it to myself, but boasted of it to my companions) had excited the 
 jealousy and anger of our little community. Although my foster 
 parents and their children, from motives of interest and affection, 
 might defer to me and be proud of my learning, it was otherwise 
 with those who had nothing to gain or lose from the favor of my 
 unknown protector, and the neighbors and their sons 
 naturally resented my pecularities and airs of superiority. I was 
 growing a tall strong lad, and my quick temper and overbearing 
 ways towards those I deemed my inferiors made me more enemies 
 than friends. 
 
 First it was said that I was clearly the off-spring of some 
 intrigue, since my parents were ashamed to acknowledge me: 
 truly a pretty fellow to give himself airs over them ! Then when my 
 visions were known and talked about by my foster mother it was 
 said I must be the child of some of the genii, and not mortal at all; 
 that the simple Aboukir and his wife had been imposed upon by 
 this stranger, who, they averred, had doubtless foisted some 
 r h angeling upon then! Vague stories of all kinds began to cir- 
 rulate. It was said I had been seen wandering about the hills 
 after dark (which was in part true) , and that it was true I belonged 
 to the class of ghouls and vampires. The hour and the day on 
 which I had been brought to the village were found to be unlucky,
 
 26 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 and marked with a black stone, and all the misfortunes of 
 the tribe were attributed to my influence, since it was thought I 
 possessed the evil eye. Ere long I began to be avoided by one and 
 all, and though the good Priest, on hearing of these stories, called 
 upon the headman of the tribe and told him I was destined to the 
 service of the Temple, his visit only served to make the stories 
 against me to be whispered instead of spoken aloud to all the 
 world. 
 
 At first I felt most bitterly hurt by these things, and all the 
 philosophic consolations bestowed upon me by my friend the 
 Priest Abubatha failed to comfort me. Then my pride awoke, 
 my imperious temper asserted itself, and I repaid their dislike with 
 tenfold contempt and scorn. 
 
 Thus I became more solitary in my ways than ever, for ill- 
 natured gossip once started is not easily laid to rest, and the gulf 
 between myself and my fellows became only wider as time passed 
 on. 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE TWO STRANGERS 
 
 I was thirteen years old when the man who had brought me to 
 this valley came again, and my foster father Aboukir told him of 
 my visions and my visits to the Priests in the Temple, but of the 
 whispered stories against me he said no word, fearing lest he should 
 be deprived in consequence of the care of me. 
 
 The stranger pondered the matter over for a short time, and 
 then sent for me to speak with him. But I could not be found, 
 as I had gone away upon one of my long rambles over the moun 
 tains, and the stranger left, promising to return shortly. 
 
 A few weeks after this, when I was alone in the house, my foster 
 father having gone to attend some distant flocks, and my foster 
 mother to gossip with her neighbors, I was aroused from my 
 studies by hearing the trampling of horses' feet, and looking out 
 I beheld two horsemen dismounting at our door. Their rich
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 27 
 
 dresses and richly caparisoned steeds proclaimed them to be of 
 high rank. One was a rather short but very broad shouldered 
 and powerful looking man, whom I had no trouble in recognizing 
 from my foster parent's description as the mysterious stranger 
 who had brought me there. 
 
 The other was much taller and more slender, though also a 
 powerful looking man. His face was partly covered by a thick 
 black beard, and his expression was, even to my childish eyes, 
 very sad and grave. 
 
 The beauty of the horses greatly attracted me, for I was very 
 fond of all animals, but especially of horses, and I had early 
 learned to ride and to excel in all the simple feats of horseman 
 ship practised by the hill tribes, who are largely engaged in 
 rearing horses as well as sheep and goats. 
 
 But I had never seen such beautiful horses as these, such 
 graceful, pretty creatures, that stood arching their glossy necks and 
 tossing their long manes and pawing the ground in their impatience, 
 and I drew near the tall stranger's horse to stroke and caress it, 
 staring at the two men with wondering eyes as I did so. 
 
 "Where are the herdsman Aboukir and his wife?" asked 
 the short stranger. 
 
 I told htm, and said I would go and fetch them, but he 
 stopped me, and said it did not matter, for that it was the boy 
 Ahrinziman they had come to see. 
 
 All this time I was stroking the horse and patting it, and it 
 seemed to like my touch, for it grew quiet under it. The short 
 stranger noticed this, and added "Thou art a bold boy surely, to be 
 so ready to touch another man's horse. " 
 
 "I am not afraid of anything" said I, frowning at him, for I 
 liked not his tone of banter. 
 
 "See there, O Sire! whom did the boy resemble then?" said the 
 short man, "We need no herdsman's wife to tell us whose son 
 this is. " 
 
 "You are right," answered the other, and then he added with 
 a sigh, "He is like her also, he hath her eyes, surely he will be like 
 her in other ways." Then turning to me he said: 
 
 "Wouldst thou like to be a soldier, since thou dost fear no 
 man? 
 
 "I had rather be a Priest, for then I should live in the Temple, 
 and no one would dare to jeer at me; all men would pay me respect; 
 I would be a Priest and a Prophet like unto the great Zerdusht,
 
 28 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 and all men would do homage to my powers. I would not be a 
 soldier, for a soldier has always to obey orders; there is ever one 
 above him; even the Commander must obey the King, and I 
 would not bow to any man; rather would I have all men harken 
 unto me. " 
 
 The short man laughed. "Behold!" said he, "how loudly 
 he crows already ! " But the other answered me gravely. 
 
 '"How dost thou know, Ahrinziman, that thou couldst be 
 come a great Prophet ? Are there not many within the Tem 
 ples whose lives are ever humble? There hath been but one 
 Zerdusht: how can thine ambition make thee think to become 
 as great as he ? " 
 
 "Because the Priest Abubatha says that since the days of 
 Zerdusht there have been few who beheld the things of the Spirit 
 world with the clear eyes with which I see them. He thinks that 
 were I to devote myself now to the sen-ice of the Temple I might 
 become almost as great a seer as Zerdusht. Who knows but that 
 I would surely become as great at he, when I am as old as he was 
 when he began to prophesy ? " 
 
 "Thou art not wanting in ambition, truly Oh Ahrinziman! 
 "Yet tell me of the visions of which thou dost speak, that we may 
 judge from whence they come. " 
 
 Then I told him of all those things which I had seen; of the 
 lovely Spirits and the bright Star and the glowing pictures and 
 last I told him of the White Angel as I called her. He questioned 
 me much concerning her, and seemed much agitated when I told 
 him how she had looked at first; and when I spoke of the two red 
 spots that gave the red bordering to her robes his face darkened 
 with anger as well as sorrow, and he clenched his hands and ap 
 peared moved to much passion. 
 
 Then I told him that of late the red spots were gone, although 
 the red border remained, and that she was awake now and smiled 
 on me, and had touched me once, but that her touch gave me 
 suffering and pain, although I longed always for her to come to 
 me again. And when I told him this he put his hand upon my 
 shoulder, and bade me look up at him and tell it all to him once 
 more. And as I did so he kept his hand upon me, as though to 
 assure himself who it was that was speaking to him. 
 
 As I finished my recital for the second time a sudden impulse 
 caused me to clasp his hand in mine, and raising it to my lips I 
 kissed it passionately. Tt was as though for that instant the most
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 29 
 
 intense love for him took possession of my Soul, and I could have 
 embraced him and wept over him in mingled joy and sorrow. 
 
 But he was a stranger to me, and I was afraid, and the impulse 
 passed away. 
 
 As I kissed his hand he cried out in agitation, "God of my 
 Fathers! that was her action exactly! that was her way with me!" 
 and he took his hand from me and covered his face with his mantle 
 as he turned away. Yet I could tell that he was weeping, for he 
 spoke not, but strode back and forth as though wrestling with his 
 sorrow, while the other man walked away from us into the house, 
 as though in respect to his emotions. 
 
 After a little while the tall stranger came back to me, and tak 
 ing a thick richly wrought gold chain from his neck he flung it 
 over my head, saying, "Show that to your White Angel when 
 she comes again, and ask her if she has no word, no sign, to 
 give me?" 
 
 Then he kissed me many times, embracing me with much 
 tenderness, while I clung to him and prayed that he would take 
 me with him, though I knew not who he was. But he put 
 me away at last and turned to summon his friend, saying to 
 me, "Not yet, Oh beloved child of my lost Cynthia; not yet; but 
 soon shalt thou come unto me and be the comfort of my sad 
 days." 
 
 Then they went forth and mounted their horses and rode away, 
 while I stood looking after them, and especially after the tall 
 stranger who turned to look at me many times, till a bend in the 
 mountain pass hid them from my sight. 
 
 Then I went into the house, and on the table I found a bag of 
 gold and a message written, which I could now read, to say that 
 nothing was to be done till the strangers came again; and I 
 guessed it had been left by the short man while we were 
 speaking,
 
 30 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 I ENTER THE TEMPLE 
 
 DURING many weeks we looked for the return of the strangers, 
 but they came not. But I saw my White Angel again. 
 
 She came one night and stood smiling and looking upon me 
 from the heart of the Silver Star; then she drew near to me, and 
 though she did not touch me she raised the chain, which I had 
 always worn since the tall stranger gave it to me, to her lips and 
 kissed it, and I thought she said "Tell him that. " And she faded 
 away again, and was lost in the light of the Silver Star. 
 
 Soon after the strangers' visit the monotony of our life was 
 broken by the arrival in our village of one of the tribesmen who 
 had gone to fight in the Sultan's army, and who now returned too 
 crippled to serve any longer. He brought with him much treasure, 
 plundered no doubt during the time of service, and he soon estab 
 lished himself in a fine tent with a wife, whose dress and ornaments 
 became the envy of all her neighbors. And he also bought a fine 
 flock of sheep and goats. 
 
 Chance brought me across this man, although as a rule I 
 avoided the village, and very soon a kind of friendship sprang up 
 between us, for the man had many strange tales to tell of his ad 
 venturous wanderings, and the exciting scenes of war, and I was 
 greedy for all stories of that world which lay beyond our mountains, 
 and of which I thought much oftener since the visit of the two 
 strangers. 
 
 I had begun to waver in my desire to be a Prophet, and as I 
 listened to the tales told by the soldier my imagination became 
 fired at the thought of the stirring life a soldier led, and the strange 
 countries and people that he saw, and but for the influence of my 
 friend Abubatha over me I should have thought seriously of chan- 
 gini; my ambition, and adopting a more exciting life than that of a 
 Prophet. 
 
 In truth I was but little fitted to form a right judgment upon 
 the merits of either mode of life. 
 
 Nearly six months passed, and then one evening a hurried 
 messenger arrived upon a weary horse, bringing a ring which they
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 31 
 
 remembered the short stranger to have worn, and a message that 
 "The ring was sent in token of the authority of the messenger, 
 and was to be kept until the owner came himself to claim it, and 
 they were to lose no time in placing me within the precincts of the 
 Temple. " 
 
 Then the man rode away again, and thus was my fate decided. 
 
 The next day I was taken to the Temple, and formally re 
 ceived by my friend and the other Priests. And after all, instead 
 of hailing this event with joy, as I should have done some months 
 before, I felt instead a feeling of disappointment and foreboding 
 of some sorrow. 
 
 I did not enjoy the happiness of my beloved friend's society 
 long. Within a year from my admission to the Temple he died 
 quite suddenly, leaving me once more without one congenial friend. 
 I had thought he would at least come back to me from the shadow 
 land, as my White Angel came, but I never saw him, and not 
 till I myself passed over to the world of Spirits did I learn why. 
 
 The other Priests were kind to me, but not the sympathetic 
 friends that Abubatha had been, and I lost my spirits and grew 
 very sad after his death. 
 
 Then there came another change, and for me a harder one 
 still. I was sent, why, I was not told, from the little mountain 
 Temple to the far larger and far more important one of Amurath. 
 And then began for me a long and weary and monotonous 
 period which, were I to describe it in detail would but weary 
 those who read my story. This Temple of Amurath was a very 
 different place to the little lonely one amongst the mountains of 
 the Caucasus, and its Priests were far more wealthy and auto 
 cratic than the humble kindly men I had known, and once fairly 
 dedicated to the service of God I found life to be a very different 
 thing from what it had been during the pleasant friendly inter 
 course I had held with my beloved friend. 
 
 A severe regimen of lonely vigils and prolonged fasts was im 
 posed upon me, the great object of my training being to subdue 
 the desires of the flesh and turn my mind from all earthly thoughts 
 to the contemplation of Heavenly things. For this purpose all 
 intercourse with the world outside the Temple walls was prohibited 
 to me. Had my friend Abubatha been alive I should not have 
 felt this to be so great a privation, but I had no sympathy with any 
 of these Priests, and I yearned so intensely to see my friend again, 
 that this, and the severe strain of the training imposed upon a
 
 32 THE STORY OF AHRINRIMAN 
 
 growing lad, caused my health to give way, and I became so seri 
 ously and even dangerously ill that my instructors were obliged to 
 relax their rules and suspend my development for a considerable 
 time, and allow me to wander freely about within the precincts of 
 the Temple. To go outside the walls was impossible, the great 
 gates being only opened to admit egress or ingress of the proces 
 sions of the Priests, and those who, like myself, were reserved as 
 the mediums through whom the oracles were to be given, were 
 never allowed to join in them, and seldom even to mix with each 
 other, lest we might thereby impair the purity of our gift by absorb 
 ing the ideas of someone on Earth. We were only allowed to see 
 the Priests; men, who not possessing the power of divination them 
 selves were yet the instructors and regulators of the lives and visions 
 of those hapless sensitives who possessed these gifts. 
 
 During the period of my illness my visions departed or became 
 so confused as to be valueless, and when I returned to health I 
 found that they had assumed a new form. My White Angel and 
 the troops of dancers I never more beheld, but instead I would see 
 grave majestic men in priestly robes, bearing long scrolls in their 
 hands, who showed me the answers to questions asked of them by 
 the earthly Priests by means of pictures and by messages con 
 veyed in symbolical language, scarcely understood by myself, but 
 whose meanings were interpreted by the Priests, and, I am very 
 certain, often wrongly interpreted and distorted to suit their own 
 peculiar idiosyncrasies, and to dovetail into their own the 
 ories. 
 
 That my powers were very great was fully recognized, and I 
 was therefore more completely isolated from my companions than 
 ever in order that no influence from them might blend with the 
 oracles given through me a wise precaution theoretically, but 
 one whose usefulness was greatly nullified by the constant presence 
 and influence around the clairvoyants of these strong-minded posi- 
 tive-ideaed Priests, with their fixed theories concerning most 
 things, and their desire to make all revelations coincide with them. 
 They forgot that their ideas were even more likely than those of 
 my fellow neophytes to color my visions and interpose a barrier 
 between my clear sight and the Spirit communications. 
 
 Another mistake they made was taking these clairvoyants into 
 the Temples before they had acquired any knowledge of the true 
 relations of material life, and imagining that ignorance was 
 necessarily purity of thought. Innocence and ignorance are
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 33 
 
 often synonymous, but the innocence which springs only from 
 ignorance is but a poor shield against the influence of evil powers. 
 These ignorant beings might be like children in innocence, but 
 they were also like them in mental development, and had all the 
 failings and weakness of children as well as their virtues, all the 
 illogical imperfect standards of judging things, and all the undis 
 ciplined unregulated passions. And like children, or half de 
 veloped Souls, they could only come into direct communication 
 with the Spirits of the Silver Star, whose own ignorance of mun 
 dane affairs did not fit them to become very wise counsellors. 
 The influence of the mortal Priests might and did give a more 
 practical bias to these imperfect revelations, but their influence 
 did not come from the Spirit side of life, and only served to con 
 fuse what did. 
 
 Hence arose that condition of error and confusion which as 
 time went on became so marked as to discredit the Oracles alto 
 gether, and led to the final overthrow of those systems of religion 
 of which they formed so important a part. 
 
 The prophets who led a more natural life and mingled with 
 their fellow men might, and often did, color their prophecies with 
 the thought emanations of those around them, but their visions, 
 being drawn from the practical experiences of life, were of a certain 
 practical value, though owing to the fact that prophets who could 
 thus mingle freely with other men were not of the highest order 
 their source of inspiration was limited to the first and second 
 spheres, and their visions were therefore far from being as beautiful 
 and elevated as those of the mystics secluded within the Temples. 
 
 The spiritual laws which govern the various forms of divina 
 tion, and which explain the causes of the different degrees of power, 
 I shall enter into more fully at a later stage of my history, when I 
 had come to understand them more fully myself. 
 
 To return now to the experiences of my life in this Temple. 
 I may point out that a Sensitive or Medium is of necessity one who 
 feels readily all the influences which prevail around him or her. 
 The Material, being the strongest influence, will be felt first and 
 in the most dominant degree, hence the Priests in the Temple were 
 themselves responsible for many of the things I saw or heard, and 
 their constant influence about me shut out as with a thick veil of 
 materiality the more spiritual visions which I had beheld as a 
 child when quite alone. 
 
 The long exhausting fasts, the lonely vigils, intended to sub-
 
 34 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 jugate the flesh, served only to weaken the tie between it and the 
 Spirit to such a degree that it was no longer possible for the Spirit 
 to impress upon the body a clear picture of what it beheld. If 
 it did so at all it was as a broken and imperfect communication, 
 which resembled in its grotesqueness the jumbled pieces of some 
 puzzle picture shaken together in any fashion. 
 
 To obtain a true communication from the Spirit to the body, 
 when the Spirit has so far detached itself as to be able to wander 
 away into the Spirit World on its own account and penetrate the 
 mysteries of Spirit life, it requires that body and Spirit shall be in 
 perfect working order and in possession of the best of its powers; 
 otherwise the earthly body becomes like a hard lump of clay, 
 instead of a pliable wax-like mould, capable of receiving the im 
 press of the spiritual brain at the moment of its return to the 
 earthly envelope. If the impression is not at once conveyed a 
 more recent sensation will take its place, and the first idea, if 
 stamped upon the brain at all, will become confused with the 
 second one, and thus become imperfect and misleading. 
 
 A body in perfect health and in perfect touch with the Soul 
 inhabiting it is soft, warm, and pliable, as all can feel for them 
 selves. A body which is dead is rigid and cold, and no longer 
 capable of expressing the Soul's emotions or experiences, because 
 it is no longer capable of having the stamp of these feelings en 
 graved like a picture upon the tablets of the earthly brain. And 
 a body weakened by starvation is a body partially dead, in a 
 greater or less degree, and therefore not able to receive a clearly 
 stamped impression of purely spiritual things. 
 
 It should be remembered that while it is attached in any way to 
 the earthly envelope the Soul has to draw its nourishment through 
 the organism of the earthly body, and from mortal things it must 
 extract the spiritual essence wherewith to renew the spiritual 
 substance of its spiritual body, even as the earthly body is renewed 
 and sustained by earthly food; so that if the earthly envelope is 
 >iarved the Soul suffers with it, and is thereby weakened. With 
 out doubt it is a fatal error to over-indulge the earthly body, but 
 it is a no less fatal error to neglect or starve it; for it is the true 
 adjustment of an equal balance between the animal and spiritual 
 halves of the Soul which is needful to afford the best conditions 
 under which to study spiritual things, and to receive spiritual 
 revelations. 
 
 Thus it will be seen how great is the error of supposing that it
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 35 
 
 is necessary to starve the earthly body in order to subdue it and 
 prevent it from hampering the immortal Soul. 
 
 Oh! great is the folly of man in imagining that he can improve 
 upon God's handiwork! or that if the cravings of the material 
 body serve only as a clog upon the higher aspirations of man's 
 Soul the Supreme Wisdom would have endowed him with such a 
 body at all! 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 MY FLIGHT FROM THE TEMPLE 
 
 To a youth such as I was, full of life and exuberant spirits, 
 with a vigorous constitution and an impetuous and vehement 
 temper, the life of the Temple soon became insupportable. I 
 was at an age when the blood is warm, and courses swiftly through 
 the veins, and the passions are strong, requiring to be educated 
 and regulated, not simply suppressed. I required a life of action, 
 and I thirsted for love and friendship, and they condemned me to 
 a loveless, joyless, stagnation, which might have suited some 
 valetudinarian whose days of action were over, and whose blood 
 was cold and sluggish, and who only sought a peaceful resting 
 place wherein to await the great change. 
 
 I hungered for knowledge, and they gave me crumbs of mystic 
 lore, that left me starving and ignorant as before. 
 
 I was full of the wildest ambitions, the keenest desire for power, 
 and they sought to make my mind and body alike subject to the 
 will and caprices of petty tyrants, whose narrow lives and cramped 
 dogmatic minds unfitted them to control the destiny of the mean 
 est slave! 
 
 They starved my Soul. They cramped my thoughts. They 
 well nigh extinguished life itself in pursuit of their pet theories, 
 and in their attempt to train me down to think and see as they did. 
 As well might they have taken a young eaglet from its lofty moun 
 tain nest and sought to make it lead the life of a barn-door fowl 1 
 
 What wonder then that my Soul revolted, and that being strong
 
 36 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 in mind as well as body I could not submit, like many of the un 
 happy neophytes around me, to sink into a mere tool, a poor 
 shadow of other men's thoughts! 
 
 At first I wrestled with myself, and strove to be content. I 
 thought it was the temptations of devils which assailed me with 
 this giant " Discontent." But my clear intellect could not thus 
 be satisfied with a sophism, a formula, doled out to all those whose 
 minds revolted from a state of existence for which they were 
 unsuited, and I grew at last to be so desperate in my desire for 
 freedom that right or wrong I vowed I would be free! no man, 
 be he Priest or layman, should shackle me! 
 
 When the timber is dry it wants but a spark to start a great 
 conflagration, and a mere spark, a chance word spoken in the 
 grave, pompous, monotonous tones of the High Priest was enough 
 to fan my smouldering revolt into flame. 
 
 He thought fit to reprove me for some trifling lapse of duty, 
 and I answered him, to his astonishment and anger. He quickly 
 imposed a penance of so many days of fasting and solitude, whereon 
 I told him that I would not obey him, that I hated the Temple 
 and its rules, and I hated him! I would go forth to be free! free! 
 
 In great wrath he told me such a thing was impossible: " None 
 who enter the Temple's walls ever leave them again to return to 
 the life of ordinary men, Oh! vain and presumptuous youth. A 
 temper like unto thine needs much discipline to subdue it, and 
 here there are means strong enough to do so, and those who have 
 the power to use them. Great is the penance such discontent as 
 thine doth merit. Such blindness to the blessings and privileges 
 thou hast enjoyed deserves severe punishment, and shall receive 
 it. Terrible is the fate which thou hast incurred by thine impious 
 discontent and desire to quit the sen-ice of the Temple; yea, even 
 death itself hath been awarded for such words as thou hast 
 spoken." 
 
 He delivered himself of these words in a hard, rasping, monoto 
 nous voice, and his manner and cruel want of sympathy with my 
 feelings so maddened me that, excited as I already was, I turned 
 upon him, and trembling in every limb with passion, sought to 
 push past him and leave the little cell. But he barred the way, 
 and tried to thrust me back. Whereon, reckless now in my revolt, 
 I struck him to the earth, and stepping over his prostrate body fled 
 for dear life, well knowing what penalty must await one whose 
 sacrilegious hand had struck down a Priest.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 37 
 
 I met no one on my way to the gates, for it was the hour at 
 which most of the inmates of the Temple were at private medita 
 tion or reposing. The gates were shut fast, and for a moment 
 I thought that I was lost. Then I beheld a tree whose branches 
 hung over the wall low enough for me to reach them with an active 
 spring, and soon I had swung myself by their aid on to the wall 
 and dropped down on the other side. I then ran for dear life, on 
 and on, stopping neither to look back nor where I was going, only 
 thankful that there were no signs of pursuit behind me. 
 
 For some hours I ran on, and at last, overcome by exhaustion, 
 I stopped and gazed around me. I was among great mountains, 
 whose dark passes and many precipices might easily afford me a 
 hiding place. How far from the Temple I was I could not guess, 
 but from the efforts I had made and the number of hours I had 
 struggled on I thought it must be far behind me. Whether I had 
 killed the Priest, or only stunned him, I did not much care; I was 
 still too angry to think much of it. And as I gazed up at the clear 
 star-lit sky above me, and watched the glittering canopy studded 
 with its myriad sparkling gems of light, a wild feeling of exulta 
 tion filled my Soul, for I was free at lastl 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE TRIBESMEN OF THE HILLS 
 
 I was so much exhausted by my exertions that, feeling myself 
 in comparative safety, I lay down upon the ground and was 
 soon fast asleep. 
 
 The sun was already high in the heavens ere I awoke, and 
 with my return to consciousness my naturally healthy appetite 
 asserted its claims with so much persistence that I was fain to 
 risk the danger of discovery and seek for some one from whom 
 I could buy food. 
 
 I had lain down upon a mountain side to sleep, and below 
 me there lay a wide valley wherein a herd of sheep and goats 
 were browsing, while the herdsman's tent could be distinguished 
 almost directly beneath the spot on which I stood. 
 
 387834
 
 38 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 I had no money, and nothing of value to offer in exchange 
 for such things as I desired save the gold chain I wore round 
 my neck. From this, by the aid of a sharp stone, I broke off 
 two of the massive links, and then made my way into the valley. 
 The herdsman was absent, but his wife, after a brisk barter 
 between us, agreed to give me a suit of her husband's clothes 
 and some goat's milk and cakes in exchange for my gold links. 
 I felt sure the woman was cheating me and giving me very little 
 for what I gave her, but her many questions embarrassed and 
 alarmed me, and I was anxious to hurry on once more. 
 
 As soon as I had got fairly out of sight of the valley I sat 
 down and ate ravenously; then, putting on the shepherd's clothes, 
 I made my neophyte's dress (which I knew would betray me 
 and make it easy to trace my flight) into a bundle, and looked 
 about for the most effectual means of disposing of it. 
 
 I was near the edge of a precipitous mountain gorge, at the 
 bottom of which I could dimly discern a small streamlet rushing 
 over its rocky bed. As it appeared practically inaccessible, I 
 resolved to throw my clothes down there, and in order to make 
 them fall the more securely I filled the bundle with lumps of 
 rock, tying them up as well as I could, and then threw them 
 over. In my haste I had not tied. them very securely, and as 
 they fell some of the stones tumbleu out, lightening the bundle 
 so much that instead of falling straight down, as I had hoped, 
 they were caught by the wind and blown on to a ledge of rock 
 about half-way down, where they lay half-spread out, and look 
 ing, to my chagrin, remarkably like a figure which had fallen 
 over the precipice. 
 
 I was so much disturbed by this mishap that I thought of 
 climbing down to dislodge them, but I soon found this was 
 impossible, owing to the steepness of the over-hanging rocks, 
 and I was obliged to go on and leave them where they lay. Lit 
 tle did I guess that to this incident I was to owe at once my 
 immunity from pursuit and the loss of a valuable protector. 
 
 As I had left the shepherd's valley in a westerly direction 
 I now resolved to double back, and passing behind it again 
 to make my way towards the South, hoping that if the shep 
 herd's wife had watched me she would thus be thrown off 
 the trail. 
 
 For two days I journeyed on, resting for a few hours in the 
 heat of the day and at night, and then hurrying on again, On
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 39 
 
 the evening of the second day I found myself among a low range 
 of foothills, beyond which lay a sandy desert. Here I resolved 
 to lie down and rest before attempting to cross it. I had not 
 slept long before I was rudely awakened by the glare of torches 
 held before my eyes, and the loud whisperings of about a dozen 
 rough-looking men who had just discovered me. I tried to 
 spring up and escape, but was at once seized, and a couple of 
 long knives were brandished within an inch of my face, while a 
 torrent of abuse, in the barbarous dialect of one of the Hill 
 Tribes, was poured upon me. 
 
 Seeing that resistance was worse than useless, I resigned 
 myself to my fate, relieved in part to find that these men were 
 at least not emissaries of the Priests sent to capture me. They 
 were very angry at finding nothing of value upon me, for I had 
 taken the precaution of hiding my gold chain in the high-peaked 
 sheep-skin cap I had got from the herdsman's wife. After feeling 
 me all over several times without any result, I heard them begin 
 to discuss the advisability of cutting my throat and throwing 
 me over the rocks, or else taking me as a captive to the Chief, 
 and I thought it high time to put in a word upon my own behalf. 
 So I said: 
 
 "Be not so angry, O Friends! that I have nothing of value 
 upon me wherewith to reward you for capturing me; rather 
 give me your pity, since I am a poor fugitive who has fled from 
 one danger only to encounter another still greater. Behold! 
 I am as a field of stubble that hath been well reaped already, 
 and which has nothing left to reward the labors of the after- 
 gleaners." 
 
 "By the Powers of Evil, thou art right," said one; "yet even 
 stubble is useful to burn, and thou shalt be set to work for us 
 if there is no other use we can put thee to. Who art thou, 
 and whence hast thou fled?" 
 
 I thought within myself that half a truth is better than a 
 whole lie, so I replied: 
 
 "I am a youth who has struck his master, and thus was I 
 obliged to fly." 
 
 At this they laughed, and one stnick me upon the back play 
 fully, yet somewhat too hard to be pleasant, saying: 
 
 "Hast thou done that? Then it was well done, and who 
 knows but that there may be good and useful stuff in thee, after 
 all! We will take thee to our Chief, and he shall decide thy
 
 40 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 fate." Saying which they proceeded to bind me hand and foot, 
 and having mounted me upon a horse they turned away from 
 the desert and rode through the Hills for some time. At last, 
 just as the sun arose, we paused at the entrance to a high rocky 
 gorge, and as I looked up to greet the rising orb of day I breathed 
 an earnest prayer for deliverance from this new danger. 
 
 Here they bandaged my eyes and lifted me from the horse, 
 leading me, as I could feel, up a steep pathway which wound 
 up and down for some distance, and at last, after much stumbling 
 and slipping, owing to my being unable to see where I was step 
 ping, I found myself upon level ground once more. The band 
 age was now taken from my eyes, and I found myself on the 
 edge of a very wide plateau high up among the Hills. A great 
 many handsome tents were dotted about the grassy plain, and 
 many sheep, goats, and camels were quietly feeding there, while 
 a number of handsome horses were tethered before their owners' 
 tents, making altogether quite a gay and prosperous scene. 
 
 As we approached the largest and most richly decorated 
 tent, a young girl came out, carrying a smoking dish of lamb's 
 meat and freshly cooked rice. She stopped to look at us, and 
 especially favored me with a glance from her black eyes, which 
 made my heart, unused as I was to the society of women, beat 
 with great rapidity. I bowed low to the girl as I returned her 
 look, and did my best to make my eyes express what my lips 
 did not dare to utter. Whether by accident or design, I do not 
 know, but at this juncture her veil became disarranged, and 
 ere she had replaced it I had obtained a very fair glimpse of 
 her face, with its full red lips, plump chin, and pink-tinted cheeks, 
 and as she hastily gathered the veil together I was ushered into 
 the presence of the Chief, a large, powerful, and decidedly fat 
 and coarse looking man in gaudy raiment, plundered no doubt 
 from some luckless caravan. 
 
 To his interrogations as to who I was, I told the same tale 
 as before, only suppressing the fact that my master had been a 
 Priest, for I feared that the superstitious dread which even tlu->c 
 wild lawless men felt for the Priesthood would render them 
 unwilling to shelter me if they knew that I had fled from a 
 Temple. I had resolved to throw myself upon the generosity 
 of the robbers, and to ask permission to remain for a time with 
 them, should I see that there was any fair prospect of my request 
 being granted. I argued that since I was myself an outlaw and
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 41 
 
 a fugitive I was more likely to find a safe asylum among men 
 who were also outside the pale of the law than anywhere else. 
 
 How matters might have gone with me I do not know, but 
 as I was telling my story the Chief's daughter, who proved to 
 be the girl I had seen outside, came in, and having listened to 
 my recital was so much prepossessed in my favor as to interpose 
 with her father on my behalf, and to such good effect that I 
 was offered the choice of being set at liberty or of joining the 
 band and becoming one of these marauders myself. I need 
 hardly say that I at once chose the latter alternative, as I could 
 see I was fully expected to do. 
 
 The idea of the bold free life led by these men so fired my 
 imagination, even as the tender glances from the dark eyes of 
 the Chief's daughter had inflamed my heart, that I expressed 
 my desire to be admitted into the band in such happy language 
 as to cause all the robbers to applaud my address, and welcome 
 me as a worthy comrade. 
 
 From this time the star of my destiny seemed rapidly in the 
 ascendant. I was presented with a handsome young horse and 
 a set of arms, and invited to test my prowess with those around 
 me. In the mountain life of my childhood I had learned to 
 ride and to excel in all those arts of horsemanship practised by 
 the Hill tribes, and from the wandering soldier who had returned 
 to our valley I had learned to use my weapons as a soldier should: 
 thus I acquitted myself so well that I won yet further distinction. 
 
 In very truth my exhilaration at finding myself once more 
 free, and mounted upon a swift horse able to fly like the wind 
 across the plains, would well have helped me to surmount far 
 greater difficulties than any I encountered; while all my natural 
 instincts in favor of war and its arts awoke >when I found myself 
 no longer surrounded by peaceful shepherds or pious Priests, 
 but by those who made warfare their trade, and robbery and 
 murder their profession. 
 
 After this I was able not only to hold my position with these 
 robbers, but even to become so popular a favorite that I was 
 finally chosen as the husband of the Chief's daughter and succes 
 sor to the Chief, who, being rather old and somewhat lazy, 
 and moreover having no son to succeed him, desired some one 
 to relieve him of the more laborious part of his duties. Before 
 my advent the most likely candidate for this honor was a man 
 named Hadji, and it may readily be supposed that my rapid
 
 42 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 rise into favor was as gall and wormwood to him, and that all 
 my attempts to conciliate him were in vain. 
 
 This wife who was thus bestowed unexpectedly upon me 
 and whose name was Dilferib was comely, but scarcely as beau 
 tiful as I had thought from the stray glimpses permitted to me 
 when she had partly unveiled her face, and her beauty, such as, 
 it was, was but the beauty whose charm is of youth. Her bold 
 black eyes, her slim and cypress waist, her pink cheeks and long 
 black hair, were distinctly charms of Earth and not of Heaven. 
 She was a forward girl, and soon developed into a coarse woman. 
 Her mind was dull; her intellect limited; her instincts petty and 
 selfish; while her temper was decidedly waspish. Her strongest 
 characteristics were a love of dress and gossip. Her sentiment 
 for me had been a passing fancy for a handsome youth different 
 from those around her, and she soon wearied of me, as I did of 
 her. She was utterly incapable of entering into any of my flights 
 of fancy, or understanding the poetic glamour I sought to throw 
 around my ideal of true love. She cared for me only so long 
 as I fed her vanity with words of flattery, and her love of finery 
 with handsome clothes. Very soon I wearied of her vulgar 
 blandishments, while her want of refinement jarred upon me 
 at every turn, and her charms palled upon my fastidious 
 taste. 
 
 Then, too, I grew tired of the paltry distinction of being a 
 leader of a petty mountain tribe of ignoble marauders, thievers 
 of other men's goods. The constant intriguing of Hadji filled 
 me with anger and contempt, and when my wife proceeded to 
 say that she questioned whether, after all, Hadji were not the 
 better man of the two, and that she feared she had made a mis 
 take in selecting me, I resolved to give her an early opportunity 
 of trying him as my successor. 
 
 The Hills around me seemed to shut me in and stifle me, 
 and I longed to go forth into the wide world once more and 
 measure myself with other men, even with the great ones of the 
 Earth, that I might find where my true position was amidst the 
 bustle of an active life, larger and broader in its interests than 
 any I had yet known. 
 
 I question whether at this time the sovereignty of the whole 
 Earth would have satisfied the cravings of that boundless ambi 
 tion which was awake within me, and I know the limits of the 
 known Universe would not have been wide enough to limit my
 
 43 
 
 incessant thirst for greater knowledge of every kind, especially 
 for a knowledge of that unseen world of which I had beheld 
 such wondrous glimpses, and whose mysteries I longed the more 
 intensely each day to explore. 
 
 For two years I lived amongst these mountain robbers, and 
 during that time no signs of pursuit had reached me, so that 
 from the Priests of Amurath I now felt comparatively safe. My 
 beard had grown full and thick, and with my change of dress so 
 altered my appearance that I scarcely feared recognition. 
 
 I therefore resolved to take the first chance of leaving my 
 present life, feeling very certain that my wife would soon con 
 sole herself for my disappearance by wedding the artful Hadji, 
 whom I wished all joy of his acquisition! 
 
 My opportunity soon came. We were sent to intercept a 
 rich convoy of merchandise, sent from Bokhara to Teheran, to 
 the King. We did not, however, win the easy victory we 
 expected, for the King had armed his servants well, and sent, 
 moreover, some soldiers to protect his goods, so that after a 
 sharp fight some of our band were killed and the rest took refuge 
 in rapid flight, myself being one of the first to quit the field as 
 soon as the melee' had fairly begun. 
 
 Once free from the hilly ground I gave my horse free rein, 
 and was soon galloping swiftly across the wide sandy plain. 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE TWO WAYS 
 
 Soon after midnight a silvery crescent moon rose in the sky, 
 and by its light and that of the silver stars I rode on, till moon 
 and stars began to pale and the grey dawn of another day 
 appeared. 
 
 All around me as far as the eye could reach there lay nothing 
 but this wild wilderness of sand, rolling in undulating billows 
 like waves upon the sea, while in the dim distance the Hills 
 which I had left far behind lay like faint blue specks on the 
 horizon.
 
 44 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 I rode onward for some time, till as the scorching rays of the 
 rapidly rising sun rendered further progress almost impossible, I 
 drew near to a small clump of date trees, beneath whose scanty 
 shade my horse and I lay down together to rest. 
 
 When I awoke the sun had already set, and the grey shadows 
 of approaching night were gathering fast over the desert, for so 
 far South was I there was but little twilight. 
 
 To me the evening hour has always been a time when a 
 sense of mystery and awe steals over the Soul, and fills it with 
 the subtle suggestion of strange and unknown things, whose 
 shapeless forms, hovering in the air, unseen yet not unfelt, are 
 akin and yet different to ourselves. 
 
 As I led my horse from beneath the trees I beheld before me 
 two paths, stretching across the desert, where path there was 
 none: the one bright and shining as though paved with snow- 
 white stones led to the Westward, as though to follow the track 
 of the setting sun. The other path stretched towards the South, 
 and its outline was dim, misty, and dark. 
 
 At the parting of the ways stood two figures, like unto Angels 
 with wings: the Spirits of the Light and Dark Spheres. 
 
 The one who stood upon the shining path was like a fair 
 young man, his robes white and sparkling as with silver stars. 
 All was fair and open to behold. The way seemed easy, and it 
 led to lands of glorious silver light on the far horizon. 
 
 The other Spirit was dim, indistinct, and shrouded with a 
 sombre veil. His face was half averted, and with one hand he 
 drew his mantle over it, while with the other he beckoned to 
 me. This figure seemed to express to me, Power, Majesty, the 
 successful pursuit of forbidden knowledge, the satisfaction of 
 ambition, the glowing passion of gratified desires. His shadowy 
 half averted face drew me to him with an intense longing to 
 rush forward and uncover that shrouded countenance, that I 
 might gaze upon the mysteries, be they beautiful or horrible, 
 blessed or accursed, which he thus hid from me. And as I 
 involuntarily took a step forward towards him my choice seemed 
 made the figures vanished, and to the South I resolved that 
 I would go. 
 
 It was as though the good and evil influences of my life had 
 contended with each other for dominion over my Soul, and for 
 the time the Evil had won. Many times as I rode Southward 
 was I tempted to turn back, but as often did I put the thought
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 45 
 
 away from me and ride on. For good or for ill I was fated to 
 taste of that knowledge whose mysteries the Angel of Darkness 
 had half revealed and half hidden from my sight. 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 JELAL-UD-DfN THE SORCERER 
 
 For four nights I rode on, resting always during the heat of 
 the day, and on the morning of the fifth day I beheld the towers 
 and walls of a large city rising in the far distance. I was so 
 overjoyed at this that I spread out my arms and bowed low upon 
 my horse's neck in a salutation of welcome to it, and hurrying 
 on my wearied steed I was able to reach it ere mid-day. 
 
 I had never been in a city before; I had seen nothing larger 
 than a mountain village; for although in my journey to the 
 Temple of Amurath from the Caucasian mountains I had passed 
 near the royal city of Teheran, the Priests in whose charge I 
 travelled had not permitted me to enter the walls. 
 
 As soon, therefore, as I had enjoyed a short rest and attended 
 to the welfare of my horse I sallied forth to explore the wonders 
 of the place, and after wandering for some hours through the 
 narrow streets I found myself at sunset on the outskirts of the 
 city, and in front of the Temple, which stood upon a slight 
 eminence and was approached by a long flight of handsome 
 steps. I ascended these that I might gain a last glimpse of the 
 sinking sun, but I did not venture to enter the doors, fearing 
 lest I might be recognised, and also because I had an uneasy 
 half belief that were I, an apostate who had laid violent hands 
 upon an annointed servant of the Gods, to venture within the 
 sacred precincts, some terrible vengeance of the offended Deity 
 would be visited upon me. I therefore hurried down the steps 
 again without delaying to take more than one look at the sun, 
 and was crossing the open ground with head bent down when 
 the shadow of a man fell across the path before me, and a voice 
 saluted me in very good Pehlvi but with the accent of a stran 
 ger.
 
 46 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 Somewhat startled, I looked up, and beheld a man of about 
 forty who was utterly unknown to me, and whose countenance 
 ri-pi-lled even while it attracted me. He was dressed in a robe 
 of very dark silk, bordered with red and yellow stripes. On his 
 head he wore a close fitting white cap, with long lappets hanging 
 to the shoulders stripped with narrow bands of black; a narrow 
 band of black passed round the head, and on the top there was 
 a crescent shaped ornament of gold, with a spike rising from the 
 middle, and having a curious resemblance to three horns. In 
 his hand he carried a long black wand, tipped with gold. His 
 complexion was almost black, and his large brilliant black eyes 
 seemed to glow with a sombre fire that had no softness in their 
 depths. His lips were full, his features high and of the Assyrian 
 type, while a long straight black beard covered and concealed 
 his cheeks and chin. As I regarded him with some surprise 
 and uneasiness he spoke again, saying: 
 
 "Nay, start not, nor question whether I mean harm to thee. 
 I come rather to befriend , and to offer thee a home in this strange 
 city, if thou dost care to listen to a proposal I would make for 
 thy benefit and mine own. Marvel not that I sought thee out, 
 for, behold! I can read thy future, even as I have read in part 
 thy past. The Book of Destiny is an open page before mine 
 eyes, and in it I perceive that thou shalt some day sit upon an 
 Emperor's throne, even as thou wearest now an Emperor's 
 chain around thy neck yea, do I also see that two of its links 
 are missing, skillfully as thou hast joined them again. The 
 broken chain is, methinks, an ill omen of thy success, but I cannot 
 behold thine end as yet." 
 
 Involuntarily I put my hand to my bosom to feel for the 
 chain, which I wore most carefully concealed there, but no part 
 of it was visible, and I was but the more startled by the man's 
 knowledge of it, and I said : 
 
 "What Is it to thee, O Stranger, whose gold I wear? Why 
 art thou concerned with the business of another?" 
 
 He gave a low sardonic laugh that had no mirth in it, as he 
 replied : 
 
 "Because the Star of thy Destiny hath crossed the path of 
 mine, and I know that we are fated to learn much more of each 
 other. Because, also, I see that thou dost possess the gift of 
 Divination, and powers which are of inestimable value to those 
 who know how to use them. I would enroll thee in my service,
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 47 
 
 and train thy gifts that they may be of use to thee and me. Thou 
 hast a thirst for knowlege: Behold! I can give thee knowledge 
 beyond aught that thou canst dream of now. I can reveal to 
 thine eyes mysteries that have been hid from all but the most 
 favored few, and I can guide thy steps upon the dark pathways 
 of the nether world, whereon only such bold spirits as thou and 
 I would dare to tread. All these things can I show to thee and 
 in return I ask that for a season thou shalt serve me, to learn a 
 secret which concerns me much." 
 
 "And w r ho art thou who makest such boundless promises? 
 How shall I know that thou hast these powers which thou dost 
 claim?" 
 
 "I am Jelalud-din," said he, haughtily. "Some men call me 
 the Sorcerer, others the Good Doctor, others again the Caster 
 of Magic Spells. There are none within this city who would 
 dare to doubt my power. I have long sought for one with gifts 
 like unto thine, and lo! when I beheld thee upon the Temple 
 steps I came out to meet thee." 
 
 *'Nay," answered I, impressed in spite of myself by his 
 words; "Nay, but I see no visions now." For in truth I had 
 seen none since my flight from the Temple. 
 
 "Hadst thou no vision when thou wert under the date trees?" 
 said Jelalud-din, slowly fixing his dark eyes upon my face. "If 
 thou sawest no vision why, then, didst thou choose the South 
 ward path?" 
 
 "Now I know that thou art in very truth a Sorcerer," cried I, 
 "for I was alone upon the desert; no eyes beheld that vision 
 but mine own; where then wert thou?" 
 
 "In mine own chamber, gazing upon thy Star, and upon 
 mine own For thy strange Star drew near unto mine and then 
 receded, and I put forth my will to draw thee unto me, for I 
 knew that the hour of our meeting was at hand." 
 
 Jelalud-din paused, and turning from me began to trace a 
 figure on the ground with the point of his wand, while I, 
 startled, bewildered, uncertain what to do, stood silently watch 
 ing him. His words had awakened in me a most keen desire 
 to know more of so extraordinary a man. The danger which I 
 instinctively felt lurked in such knowledge as he possessed only 
 made me the more eager to penetrate the mysteries of these 
 unhallowed powers. I had heard of men who practised for 
 bidden arts, and possessed powers transcending in many respects
 
 48 THE STORY OF AHRNIZIMAN 
 
 those of even the most favored Prophets of the Oracles them 
 selves, and my bold thoughts had many a time strayed longingly 
 upon the forbidden path, for I desired with all my Soul to raise 
 even a corner of the dark veil which hid the knowledge of these 
 dangerous things. 
 
 And Jelalud-din looked up at me and said: "It is because 
 thou thinkest such knowledge as mine is of the powers of evil 
 that thou dost hesitate to answer me. Yet are not all things 
 which are mysterious called by the unlearned 'evil'? Is it not 
 ignorance which is the true evil, and cannot those who know 
 how to do so pluck even from the poison flowers their sting, 
 leaving behind only the harmless blossoms? Join me if thou art 
 willing for a time, but I seek in no way to tie thee. I am no 
 Priest, to fear lest thou shouldst steal the secrets of a Temple, 
 or tell to the World how full of frailty are these vaunted teachers 
 of other men!" 
 
 He spoke in mingled accents of scorn and passion, and his 
 eyes glowed with a fierce fire of hatred when he mentioned the 
 Temple. After a brief pause he added: 
 
 "Thou hast shown thyself bold in the things which are of 
 Earth, be then as bold to search out the secrets which are not 
 of Earth. Yet I will urge thee no more, for I have fulfilled 
 my part in seeking speech with thee, and if thou art to join me 
 then must thou seek me for thyself. " 
 
 "Where shall I find thee," said I, "if I desire to join thee 
 when I have thought over all that thou hast said?" 
 
 "Thou shall find me in mine own house: all men know which 
 is the house of Jelalud-dln. But if thou seekest me it must be 
 when the stars have climbed the sky, and night's dark mantle 
 doth enshroud the Earth." 
 
 I assented to this, and bowing low to each other we parted, 
 but ere Jelalud-d!n turned away I saw that with his sandalled 
 foot he rubbed out carefully the signs he had been tracing on 
 the ground.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 49 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 SHADOWS OF THE FUTURE 
 
 It was shortly before midnight when I sought the house of 
 Jelalud-din. It had readily been pointed out to me in the evening, 
 but I found that no one was anxious to tell me much about its 
 owner. All men seemed to fear if not to dislike him, and while 
 they told me he was wealthy and learned they forebore, with 
 the caution of Orientals, to express any opinion as to his moral 
 character, and I could perceive that my inquiries for him had 
 caused me to be regarded with suspicion. 
 
 Jelalud din's dwelling was a large low stone building, with 
 one lofty tower rising from the middle, and affording a mag 
 nificent view of the stars by night and of the flat, slightly undu 
 lating country by day. It was situated in a retired part of the 
 city, close to one of the outer walls, and was surrounded by a 
 large uncultivated garden enclosed by very high walls, all these 
 circumstances tending to add to its seclusion and to the mystery 
 enveloping the character of its owner. 
 
 My summons at the gate was answered by a Nubian slave, 
 who was indeed the Sorcerer's sole attendant, and I was con 
 ducted through the wilderness of a garden to a small door in a 
 side wall near the tower. Here I was left while the slave 
 announced me to his master. In a little he returned, and I was 
 shown through a narrow passage to an ante-room, and then 
 into a large oblong apartment where Jelalud-din awaited me. 
 
 The room betokened the character of its inmate, for instead 
 of the rich hangings and luxurious cushions and soft carpets of 
 a Persian house of that class, its walls were covered by strange 
 objects of all kinds. The skulls and bones of animals and 
 men; the dried bodies and skins of reptiles; huge vampire bats, 
 and strange beasts. Bundles of dried herbs and gigantic trop 
 ical plants and grasses hung on the walls, intermixed with long 
 rows of shelves holding every variety of earthen jars, crucibles, 
 and retorts, and huge vessels of rough metal containing various
 
 5 o THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 chemical and strangely perfumed mixtures, with lumps of rock, 
 and specimens of various earths and stones, and crystals in the 
 rough state, and the plumage of rare birds, all grouped together 
 in strange confusion. Another wall was covered by little shelves 
 holding rolls of parchment, carefully tied; and near these hung 
 a curious looking dress of filmy black gauze, spangled with 
 small stars and queer hieroglyphics in gold thread, worked upon 
 it by the deft hands of some embroideress. Beside this dress 
 were two wands crossed, one tipped with gold and having a 
 golden star on the top, and the other tipped with silver, and 
 having a crescent intertwined with a triangle surmounting it. 
 A couple of tiger skins were spread upon the floor before a large 
 tripod, upon which some sweet-scented powder was burning. 
 Dark curtains of heavy silk hung before the doors and window, 
 and in one corner of the room a low archway seemed to lead to 
 a narrow stair giving access to the tower. In one corner a small 
 lamp was suspended, throwing a feeble glimmer of light across 
 the room, and beside the lamp, seated upon a pile of cushions, 
 was Jelal-ud-din himself. 
 
 As the slave retired the Sorcerer arose and saluted me, saying 
 to me in the Assyrian language, which my friend Abubatha 
 taught me to understand, "I bid you welcome," and signing 
 me to seat myself upon another pile of cushions beside his own 
 he produced a jar of rare wine and some costly sweetmeats 
 and invited me to partake of his hospitality, adding that "when 
 we had broken bread together I would no longer, he felt sure, 
 distrust him." He also suggested that for the future we should 
 converse in the Assyrian tongue, since I understood it, in order 
 that no chance eavesdropper should be able to overhear our 
 remarks. "For," said he, "even in the house of Jelal-ud-din 
 the walls have ears, and I perceive through yonder wall that 
 my slave Taki is even now striving to learn the purpose with 
 which thou hast sought me, and it were well to use a language 
 he doth not understand, since in this world one half of mankind 
 is ever more intent upon attending to the affairs of their neigh 
 bors than looking well after their own, and he who would differ 
 in his habits from those around him must expect to be surrounded 
 by spies, and they who will speak evil of him are many. Were 
 I to go forth now I should find Taki far from the door, and yet 
 do I see that he is even now upon his knees before it, straining 
 every nerve to hear us. Taki is but a wretched slave, a dog
 
 THE STORY OF AHR1NZIMAN 51 
 
 whom I might slay to-morrow; yet hath not even the infinitesimal 
 sandfly power to poison with its sting, although thou mayest 
 kill it the next instant? and such as Taki spread abroad through 
 out the streets the things done in secret within the chamber. 
 Let us then converse in the Assyrian tongue, since it is mine own 
 language and thou also dost understand it." 
 
 He then took the jar of wine and filled a cup which was 
 carved in a most beautiful manner from the pure rock crystal, 
 and set round with gems whose priceless value my experience 
 with the robbers enabled me to know. Having first put this 
 to his own lips he handed it to me, doing the same in like manner 
 with the cakes and sweetmeats, to show in how high esteem 
 and honor he held me. 
 
 Having finished this repast Jelal-ud-din arose, and taking 
 the lamp he searched carefully the outer room, and fastened 
 the door, doing the same with the one in the inner chamber 
 where we sat. He then placed the lamp behind a screen where 
 its light was scarcely visible, and returned to me, carrying in his 
 hand a small round disc of polished black marble, whose surface 
 reflected like a mirror. Across this he passed his hands several 
 times, and placing it within a curiously wrought frame of gold, 
 whereon were engraved numerous cabalistic signs, he gave it 
 into my hands, saying: "Look now into this mirror, and say 
 whether Jelal-ud-din hath restored thy powers of vision unto 
 thee." 
 
 I took the black disc and held it between my hands, fixing 
 my eyes upon it as I had been wont to do in the Temple with 
 the crystals given me by the Priests, and as I did so a grey mist, 
 like smoke, passed over the dark polished surface; a violent 
 trembling seized my limbs, and a wind as of ice blew over me 
 and seemed to freeze my blood, and stop for a moment the beat 
 ing of my heart. 
 
 As these feelings passed the face of the black mirror became 
 clear, and I beheld a face a man's face. Oh! Powers of evil! 
 can any mere words describe that face, or paint at once its ma 
 jestic beauty and its awful fiend like expression? The eyes 
 were fixed upon mine own, and as I gazed steadily upon them 
 they looked back an answer to my questioning thoughts. The 
 face varied in its expression, and the lips moved, though no 
 no sound came from them, and I seemed to sense, rather than 
 hear, each word as it was spoken. It appeared to say:
 
 52 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 "You ask who am I? Behold! I am the Angel of Dark 
 ness whom thou didst see upon the desert plain. No veil hides 
 now my face, and since thou canst thus steadily return my gaze 
 I know that thou hast courage to behold the wonders of my 
 sphere: wonders which my servant Jelal-ud-din shall reveal 
 unto thee." 
 
 The lips ceased to move, the eyes closed, the dark filmy veil 
 covered again the face which faded slowly away, leaving the 
 black surface of the mirror clear again. 
 
 I could not move a limb. I could make no motion even 
 with my eyes, which were fixed in a stony stare upon the mirror, 
 even as I myself was fixed like a rigid statue to the spot whereon 
 I stood. 
 
 Again the mist passed over the dark mirror, and this time 
 it showed to me a woman's face, beautiful as the dawn! lovely 
 as some fallen Peri of Paradise! I say 'as of some fallen Peri,' 
 for she bore upon her brow that Blood Red Star which is the 
 symbol of the fallen Angels, and amidst her dark hair the Star 
 of Darkness gleamed as a jewel in a diadem. Her glorious 
 eyes were veiled by long dark lashes, yet their gleam of passion 
 ate love transfixed my own as the magnetic glance of a snake 
 doth fascinate a bird. Her coral lips were wreathed in smiles, 
 yet were they as the smiles of one who can entrance but never 
 charm, and her expression was that of a refined and subtle sensu 
 ality, as evil as ever marked the looks of the most ensnaring 
 syren of the lowest Hell. Her features were perfect in all their 
 proportions, delicately chiselled as a statue of purest alabaster, 
 and lovely as the spirit of a dream. But over all there hung 
 the same stamp of subtly suggested evil, lurking one knew not 
 where, yet marring to the eyes of the Spirit the beauty which 
 charmed the senses. 
 
 As I continued to gaze her face seemed to cease to smile; 
 it leered at me, and her fairness was like a mask that hid the 
 treacherous nature of the Soul. But in spite of this my heart was 
 stirred with the most violent passion, the most intense desire to 
 possess her, which was as far as the wide poles are asunder from 
 that pure and beautiful ideal of love which I had hitherto cherished 
 and which Dilferib had so utterly failed to satisfy. And while I 
 looked upon this woman I knew that she was no mere vision, nor 
 even a disembodied spirit that I beheld, but a living, breathing 
 inhabitant of Earth, whose life would yet be linked unto my own, 
 for that in the Book of our Destinies so it was even written.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 53 
 
 My intense desire to touch this woman caused me to lift my 
 hand, when lo! the spell which held me was broken and all van 
 ished from my sight. 
 
 The low mocking laugh of Jelal-ud-din broke upon my ear 
 and as I turned almost fiercely upon him in my disappointment, 
 he said in a tone of great bitterness, and with the slow measured 
 speech as of one in a dream : 
 
 "Yea, even so it is with thee. The charm of love is still the 
 potent spell; thou hast not tasted yet of its hollowness. Thou 
 hast not learned how the fires of passion can sear and wither up 
 the heart, till naught but its empty shell is left. Take up the 
 mirror once again, and I will show thee other things more worthy 
 man's ambition." 
 
 Mechanically I turned to look at the black disc again, and once 
 more the smoke-like mist passed across its surface and the cold 
 breeze chilled my blood and stopped the beating of my heart. 
 But the feelings were fainter, and the pictures more dim and indis 
 tinct, not clear as before, for I had broken the threads of com 
 munication between myself and the Other World, and the visions 
 were marred by the hasty joining of the links. 
 
 As pictures traced in smoke I first saw a man seated upon a 
 winged horse, with a winged helmet upon his head and a spear 
 held out before him, as though he charged upon a foe. I saw him 
 fall from his horse and lie trampled in the dust, while a whole legion 
 of warriors appeared to ride over his prostrate body. Then I saw 
 the man and horse arise and spread their wings, and soar away 
 beyond the power of my sight to follow. 
 
 I saw a woman draped all in sombre black lie writhing upon 
 the ground in mortal agony, yet not able to die. I saw her drag 
 herself along the ground of what seemed a narrow passage like a 
 tomb, and tear with her finger nails at the hard walls, and dig like 
 a wild beast at the hard ground, in frantic efforts to get out, till I 
 could bear the sight no longer; and then she vanished. 
 
 I saw a man lie dying on a bed, surrounded by many courtiers, 
 and many slaves, yet calling always for some one who came not 
 unto him. 
 
 I saw this picture give place unto another, wherein there was 
 a throne, and three figures contended for it. First one sat thereon 
 then seemed to fall from it and lie writhing on the ground in the 
 fearful agony of violent death. Then the second figure ascended 
 the steps of the throne, but ere he could seat himself I saw him
 
 54 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 stagger and cast his arms up as though fighting many foes, ere he 
 fell dead beside the throne. Then I saw the third man cast him 
 self in the Royal Chair, and a curtain fell between him and myself. 
 
 Next I saw a procession of veiled figures pass me, all turning 
 away their heads as they drew near, till one woman came, anil 
 raised her veil, and I beheld the face of a woman of exceeding 
 beauty; the beauty of the late summer of life, the mature charms 
 of one past youth yet handsome still. But the face, though hand 
 some, was cruel, and her glance seemed to wither my heart anil 
 turn my blood to ice. She gave me a mocking triumphant smile 
 of vindictive hate ere she let fall her veil and passed on. 
 
 And last of all I saw a black figure crawl like a snake along the 
 ground toward me, and as I gazed it seemed to spit out its venom 
 at me, and show me the face of a black slave, quite unknown to 
 me, as were all the figures in my visions. 
 
 This last picture vanished. I raised my eyes from the mirror, 
 and Behold! the room was full of misty forms, human and yet 
 inhuman in their shapes; dim as smoke wreaths, yet none the lea 
 distinct and palpable to my sight. They floated round Jelal-u 1- 
 din and myself, yet they touched us not, nor came within the circle 
 around us. In Jelal-ud-dln's hand he held the mystic wand, 
 tipped with the triangle and the crescent, which he extended at 
 arm's length to keep them back, uttering some words in a tone of 
 command in a strange unknown tongue. And as he waved them 
 away they receded from us, and vanished like a cloud of dark mist, 
 till jelal-ud-din and I stood there alone. 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 MY EVIL GENIUS 
 
 The day was breaking as I left the house of Jelal-ud-din and 
 the contrast between the clear light shed around by the rapidly 
 rising sun, and the dark mysterious room which I had left, was 
 like that between Good and Evil. Yet even as I saluted the orb of 
 day, true symbol of Purity and Life, I did not waver in my deter-
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 55 
 
 mination to accept the offer which the Sorcerer had made me. I 
 had opened the Book of Forbidden Mysteries and looked within, 
 and it was impossible for me to close it again till I had learned the 
 knowledge contained within its pages. The very dangers in 
 volved in its pursuit gave to it only an added zest to my adventurous 
 spirit. For what bold explorer of unknown paths was ever yet 
 deterred from following them out by a knowledge of the treacher 
 ous nature of the ground he sought to traverse? Everyone be 
 lieves that in some fashion Luck will especially befriend him, and 
 that where others have met destruction he will yet be safe. 
 
 It is of the very nature of such studies as Jelal-ud-din was 
 engaged upon that their fascinations once felt cannot again be 
 shaken off. I accepted the Sorcerer's proposals the more readily 
 because he, reading aright my haughty, impetuous temper ever 
 impatient of control, sought to impose no open restrictions upon 
 my perfect freedom of life. He invited me to join him as an 
 equal, a friend and a pupil, and allowed me to cheat myself with 
 the belief that therefore neither my mind nor my body would be 
 subject to him in any way. And yet, had I not been already 
 blinded by the strong magnetic attraction exercised by this man, 
 and dominated by his masterful intelligence, I should have real 
 ized how powerful was the spell he had cast over me, and how 
 completely his will had subordinated mine, so that, to all appear 
 ance free, I was in truth his slave already. 
 
 I brought my horse with me to Jelal-ud-din's house, and suf 
 fered no one but myself to attend to the faithful animal, no other 
 hand but my own to touch it. And many were the long rides I 
 enjoyed, as we sped like the wind across the wide plain. Had I 
 been asked to resign my horse and live shut up, as in the days I 
 spent in the Temple of Amurath, I should soon have wearied of 
 the confinement, but Jelal-ud-din, in his wisdom, sought not to 
 trammel the freedom of my movements, and I came and went as 
 I listed, rode or studied as I felt inclined. All he exacted from 
 me was an oath that under no circumstances, while my life on 
 Earth should last, would I impart to another the mysteries I had 
 learned from him an oath which I faithfully kept during my 
 mortal life, and which I only break now because Jelal-ud-din 
 himself no longer desires that I should keep it. 
 
 My Master devoted himself first to instructing me in the 
 various methods of using my psychic powers, and showed me 
 how to make them subordinate to my will. In the Temple I had
 
 5 6 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 been the blind, often the unconscious, instrument whose powers 
 were used by others. Jelal-ud-din taught me how to use them 
 myself, and initiated me into the mystery of leaving my body at 
 will and roaming through the Spirit Spheres, and holding com 
 munion with their inhabitants. He warned me, however, never 
 to attempt this unless he was with me, as I had not yet attained 
 to the degree of knowledge and power which would render me 
 safe in doing so. I pressed him very earnestly to give me this 
 knowledge, but he would not do so, although he promised that 
 later on he would in all respects satisfy my desires. He declared 
 that as yet the time had not fully come when it could be imparted 
 to me, and I felt when he said this what I had felt more than once 
 before, that he showed me enough to make me of use to himself, 
 and to whet my appetite for more, yet always held in his own 
 hands a certain reserve of knowledge which kept me dependent 
 upon him. 
 
 He would send my disembodied Spirit to visit certain places 
 and people of whom he desired to obtain secret information, and 
 was able to obtain from me perfectly clear descriptions of what 
 I beheld or heard, although I myself, on waking from my semi- 
 trance, only retained a confused consciousnes of where I had been. 
 Not till long afterwards did I learn to what use he put the knowl 
 edge he gained. 
 
 When I first saw Jelal-ud-din I thought, as I have said, that 
 he was about forty years of age, but when I came to know him I 
 changed this estimate, for ten times forty years would not have 
 sufficed for. the accumulation of all the knowledge and experience 
 which he had acquired, and I was not surprised to learn that he 
 was one of those strangely gifted beings who, having discovered 
 the secret of how to defy the assaults of time and arrest the decay 
 of the earthly body, are able to prolong their earthly lives for an 
 indefinite period. What this secret was he did not impart to me, 
 nor did he show any desire to speak of his past history, but from 
 many little circumstances I gathered that there had been incidents 
 in that past which filled his Soul with intense bitterness towards 
 all in a position above him, and gave him an antagonistic feeling 
 to most of his kind. And while he thirsted always for more and 
 more power to control the forces of the Unseen Universe around 
 him, it was chiefly in order that through their aid he might humili 
 ate the powerful Rulers of men who sought his help, or whom he 
 was able indirectly to influence.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 57 
 
 Jelal-ud-din's occupations were many and secret, and his 
 wonderful reputation for skill, both as a magician and as a practi 
 tioner of medicine, was due to no mere charlatanism, but to a real 
 and profound knowledge, not only of the anatomy of the human 
 body, but of chemistry, and the action of the various drugs which 
 he prescribed. He carried on a perfectly legitimate and even 
 beneficial business in curing many people of wounds and diseases 
 which would have appeared to be fatal, and while he exacted a 
 handsome reward for these services from the rich he gave time 
 and skill for nothing to those who were poor, and was ever gen 
 erous in assisting the truly unfortunate, so that he had fairly 
 earned the title given him by many of the ' ' Good Doctor." Well 
 would it have been for him and his immortal welfare if he had 
 confined the use of his power to such ends, but with the para 
 doxical contradictions of this man's strange character, he was as 
 ready, or even more so, to use his skill in furthering an evil as a 
 good purpose, and were the payment made to him sufficient to 
 tempt a strange avaricious love of hoarding which he showed, he 
 would kill even more readily than cure. 
 
 He had a large number of clients who sought his aid either to 
 remove troublesome rivals or to blight the prospects of those 
 against whom some spite was cherished. He also sold certain 
 love potions, which really did cause those who drank them to 
 exhibit, at all events for a time, the most intense passion for one 
 towards whom they had previously shown indifference or dislike. 
 He cast spells over some, and sold charms and amulets to others, 
 which certainly appeared to possess the virtues he claimed for 
 them. To my inquiry whether there was indeed power in the 
 drugs he sold, and the charms and spells he cast, he replied with 
 his sardonic smile: 
 
 "In the little phial I gave to yonder love sick maid who hath but 
 just left us there was naught but a little water and some drops of 
 a powerful drug, which soothes the nerves and calms the brain, 
 and produces that pleasing sensation of repose which is the first 
 essential to the thorough enjoyment of amorous thoughts. But 
 that phial and its contents have been subjected to my magnetic 
 influence, and have absorbed so much of my personality that they 
 now form a focus to which my thoughts can travel, as on a slender 
 thread of magnetic communication. I can thus project my will 
 unto the person who has drunk of my drug, and I can cause him or 
 her to feel the sensations I desire they should feel, in a greater or
 
 5 8 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 less degree, according as I am able to enter into their sphere, and 
 then in very truth they will exhibit those emotions which I have 
 desired that they should show; they will feel sorry or glad, ill or 
 well, at my bidding." 
 
 And with his amulets and charms it was the same. In them 
 there would be certain chemical properties calculated to assist 
 the effects he desired, but it was the intellect and powerful will of 
 the Sorcerer himself which gave them their strongest virtue. The 
 powerful magnetism of a man like Jelal-ud-din once imparted to 
 a wand or ring or other article will remain so long as the object 
 lasts in an entire state, or until a more potent influence is brought 
 to bear upon it. It is this magnetic influence which constitutes 
 the peculiar virtue of these charms, because it makes of the object 
 so magnetised a powerful focus of attraction for a number of 
 Astral creatures of every kind. These, being once attracted to 
 the object, cling to it, much as iron does to loadstone, and the 
 possessor of one of the magic (or magnetic) charms can, if he but 
 possess the requisite knowledge, use the Astral beings who have 
 been brought under the dominion of the original possessor's influ 
 ence to carry out any desire which he, the actual holder of the 
 charm, may wish. 
 
 Many a time have I beheld these phantasmal beings hovering 
 around Jelal-ud-din and myself as we sat poring over ancient 
 parchments which he had obtained from the archives of Magi 
 cians who had long since passed from their earthly bodies, bi}t 
 whose magnetic influence still clung around these embodiments 
 of their thoughts and studies. But as I only beheld these Astral 
 beings dimly, and as the explanations of their nature and powers 
 which Jelal-ud-din gave me were mixed with a good deal of error 
 as well as much truth, I shall reserve my account of them till the 
 second half of my story, when I myself beheld them with the clear 
 unveiled eyes of the spirit, and learned how difficult was the 
 attempt to study them from the mortal side of life, where the 
 earthly envelope imposes so many restrictions on the sight and 
 hearing of the Soul.* 
 
 It is not given to many mortals to behold these Astral forms 
 of life at all. The faculty which would enable man to do so is 
 seldom found in more than the germ state during the life of the 
 Soul in the spheres of that planet upon which it has found incar 
 nate life. Many Spirits who have passed the first stage of earthly 
 
 *See note I as to obsessions.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 59 
 
 existence cannot even perceive them. They assure those mortals 
 with whom they communicate that such forms of life do not exist, 
 their limited knowledge (and ignorance that it is limited) prevent 
 ing them from realizing that a still more etherealized form of sight 
 than they, even as Spirits, possess, may be needful to show these 
 things which are invisible to them even as the things of the Spirit 
 World are invisible to mortal eyes. To behold clearly, and to 
 judge truly, the nature of these aerial phantoms of the astral plane 
 requires a peculiar and very irksome process of development, 
 which few mortals would care to undergo, while fewer still possess 
 the needful qualities of super-refined Soul-sight. 
 
 That which has been denominated "Astral matter" exists not 
 alone in the spheres around the planets but extends through all 
 the Universe, constituting in fact a hitherto unrecognized element 
 of that Universe. The term "Astral matter" (so called for lack 
 of a better word to express the difference between Spiritual and 
 Material matter), is used to describe that coarsest and most gross 
 form of Astral Life found in the Earth Plane and in close prox 
 imity to material life, whose elements mix largely in the formation 
 of those Astral bodies which form a second shell, as one may say, 
 to the Soul, during its life on Earth and on the Earth Plane. This 
 gross form of Astral Life being mixed largely with physical atoms 
 may be, and often is, perceived by clairvoyants of a low degree of 
 power, and being thus seen is often mistaken for the true Soul- 
 envelopes of those who have passed from Earth life, and who may 
 even have passed to the second sphere, leaving this Astral shell 
 to disintegrate alone. 
 
 Jelal-ud-din and those great teachers of the occult under 
 whom he had spent many years in patient study, were only able 
 to search into the mysteries of this intermediate race of beings 
 with the imperfect powers of their earth-encumbered Spirits, and 
 although they learned much concerning those beings, who ap 
 proach most closely in their constitution to man himself, they 
 were yet ignorant of the more subtle, more refined, and more 
 intellectually created Astrals who constitute the REAL danger 
 attending the intercourse of man and these semi-human powers. 
 He who would seek to make them his slaves, and to use them as 
 tools for the furtherance of his own selfish purposes, should under 
 stand all the laws, many and complex as they are, which regulate 
 the existence of such beings; and who so tries to control them 
 without such perfect knowledge is like a man who sleeps sur-
 
 60 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 rounded by deadly explosives, that a single chance spark may 
 ignite and cause his utter destruction. 
 
 A perfect understanding of these Spiritual laws, wherein lies 
 man's safety from the assaults of these Astral powers, can only 
 be gained in the spheres of Spirit life, and it is therefore never safe 
 for Mortals to attempt in any way to control these Beings. Those 
 who have done so in the past have, sooner or later, in Earth or 
 Spirit life, paid to the full the dread penalty of their temerity. 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 DRIFTING DOWNWARDS 
 
 As soon as darkness approached Jelal-ud-din and I began our 
 studies. He would draw around us with his magic wand certain 
 figures of triangles, circles, and other devices, till we were walled 
 in by an invisible barrier against our invisible foes. As my clair 
 voyant powers developed I perceived that from the point of his 
 black wand a faint blue flame of spiritual ether flowed as he traced 
 out each figure. The degree of materiality possessed by this flame 
 being in exact proportion to that of the Astral beings around us, 
 served to keep them beyond its barrier, for Jelal-ud-din traced 
 upon the ceiling, as upon the floor, his mystic circles, so that these 
 two walls of flame, spreading downwards and floating upwards, 
 formed a cage of spiritual fire within which we sat secure, while 
 outside prowled, like wild beasts of prey, those strange and hor 
 rible creatures which the powerful magnetism generated during 
 our experiments attracted, as moths are attracted to the flame of 
 a candle. The faint blue flames would glimmer around us till 
 day dawned, when the glorious purifying rays of the sun would 
 illuminate the Earth and put to flight those creatures of darkness 
 and night. 
 
 While surrounded by our circles of mystic fire I would behold 
 many visions, and more than once did I see the face of the woman 
 \\h>se charms had so entranced my senses. But although I 
 strove with all my powers to discover who she was and where she 
 lived, no sign was ever given to guide me to her, although every-
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 61 
 
 thing I saw tended to prove the reality of her existence. To my 
 inquiries Jelal-ud-din would reply that when he consulted the 
 stars on my behalf the result was ever the same, and showed that 
 the hour of my meeting with her was not yet come, that it was 
 indeed some distance away. "As yet" said he, "she doth appear 
 to me as a maid of tender years; thou hast beheld her as she will 
 be when thou dost meet. But rest tranquil, oh, most impatient 
 youth ! Possess thy Soul in patience, for thou canst no more hurry 
 on the hands upon the dial of events than thou canst delay them, 
 and at the appointed time shall thy destiny and hers be fulfilled." 
 
 Neither was he able to explain those other visions which he 
 had caused me to see. It was one thing to will that the future 
 should be shadowed out before me, and another to rightly inter 
 pret the meaning of the things I saw. 
 
 Thus in following out first one branch and then another of 
 mystic lore did time glide on for us so swiftly that four years passed 
 ere I had well marked its flight. Each day I sank more com 
 pletely under the dominion of Jelal-ud-din's will; each day did I 
 hesitate less and less at following his example and his counsels, 
 even when in my heart I knew them to be evil. From the first 
 some instinct had whispered to me to beware of this man, but I 
 put aside the warning voice and allowed myself to deteriorate 
 more and more under his influence. I had never learned the 
 lessons of self-control and self-restraint, and if I desired a thing 
 I did not hesitate to possess myself of it. In the Temple my 
 nature had been repressed and crushed : in no respect taught and 
 trained. That knowledge of myself and of the consequences 
 which result from our own actions, which might have served as a 
 certain restraint upon the too exuberant passions of my youth, had 
 never been given to me. My life with the robbers of the Hills had 
 not tended to elevate my moral perceptions, and the teachings of 
 Jelalud-din were still less calculated to do so. He, for certain rea 
 sons of his own, desired above all thing to degrade me to his own 
 level, and I had no shield with which to resist the temptations with 
 which he assailed me. As I sank downwards so did he unmask yet 
 more and more his real character, and show me first one dark 
 plague spot and then another. The vices of gluttony and drunk 
 enness did not tempt either of us; but are there not other vices even 
 more degrading? The secret habits we indulged in at this time 
 were such as to lower us below the level of the irresponsible brutes, 
 even while the cultivation of our intellectual powers enabled us
 
 62 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 to control the services of those Earth-bound Spirits, and those 
 denizens of the Astral Plane, whose moral condition placed them 
 on as low a level as ourselves. 
 
 Thus did my evil genius drag me down with him, till we had 
 well nigh sunk into the pit of corruption together. 
 
 I had become almost like a machine in the hands of this man; 
 he had but to command and I obeyed. He would bid me behold 
 certain things, or visit certain places, and if it was within the limits 
 of that sphere to which I had sunk, I would at once pass into the 
 trance state and give him the desired information. 
 
 My mind and my body at last became alike enfeebled by the 
 constant strain put upon them, and I made ever a fainter resist 
 ance to the influence of Jelal-ud-dln. 
 
 Let no one ever resign the sovereignty of himself, his mind or 
 body, into the hands of another, be he Priest or layman. For a 
 man's freedom is his Divine Prerogative, and he who yields it to 
 another is more abject than the lowest slave. 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE SECRET OF JELAL-CD-DIN 
 
 It was in the beginning of the fifth year of my residence with 
 Jelal-ud-din that I learned at last the real reason why he had 
 sought me out, and had directed all his ingenuity to bringing me 
 down to a spiritual level with himself. 
 
 I had soon learned that he had lived for a number of years far 
 beyond the bounds of the ordinary space alloted to man, but I 
 did not guess that he no longer found the means he had previ 
 ously used for this end capable of producing the desired effo t. 
 and that each day he was growing more feverishly anxious to learn 
 the secret of their failure. 
 
 I had observed from the first a very curious change which 
 passed over Jelal-ud-dln at times, and which of late had thrown 
 much more marked. In the early morning he would appear fresh 
 and young looking, but as evening drew on he would graduually 
 change, growing years older in appearance in a few hours; his
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 63 
 
 hands in particular greatly showed the appearance of age, grow 
 ing withered, shrunken, and yellow as old parchment, such as 
 one sees in the hands of very old people; for it is a strange fact 
 that the hands will show age even when the face remains com 
 paratively young. 
 
 In the fourth year of my residence with the Sorcerer this change 
 instead of only coming on occasionally, began to appear almost 
 every day, and his face would even grow haggard and old while 
 I was looking at him. On such occasions he would at once 
 dismiss me, and shut himself up alone for some hours, reappear 
 ing with his youth again restored. Yet I could see that he was 
 daily consumed with a growing anxiety on the subject. 
 
 At last one day as we were sitting together his head fell forward 
 suddenly, his body shrank and shrivelled up into the semblance 
 of a mummy rather than a man, while the change which passed 
 over his face was so ghastly and horrible that I shrank back in 
 horror and alarm. He could not speak, but he signed to me with 
 his old imperiousness of manner to leave the room, while the foam 
 of passion gathered upon his lips, and his hands were clinched 
 together in an agony of helpless wrath as he sank upon the floor. 
 
 So great was my subjection to him that I did not venture to 
 remain and offer to help him, but I hovered about outside, till I 
 heard a scratching, scraping noise, followed by my master's voice 
 speaking in faint and feeble tones to some invisible Beings; then, 
 as the voice grew stronger, I strode away to my room. 
 
 I did not venture down for some hours, and when I did so I 
 found Jelal-ud-din seated on his cushions and looking once more 
 like his former self, save for a certain haggard drawn look on his 
 face, and a nervous twitching of his hands. 
 
 "Ahrinziman," said he, "I regret that thou shouldst have seen 
 me under the influence of that strange mishap, but it may be that 
 after all it will help thee the better to understand what I desire to 
 tell thee. Thou hast been for four years my companion and 
 pupil. To thee have I confided secrets I have shown to no other 
 mortal, and therefore I would confide to thee yet another secret 
 more precious than any thou hast yet learned. 
 
 "Thou knowest that I have already lived far beyond the limits 
 of the life lived by ordinary men, but thou dost not know that five 
 centuries have passed since first mine eyes opened to the light of 
 Earth. In those years I have renewed again, and ever yet again, 
 the vital fluid which holds together the atoms of the mortal body;
 
 64 THE STORY OF AHRINZINAN 
 
 thus have I kept at bay the cold clutch of Death, whose icy hand 
 doth separate the Spirit from its covering and send it forth to I 
 know not what dark depths of Hell. For those who have dared, 
 as I and thou also to lift aside the veil which hides 
 the darkest secrets of Ahriman and his Angels, there awaits upon 
 the black shores of Death's stream many a vengeful fiend whose 
 power we have defied, and whom I at least have subjected to my 
 will and made my slave, but to whom I myself may become sub 
 ject when I enter those realms where they, and not I, shall reign 
 supreme. Judge then^ if such as I am dare to die? Think, 
 whether unto me all means are not lawful whereby I may retain 
 my hold upon this earthly body that serves as my shield against 
 these evil powers with which I have tampered, and whom I have 
 defied? Wonder not that I seek from thee, Oh! my worthy pupil, 
 the help which thou alone canst give. I have trained thee for four 
 years; thou dost behold now that sphere wherein lies the knowl 
 edge I desire, and to-night thou and I must seek it together. I 
 cannot longer delay the time. I can no further prepare thee, for 
 each day I lose more rapidly the vitality I have acquired, and each 
 time that I consult the stars I perceive that the span of my life has 
 shortened by many days. The means I have used successfully 
 for many years of the past have begun to fail me now. I lose my 
 life forces more rapidly than I can renew them. Something is 
 required that was not required at first, and thou must find out for 
 me what that element is. To night, as I have said, we shall seek 
 for it. Meanwhile do thou gaze into yonder black mirror again, 
 and let the invisible ones around us show thee what shall be the 
 outcome of our experiment; shall success or failure be my fate?" 
 
 His eyes glittered as he said this, with the glare of a hungry 
 wolf that would fain tear in pieces anything whose destruction 
 might give him the desired food, and I thought within myself he 
 would have slain a hundred men if he could but extract one pre 
 cious drop of Life from each. I recoiled from him, and 
 took up the mirror as he commanded, and waited while the mist 
 passed over its face. 
 
 "What dost thou behold?" cried my Master impatiently. 
 
 "I see," said I, "naught but a black cloth or curtain. I see 
 every fold of its drapery, but it rises not to show me anything 
 behind." 
 
 "Oh! Powers of Ahriman!" cried Jelal-ud-d!n in a voice 
 of entreaty, "Oh! Ye Angels of the Dark Spheres whom I have
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 65 
 
 served ! Raise, I pray thee, but one corner of this veil, that we 
 may know the secret thou dost hide, and learn whether life or 
 death is hid behind that veil for me. Ahrinziman, look yet again, 
 dost thou behold yet nothing?" 
 
 I looked steadily at the mirror, yet the vision changed not. No 
 corner of the black curtain was raised, and I told Jelal-ud-din 
 so. And even as I did so the curtain itself faded out, leaving no 
 picture there. In vain I waited; nothing more appeared. 
 
 Jelal-ud-din wrung his hands in bitter disappointment. Then 
 rousing himself he said: 
 
 "Be it even so, since the Oracles are dumb to me. I must be 
 patient till to-night. I shall send Taki a two days' journey from 
 the city, that he may not spy upon us, and then thou and I together 
 will wrest from the Powers of Darkness this secret that they so 
 jealously guard from mine eyes. Go thou and seek repose, that 
 thou mayest gather up all thy powers, for, methinks, that curtain 
 which they have shown is the symbol of silence, and they will 
 answer no questions that we ask now." 
 
 I bowed low to my Master and left the room. But although 
 I said nothing to him, I had my own thoughts as to the meaning 
 of the vision. For to me the curtain had not seemed like unto 
 the curtain of silence, but rather it resembled to my eyes a Funeral 
 Pall. 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE ANGEL OF DARKNESS 
 
 As soon as the black slave Taki had fairly started on his jour 
 ney, and it grew dark, Jelal-ud-din took me into the garden, and 
 leading me to the fountain showed me where he kept his treasure 
 and some of his most valuable manuscripts concealed. For he 
 had always the fear that some day his house might be attacked, 
 and he himself glad of a hiding place for his wealth as well as his 
 person. Those who engage in such practices as Jelal-ud-din 
 make of necessity many enemies, who would be only too glad of 
 an excuse to attack and plunder them.
 
 66 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 My Master first drained all the water out of the marble basin, 
 and then showed me how to raise one of the large squares that 
 paved the bottom. We saw before us a narrow flight of steps, 
 and on descending them I found myself in a small oblong chamber 
 like a vault. Here were a number of iron bound chests of very 
 massive construction, which evidently held the wealth which the 
 Sorcerer had accumulated during his extraordinary life. In other 
 chests of lighter make there were a number of parchment rolls. 
 Jelal-ud-dm took out three of these rolls, and then with my assist 
 ance carried up one of the massive chests into the house, taking 
 the precaution, however, to close the stone before we left the 
 fountain. 
 
 The weight of the chest rather surprised me as we brought it 
 in, and the contents surprised me still more, for it appeared to be 
 full of large lumps of heavy metal, like a mixture of lead and 
 silver. These my Master put into a large smelting pot over a 
 small furnace in his room, and as soon as the mass became molten 
 he poured it into a large mould. All the time it was melting he 
 continued to chant, in a low, monotonous voice, an incantation, 
 as I imagined, to those Powers of Evil whose aid he sought. 
 Having made all arrangements for cooling the metal which he had 
 poured into the mould, he led me up the narrow stairs to the tower, 
 saying that those whom he had summoned to his aid him must be 
 left to do their task alone. 
 
 Having reached the tiny chamber at the top of the tower he 
 drew the heavy hangings across the openings of the windows, and 
 having thus shrouded us in darkness he bade me look at his hands 
 and tell him what colors were visible to my clairvoyant sight 
 as emanating from them. 
 
 "Each color which thou wilt see doth show the presence of 
 certain essences which go to form the complete life fluid, by whose 
 agency the particles of the body are held together. If they are all 
 equally balanced then is the life force strong and vigorous, but if 
 any are faint and pale then will the body exhibit signs of disease, 
 and if any of them fail altogether, so that the spectrum becomes 
 incomplete, then must death follow within a brief period, for each 
 element is needful to hold the whole in combination. I am con 
 scious that one or more of these elements is wanting in a great 
 degree to myself; which ones I cannot myself discover. Do thou 
 look then and tell me." 
 
 For some moments I could behold nothing. The extreme
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 67 
 
 darkness made it impossible to see with my physical eyes, and for 
 a short time my clairvoyant sight seemed gone from me. After 
 about half an hour of anxious watching I began to see a faint 
 cloud of mist hovering around the place where Jelal-ud-din stood. 
 This grew into two long tongues of parti-colored flames, which 
 seemed to pour out of his extended hands. The complete rainbow- 
 band was visible, on the top the blue-white light was a mere 
 thread, while the crimson at the foot was as a wide torrent of 
 flame. The blue was small, and the gold mixed with dark 
 streaks, like a stream that has become muddy.* 
 
 Jelal-du-din's delight was great when he found that I could 
 see this. It seemed to revive his drooping hopes and renew his 
 courage. 
 
 "Behold," said he, "thy gifts are of a great and priceless value, 
 Ahrinziman. Many seers have I tried, but none could behold 
 this vital rainbow with such clearness as thou hast done. Many 
 see it in part, but few indeed can subdivide those parts into dis 
 tinct threads of color. Some behold only the prevailing color of 
 each individual person whose spectrum they can discern; few can 
 recognize that all colors must be present in the aura of every man, 
 or else he would die. They see the prevailing colors and think 
 that is all there is to see, and that therefore the full rainbow is not 
 present in all animated nature. Do thou rest passive now, while 
 I ask a yet further test from thy powers." 
 
 *The life of Man is sustained by a fine etheric fluid composed of three 
 elements the animistic or mental life essence the astral fluid or magnetism 
 of the intermediate magnetic plane between soul and body and the aura 
 or aroma of the physical plane the material essence of physical organic 
 life. The blending of these three constitute the perfect psychic or 
 mediumistic nature! an unequal proportion of any of the three causes a 
 certain disturbance in the equilibrium which renders the mortal either too 
 sensitive or too irresponsive to spiritual influences. 
 
 The whole process of materialisation and de-materialisation depends 
 on the balancing of the three elements and their action on one another. 
 
 Thus one who has a superflow of the magnetic fluid may cause objects 
 to move around him without contact and yet cannot help spirits to appear 
 in material form; again one with a strong mental essence but a deficiency 
 of the other may see and hear the visitants of the other plane or project 
 themselves into other planes yet cannot cause the materialisation of any 
 psychic body. Yet put the two extremes together and add the soul essence 
 and aromal essence to them and you can create life in the physical form 
 instantly. But the permanence of such a material apparition will depend 
 entirely on the amount of soul essence with which you can endow your 
 creation. F. W. THURSTAN, M. A.
 
 68 
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 He now approached me and drew some figure upon the floor 
 in front of where I stood, and I saw the blue flame as it flowed 
 from his wand tracing it in lines of light. Then he made some 
 passes over me, and the flames of crimson fire which flowed from 
 his fingers seemed to scorch my brain, and cause a stupor to pass 
 over me, and numb my limbs, till I grew fixed rigidly to the spot 
 whereon I stood. And as in a dream, yet a dream with all my 
 faculties in fullest consciousness, I heard Jelal-ud-din call upon 
 the Angel of Darkness to appear. 
 
 The tower seemed to rock with an earthquake. A rolling, 
 rushing noise as of an approaching army of the Unseen was heard 
 and I saw a brilliant Star of Crimson Fire pass through the roof 
 and rest upon the floor. From its heart there arose the figure of 
 a man: a tall majestic man, clothed from head to foot in a long 
 black mantle. He seemed to rise and rise before me, till he stood 
 a dark, distinct figure surrounded by rays of fire. He drew aside 
 the covering from his head and face, and I beheld once more the 
 fearful countenance of that Angel of Darkness I had seen on my 
 first visit to Jelal-ud-din. 
 
 I was so completely entranced that I could not move even an 
 eyelid, but I could see and hear all that passed, and I knew that 
 the Ik-ing who stood before me now was no mere vision reflected 
 to me from the face of a magic mirror, but the actual Spirit him 
 self, clothed with a materiality that would have made him visible 
 to any mortal sight, surrounded as he was by that dull glow of 
 crimson li.^ht. 
 
 As Jelal-ud-din prostrated himself before him, the Dark Angel 
 said in a low, deep tone: 
 
 "Thou hast summoned me, and lo! I am here. What dost 
 thou desire of me?" 
 
 "Oh, Great Spirit! Powerful Angel! I ask from Thee the 
 boon of a yet longer life on Earth, and I conjure Thee, by the many 
 years in which I have served Thee, that thou shouldst reveal to me 
 what are the means whereby I can attain the boon." 
 
 "Art thou certain that the life of Earth is so sweet a thing that 
 thou hast no other desire than to prolong it?" said the Angel, 
 fixing his sombre eyes on Jelal-ud-din's fa 
 
 "Yea," answered the Sorcerer humbly, "Yea, above all things 
 do I desire it, for I know what the life of mortality is, but who can 
 paint to me the life of that unknown World beyond the Tomb." 
 
 "It is enough," answered the Angel. " In so far as lies in my
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 69 
 
 power I grant thee thy petition. But know, oh man of Earth, 
 that Life and Death are not within my power to give. Neither 
 Angel nor Mortal can bestow that, since they are the gifts of the 
 one Supreme Being alone, before whose almighty will the angels 
 of the Light and Dark Spheres alike must bow. What I can give 
 to thee is the knowledge of the means whereby life may be sus 
 tained, and thou thyself must use them to the appointed end, be 
 it for good or evil unto thee." 
 
 He struck the floor thrice with his foot as he spoke, and where 
 his foot had rested I perceived a small thick roll of parchment rise, 
 as though it rose through the floor. To this he pointed, saying: 
 
 "Read thou that scroll and follow the directions it gives thee, 
 and thou shalt hold within thy grasp the secret which means Life 
 or Death for thee. I bid thee not 'farewell,' oh, Jelal-ud-din, my 
 worthy servant ! for I foresee that we shall meet again ere long." 
 
 He drew his mantle once more over his face, then extending 
 his arms like wings above his head, the Dark Angel seemed to 
 rise and soar from the tower, till the black clouds of night shrouded 
 him from sight. 
 
 I awoke from my trance, to behold Jelal-ud-din thrusting the 
 precious roll within his robe, jealously guarding it even from my 
 eyes. 
 
 "Oh, Ahrinziman!" he cried in a tone of great exultation, 
 "thou art indeed of priceless value to me. Little did I ever hope 
 that such success as this would crown my researches. Dost thou 
 know that this scroll I have received is in the veritable writing of 
 the greatest Master of our magic art that ever lived? It hath 
 been said that when at last, weary of the life of Earth, he laid 
 himself down to die, he made those around him vow to place this 
 papyrus roll between his dead hands and bury it with him in the 
 tomb, that none might learn the secret he had discovered. It was 
 also said that this man had discovered the grave of Adam, the 
 forefather of all mankind, and that in the same grave where rest 
 fhe bones of Adam this great Magician was laid to rest. Vainly 
 have I and others sought for this tomb, that we might possess our 
 selves of the secret of life which the dead Master held within his 
 dead hands. Yet ever in vain have we sought it, for who knoweth 
 where is the grave of Adam, and how should one discover what 
 so powerful a Magician desired to keep secret? And now, behold 
 in mine own hands I hold this mystic scroll, and thou and I to 
 gether shall test its virtues to-night. Thou art worthy of great
 
 7 o 
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 recompense, Ahrinziman, for by thy power was the Angel able 
 to manifest himself to me. For years have I held communion 
 with him, yet was it ever imperfectly. His words came to me as 
 thoughts, whose meanings I could but guess. To-night for the 
 first time he hath spoken in the direct voice unto me, and for the 
 first time I have beheld him clearly. And, Oh ! most precious gift 
 of all, he hath given unto me this wondrous scroll. Verily, Ahrin 
 ziman, thou shall choose from my treasure chests such riches as 
 thou dost desire, and I will show thee the secrets of many won 
 drous things. But come, let us descend, for the work of the Dark 
 Spirits will now be finished in the chamber below, and we have 
 yet much to do ere day shall dawn." 
 
 We accordingly returned to the Sorcerer's room, where we 
 found the large smelting cauldron, which he had cast from the 
 rough lumps of metal in the box, ready now for use. The exhila 
 ration of my Master was so great, and his excitement so keen, I 
 scarcely knew him, and I thought unto myself that it was no good 
 omen of success; for when our hopes are highest is oft the time 
 when misfortune is nearest to our hand, and an exaggeration of 
 expectancy, like unto Jelal-ud-din's is most oft the fore-runner 
 of a great disaster. 
 
 Jelal-ud-din trimmed carefully his lamp, and placed it on the 
 table beside him. Then, having first thrown certain herbs into 
 the cauldron, and added some chemicals from hermetically sealed 
 jars which he had brought from the vault beneath the fountain, 
 he placed the whole mixture over the fire in the brazier, and bade 
 me watch for one hour that it did not stop simmering, while he 
 himself sat down to read the precious papyrus scroll. 
 
 For about an hour he read on, and as I watched him from time 
 to time I saw his face change its expression from one of expecta 
 tion to doubt and even fear, while he glanced over at me uneasily, 
 lowering his eyes the moment they met mine, as though he dared 
 not meet my questioning gaze. Yet as often as I looked up I 
 would find him regarding me again with the same curious uneasy 
 expression. 
 
 At last he rose, and thrusting the scroll within his bosom, 
 approached the fire, and having tested the contents of the cauldron 
 declared that it had reached the first complete stage of preparation. 
 He therefore transferred it to another vessel suitable for distilling 
 the liquid, and as it rose in steam let it fall drop by drop into a 
 golden bowl beside the fire.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 71 
 
 Jelal-ud-din now proceeded to trace anew upon the floor his 
 protecting wall of Spiritual fire, and threw a handful of sweet 
 scented powder into the brazier. As the smoke arose from it I 
 saw a grey misty shape recoil from the precious cauldron, and 
 with a gesture of menace disappear. As I told Jelal-ud -din this 
 he gave a sigh of intense relief, saying: 
 
 "I did not behold yonder shape, yet I sensed his presence, and 
 I knew that were he to touch the golden bowl all our labor would 
 be wasted. I was too long absorbed in the reading of that scroll, 
 and had well nigh suffered one of the evil Spirits to break in upon 
 us. See, now, as this mixture distills I will tell thee why it was 
 that I left the metal pot to be manipulated by the Dark Spirits 
 who wait upon me. As I left it, it was but made by mortal hands, 
 and would have held only the material part of these ingredients 
 I put in it. The Spiritual essence that I desire above all things to 
 preserve would have escaped. The Elixir of Life would have 
 evaporated. Thus did I leave the Spirits of Darkness to work 
 upon the pot, and make it suitable for our work of darkness. Each 
 time that cauldron is made use of it must be destroyed and cast 
 afresh. Thrice already have I thus used it who knoweth how 
 many more times I shall do so? 
 
 "Ahrinziman, do thou withdraw a little from me for a time; 
 sit yonder, near the window, for I have that to do which I must 
 do alone, and at the right moment I shall again summon thee to 
 draw near and lift the vessel down with me." 
 
 He spoke in a voice of constraint, and again avoided meeting 
 my eyes, while his hands trembled as with an ague as he signed to 
 me to withdraw. His manner also had changed. The state of 
 exhilaration had passed, and he looked haggard and anxious and 
 ill at ease. 
 
 I withdrew to near the heavily curtained window and seated 
 myself upon some cushions, to watch the 'progress of events, sus 
 pecting strongly that my Master did not desire that I should 
 behold all he did, although he required my presence in the room.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 MY ANGEL OF LIGHT 
 
 Nearly an hour passed. Jelal-ud-din hung all the time over 
 the precious pot and its contents, scarce turning to look at me, but 
 muttering strange incantations from time to time, and making 
 with his wand mystic figures in the air, or throwing fresh scented 
 powder into the brazier. He seemed to be absorbed in his experi 
 ment, and almost oblivious of my presence. My clairvoyant 
 sight seemed unusually clear, for I beheld around us more dis 
 tinctly than ever, the cloudy phantoms of the Astral Plane, who 
 seemed to float around the room and pass through the walls and 
 ceiling and rise up through the floor as though the solid masonry 
 had been a barrier of water or of air. Only the ring of magic fire 
 kept them away from us, and as the precious liquid simmered in 
 the vessel they appeared to gather in ever thickening clouds, 
 pressing forward upon one another until those next the flaming 
 ring were almost forced through it by the pressure from behind. 
 
 How shall I describe the multiform variety of strange, grotesque 
 and horrible creatures that I saw? Some large, and towering 
 like giant phantoms over all the rest; others, winged like unto a 
 mixture of men and dragons; creatures that resembled wild 
 beasts in their bodies, yet had the faces of men; imps and dwarfs; 
 some all huge heads with scarce any bodies; others, all large 
 bloated bodies and no heads. Phantoms that were in all respects 
 like unto men and women, yet of bodies so unsubstantial that 
 they seemed to dissolve like smoke wreaths, and then form 
 into shape again. Beings that were like all the fantastic creations 
 of man's wandering thoughts, and yet possessing each its own 
 individuality, its curious resemblance to the human type. WiM 
 and horrible looking human Spirits, Earth-bound and miserable, 
 mingled with this phantom throng, and fought with them in a 
 fierce desire to approach and grasp this precious essence of Life. 
 Huge misty shapes drew near, like and yet unlike to men, and 
 hovered like brooding Spirits of Evil around the fiery ring. Here
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 73 
 
 and there a head or arm, a foot or face, would suddenly receive 
 materiality from the powerful atmosphere of material magnetism 
 which we had generated around us, and vivified with the emana 
 tions from the precious Life-giving Elixir; and with the material 
 ity this head or foot or face would become distinct and visible to 
 Jelal-ud -din's sight as well as to mine, causing him to re-double his 
 precautions and replenish his wavering circle of fire, through which 
 the wild Phantom horde threatened at every moment to burst in 
 a great torrent of destroying fiends of Darkness. 
 
 Distant rumbling as of thunder resounded above us and 
 approached us, as fresh and yet ever fresh hordes of black Spirits 
 gathered round. The house appeared to rock and sway with the 
 assaults of this mighty multitude of unknown foes, and as time 
 passed on, and drop by drop of the precious mixture fell into the 
 golden bowl, the excitement around us seemed to approach a 
 climax, and each moment, methought, would be our last. 
 
 And now a change passed over the vital fluid distilling into 
 the golden bowl. A crimson cloud arose above it, then changed 
 into rose color, and faded into a delicate pink; then changed again 
 to violet and lilac, then into blue, green and yellow, and lastly 
 into silver and white, till a glow as of a rainbow cloud hung above 
 the mystic jar containing it. 
 
 At this moment I became conscious that in the darkness of the 
 curtains where I sat there gleamed a Star a faint Star, yet there 
 it shone ! And as I turned to gaze at it I saw again my Angel of 
 Light, unseen through all the long years since my childhood, but 
 visible again at last. She looked not however as I had seen her 
 before, radiant and bright, her robes glittering with Silver Stars. 
 She was dim and misty, as though I beheld her through a cloud of 
 mist. Her face, too, was sad. Her eyes looked as though she 
 wept. Her long garments seemed to cling to her, as though 
 drenched with her own tears. She held out her arms to me im 
 ploringly, and beckoned to me to come. 
 
 And I arose to follow her, for I could not resist the pleading 
 of her looks, and my heart was stirred at the sight of her by the 
 old passionate feeling of love and longing to clasp her to my heart. 
 I forgot the experiments. I had well nigh forgotten Jelal-ud-din, 
 as I rose to follow my White Angel from that dread room of mys 
 tery and fear. 
 
 As I raised a corner of the curtain to pass out, I looked back. 
 There stood Jelal-ud-din, bending like an old, old man as he
 
 74 
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 stooped over the precious golden bowl, almost filled now with the 
 drops of life-giving fluid. His hands were out-stretched like the 
 claws of a bird of prey that waits to clutch its expected food. His 
 eyes were fixed with greedy expectancy upon the last few drops 
 as they slowly fell one by one into the bowl. He seemed lost to 
 all thoughts but the one great thought of self-preservation. Above 
 his head floated the rainbow cloud, around him glimmered the 
 ring of pale blue flame, and outside the fierce Phantoms fought 
 like maniacs in their frantic efforts to break through. 
 
 I dropped the curtain and passed out, impelled by a power 
 stronger than my sense of fidelity to Jelal-ud-clin, stronger than 
 any influence I had yet felt, and followed the figure of my White 
 Angel as she led me on, floating before me, her head half turned 
 to see that I still followed, until we reached the place where my 
 horse was stabled. There she paused, and pointing to the door, 
 vanished from my sight. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 THE MAGIC SCROLL 
 
 As my White Angel disappeared I remembered my Master, 
 and full of remorse at having thus abandoned him I hurried back 
 to the house. 
 
 As I entered the room I saw that the mystic circles of flame had 
 died out, although the fire still burnt in the brazier, and by its 
 light I saw that the vessel for distilling the Elixir lay on the floor; 
 near it lay the golden bowl, overturned and empty, save for a 
 single drop of the Golden Fluid. Beside it lay the Sorcerer him 
 self dead. It did not need that I should look at his distorted 
 limbs, twisted and contorted in all the agonies of a violent death; 
 at his eyes, starting from their sockets and staring in wide open 
 fear of some unknown thing of terror; at his half open mouth from 
 which the swollen tongue protruded, and from which some drops 
 of black blood oozed, to tell me that he was past all human aid. 
 His robe had fallen back from one arm, which was bent above his 
 head as if though to ward off an attack. On the bare wrist were
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 75 
 
 the marks of giant fingers, scorched and burnt into the flesh like 
 the marks from a hot iron; and on his throat were marks of a 
 similar hand, which had evidently strangled him. 
 
 I drew back from the fearful sight in horror and remorse, and 
 my first thought was to fly from the accursed place. Then I 
 bethought me of the Sorcerer's many valuable manuscripts, con 
 taining in some of them knowledge that was of priceless value, 
 and not all evil, embodying as it did the patient researches of many 
 years of labor in the pursuit of scientific knowledge, and I knew 
 that so soon as Jelal-ud-din's death should be discovered his house 
 would be pillaged and his papers destroyed or carried away. 
 
 I resolved, therefore, to place them for safety in the vault 
 beneath the fountain, until opportunity was afforded to me to 
 take them away. I accordingly put as many of them as I could 
 there, taking with me three, which I knew referred only to the 
 practice of the medical art. I also took with me the black wand 
 and the magic mirror. 
 
 Having gathered up my own possessions, which were in my 
 room, together with some gems of value which Jelal-ud-din had 
 at various times given to me, I returned to the room where the 
 dead man lay, and was about to leave the house when my eyes 
 fell upon the rapidly stiffening figure of the unfortunate Sorcerer, 
 and I thought that I would throw a cover over the ghastly face. 
 I could not bring myself to touch him, to close those staring eyes 
 or straighten those twisted limbs, but as I took up one of the tiger 
 skins to place over him I saw the papyrus scroll within the bosom 
 of his robe, and filled with curiosity to read its secret, I drew it 
 out and thrust it into my girdle. As I did so I could not but 
 notice that the same extraordinary change which had once at 
 least, to my knowledge, passed over the living body of the Magi 
 cian had come over it now. Since I had first beheld it the dead 
 body had begun to shrink and shrivel up. The yellow skin hung 
 in a thousand creases on the shrunken frame. The look of age 
 was beyond anything one could imagine, and in that shrivelled 
 withered form it was difficult to recognize Jelal-ud-din. It was 
 as though he was turning into dust before my eyes, and I wondered 
 as I looked down upon him whether there would be more than a 
 heap of bones, a little dust and a pile of clothing, by the time the 
 black slave Taki returned and his master's death was discovered. 
 It was as though the Earth was claiming all at once the decaying 
 body of which it had been so long defrauded.
 
 76 THE STORY OF AHRNIZIMAN 
 
 As I turned away and left the dead Magician amidst the para 
 phernalia of his mystic art, which had proved so powerless to save 
 him from the grim hand of Death, I felt as if the spell which had 
 hung over me for four years was broken at last, and I had awak 
 ened as from a dream, restored to my freedom of will once more. 
 It appeared as though a sudden access of life and vigor filled my 
 veins. The strange lassitude that had of late oppressed me with 
 a feeling of having all my limbs weighed down by invisible weights, 
 and which deprived me of the energy to think or plan for myself, 
 was gone. I felt once more that I could do or dare, not as the 
 tool of another, but as one who fights and labors for himself. 
 
 As I passed into the grey light of morning I thought of that 
 other morning four years before, when I had come from my first 
 visit to Jelal-ud-din in that house of darkness, and passed into the 
 clear light of the dawning day; and I questioned within myself 
 whether the knowledge I had gained had indeed been worth the 
 price I had paid for it, resolving, as I thought over all these things, 
 that I would turn to a good use on behalf of my fellow men the 
 wisdom I had learned amidst so much evil. 
 
 Having saddled my horse I lost no time in quitting the city, 
 for I knew that under the circumstances of Jelal-ud-din's death, 
 at a time when he and I had been alone together, it would be im 
 possible to convince any one that I was innocent of his murder, 
 and I resolved to put a wide space between myself and the dead 
 man before the death should be discovered. 
 
 I rode onward, avoiding all villages and towns, till night fell, 
 when I encamped upon a rocky eminence, and lighted a fire with 
 brushwood to keep away the beasts of prey which prowled around. 
 I did not venture to sleep, although I was growing terribly fatigued 
 by the excitement and the exertions of the past day and night, but 
 I lay down beside my horse, and drawing the papyrus roll from 
 my girdle resolved to keep myself awake by reading it, which, 
 thanks to my studies with Jelal-ud-din, I was able to do. 
 
 It began by setting forth the various means by which the vital 
 fluid could be renewed, and in what substances it could be found 
 in the purest state. Then it gave some directions for extracting 
 it, and went on to explain, that for those who had already renewed 
 their span of life to thrice the period alloted unto man it required 
 a stronger and yet ever stronger degree of power in the vital Eilxir 
 to enable the atoms of the body to hold together. It then went 
 on to say that, as with each renewal of life the crumbling body
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 77 
 
 required yet more and more of the vitality to be incessantly poured 
 into it as food, the writer advised that either the fast decaying body 
 should be abandoned and a fresh body from which the lawful 
 Spirit owner had been ejected, should be taken possession of, or 
 else that some young and vigorous person, in whose veins the 
 blood yet coursed warm and red and full of vitality, should be 
 kept in close proximity to the seeker after perpetual life, in order 
 that the young fresh life should feed with its magnetism the one 
 whose body was old, and thus save it from the too rapid waste of 
 the precious fluid it had absorbed. 
 
 "Or," said the manuscript, "if thou dost prefer it, thou seeker 
 after endless life, thou canst suck as a vampire-spirit the life from 
 many a slumbering mortal, returning to thine own mortal cover 
 ing ere dawn to renew its life with the life thou hast thus gained. 
 Yet beware that you dost not try this means of sustaining life after 
 thou hast for the fifth time drunk of the great Elixir, for by the 
 time thou hast tasted of it for the fifth time thou canst no more 
 with safety leave thy crumbling shell, else will it turn into swift 
 decay and leave thy Spirit without mortal covering. There be 
 some that claim that they can construct anew a body for them 
 selves. Yea, and it is even so. Yet this body will hold together 
 for so brief a space of time it were not possible to cling to Earth 
 by such means. From time to time the Spirit may manifest 
 itself through such a body, but it can enjoy none of the pleasures 
 of the Earth life while in it, since all its efforts must be directed 
 to preserving it from disintegration. If, then, thou dost desire to 
 live the life of mortal men, then thou must steal a body from an 
 other, or else steal from many the mortal life-essence which shall 
 sustain thine own. 
 
 "There is yet a third and darker way by which those who find 
 they cannot possess themselves of the body of another may yet 
 steal from him his young, fresh life. Let there be an Elixir made, 
 the strongest and most powerful that can be distilled, and when the 
 rainbow cloud shall form, and the last golden drops fall within the 
 bowl, let the man with strong young life throbbing in all his veins 
 draw near and touch the vessel wherein is contained this 
 strong Elixir, for as the stronger body doth attract the weaker, 
 as the larger draws to it the smaller, as the loadstone draws to it 
 the iron, so will the powerful life within the bowl draw to it the life 
 contained within the mortal body of the youth, and as the mortal 
 body, deprived thus suddenly of its young life, shall sink upon the
 
 78 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 ground, he who can drink at once of the grand Elixir shall absorb 
 both the life that was contained within the body of the youth and 
 that contained in the magic liquid so shall he renew his life for 
 yet another hundred years, or it may be even more. Yet let him 
 beware! The Powers of Darkness are not mocked, for behold 
 *********** 
 
 I had read so far, and was about to turn the page, when from 
 the darkness of the night there came forth a hand ! A gigantic 
 hand, that terminated at the wrist, which grasped the papyrus 
 scroll and snatched it from my hold, vanishing with it as suddenly 
 as it had appeared. 
 
 Thus did the secrets it contained remain in greater part a 
 a secret still. 
 
 But I had read enough. I knew now why Jelal-ud-dtn had 
 been so disturbed by the reading of it, and why he no longer dared 
 to meet my gaze. And I recognized with an emotion of thank 
 fulness the sudden death from which my Angel of Light had 
 saved me. 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 I MEET ZULEIKA 
 
 I made my way through Persia into the Hill country of Afghan 
 istan, and in the city of Herat I took up my abode. I had resolved 
 to practice as a professor of the medical art, and with the knowl 
 edge taught me by Jelal-ud-dln I wrought many successful cures. 
 With the darker mysteries I tampered not, for the horror of my 
 Master's death was yet strong upon me; and although I kept his 
 magic wand and the mirror, and certain other things, I did not use 
 them, and such gifts of Divination as I possessed I used at this 
 time only to aid me in my work of healing those who came to me 
 for help. 
 
 Ere long I made for myself an honorable reputation, and was 
 sent for by even the highest class of citizens, and for a time I re-
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 79 
 
 mained quietly and contentedly living as one highly respected and 
 esteemed. 
 
 And now I bethought myself of taking unto me another wife. 
 I had learned from the manuscripts of Jelal-ud-din how to guard 
 my body when my Spirit should be absent from it, and I had taken 
 occasion to go thus unknown to visit the wife whom I had left 
 among the robber tents in the mountains of Persia. 
 
 I found her, as I expected, already wed unto my rival Hadji. 
 The old Chief was dead, and Hadji ruled in his stead over the 
 tribe, while Dilferib ruled with no gentle hand over Hadji. 
 
 I therefore felt myself to be at liberty to find another partner, 
 and began to look round at all the fair maidens whose parents 
 I knew. My idea of love had been somewhat sullied in my life 
 with Jelal-ud-din. Women no longer appeared such sacred 
 divinities to me, and I had begun to despair of ever meeting one 
 who could inspire in my heart a romantic attachment. Little did I 
 dream that the crisis of my life, so far as love was concerned, was 
 so near at hand. 
 
 There was an Arabian merchant in the city with whom I was 
 somewhat intimate, and on my mentioning my desire to find a wife, 
 he invited me to visit his family. He had, he said, three daugh 
 ters, each of whom was esteemed to be beautiful, and I might 
 choose, if I pleased, one of them. 
 
 Accordingly I was invited to a feast, after which these maidens 
 were each in turn to unveil before me. 
 
 The merchant had a niece as well as three daughters, and as 
 the youngest daughter had already set her affections upon a youth, 
 it was agreed among the girls themselves that the niece should 
 quietly take her place without telling the merchant, for as the 
 youngest daughter was considered the most beautiful it was feared 
 that I might select her. 
 
 The niece, whose name was Zuleika, was the orphan daughter 
 of the merchant's brother, who had settled in Turkey and married 
 a Circassian lady of great beauty but faithless disposition, who had 
 escaped with her lover, leaving behind the little daughter who 
 was their only child. At the father's death this girl had been 
 adopted by the good merchant, Abou Hassan, and brought up 
 with his own daughters. 
 
 I need not dwell upon the entertainment given to me by the 
 merchant, nor describe the charms of the two elder daughters, 
 whose blushing faces were momentarily unveiled to my eyes with-
 
 8o THE STORY OF AHR1NZIMAN 
 
 out exciting more than a passing sensation of admiration for their 
 comeliness. 
 
 The third girl, whom the merchant imagined to be his young 
 est daughter, drew her veil very slightly aside, showing to me a 
 face which surpassed the others in beauty of feature and perfec 
 tion of coloring. But it was not her loveliness which caused the 
 sudden throb of my heart, the quick rush of blood through all my 
 veins, but the fact that as this third maiden unveiled before me I 
 recognized the long sought for face of the girl I had seen in the 
 magic mirror, on that eventful night when I had first visited Jelal- 
 ud-din. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 MY MARRIAGE WITH ZULEIKA 
 
 The worthy merchant Abou Hassan was somewhat chagrined 
 when he found that his niece and pot his daughter had been 
 selected to become my wife, and he was angry at the trick which 
 had been played upon him. However, being somewhat of a 
 philosopher, he consoled himself with the reflection that in any 
 case it was well that Zuleika should be provided for, and gave his 
 assent to our union not ungraciously. I pressed for an early 
 marriage, for if the mere reflection of this girl's face projected to 
 me in a mirror had so entranced my senses, her bodily presence 
 had doubly enchained my heart, and I was consumed by the most 
 impatient desire to marry her with as little delay as possible. 
 
 Of the strange warning against her %vhich her appearance in 
 the mirror had conveyed to me, I thought but little, attributing 
 to the influence of Jelal-ud -din's room all that had conveyed a 
 suggestion of evil in Zuleika herself. She was but a young girl 
 brought up in the strict seclusion of her uncle's home, and it was 
 impossible to look at the guileless innocence of her lovely face, 
 with its modestly drooping dark eyes that would scarce raise 
 themselves to look at me, and still associate a thought of evil with 
 her. No! I felt sure she was an Angel of goodness and purity,
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 81 
 
 and I longed with all my soul to hasten the day which should make 
 her my own. 
 
 The jewels which had been given to me by Jelal-ud-din were, 
 as I have said, of considerable value, and I had thought it as well 
 to part with them to a merchant who dealt in precious stones. I 
 had, moreover, made a good deal of money by the practice of the 
 healing art, so that I was in a position to make my presents to the 
 bride and her family both numerous and costly, and I was accord 
 ingly treated with a corresponding amount of favor. Zuleika 
 herself I did not again behold unveiled, but I was permitted several 
 interviews in the presence of her family, and the impression she 
 had made upon me was, if possible, deepened each time. 
 
 At last all the many customs and ceremonies attending a mar 
 riage in the East had been complied with and I was permitted 
 to take my bride home to my own house at last. The time which 
 followed was one of such intense happiness, of such an intoxica 
 tion of love, that even now, after all this lapse of time, I sigh as I 
 look back upon it, and would fain, were it but possible, recall again, 
 if but for an hour, the illusions and the bliss of that time. That 
 Zuleika should love me as much as I loved her was not to be ex 
 pected. Only in the perfect union between twin souls is found 
 the perfect unity of love, and Zuleika was in many respects the 
 opposite of my true ideal, although she had so completely usurped 
 the place of it that I could no longer dream of any perfections 
 which were not possessed by her. She was clever, witty, and full of 
 resources. She never palled upon nor wearied me, as poor Dilferib 
 had done. Zuleika seemed to divine my thoughts ere I could utter 
 them, and gratify my wishes when they were but half formed in 
 my own mind. Although ignorant of life, her intuitions were so 
 keen she never appeared awkward or at a loss, even under the 
 most trying circumstances. By nature a coquette, she learnt 
 almost at once the arts by which women enslave men, and make 
 the cleverest and most worldly of us mere puppets in their hands. 
 She was an actress by instinct, and it came more easily and 
 naturally to her to feign an emotion than to feel one, for she was 
 herself incapable of real deep feeling of any kind, save in-as-much 
 as she desired always to enjoy the highest measure of comfort 
 possible for herself. She could not understand the absolute 
 devotion with which I worshipped her, the passionate jealousy I 
 suppressed at beholding her bestow her caresses upon even a 
 pet bird, lest I should be thereby robbed of even a little of the
 
 82 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 love I desired to make all my own. She never guessed how I 
 hungered for her kisses, how I trembled and how my heart heat 
 with the wildest emotion at every touch of her soft hand. Through 
 how many long nights have I lain awake, unable to sleep by reason 
 of the fever of thoughts which burnt like fire in my brain, watch 
 ing her as she lay serenely asleep in my arms, noting every feature 
 of her face, even' shadow of expression, and wondering of what 
 she dreamed, longing with passionate vehemence to know her 
 thoughts, and whether her dreams were of me and of my love. 
 I would have given so much to read her thoughts, and to know 
 what share I had in the emotions of her soul. But although she 
 could read my thoughts, hers were a sealed book to me, of which 
 I could never, with all my powers of divination, read one line. 
 
 I think there were times when my vehemence bewildered and 
 wearied her. I exacted so much that she grew at last to be some 
 what tired of the endless demands I made upon her love. Her 
 little bits of acting were done listlessly, and in my disappointment 
 and suspicious jealousy I would reproach her with coldness and 
 indifference, till her large, beautiful eyes would regard me in 
 languid astonishment. She was quite happy, why could not I 
 be so? she would ask, and then she would rouse herself to bestow 
 upon me the coveted caress, which for a time removed the cloud 
 from my brow, the suspicion that she was indifferent to me from 
 my heart. 
 
 I do not think it is ever possible for "natures such as mine to be 
 perfectly happy upon earth, where the clouds of uncertainty, the 
 disappointments and disillusionments that are inseparable from 
 all earthly things, perpetually afford food for jealousy and sus 
 picion, and where the hunger of the heart seldom finds full satis 
 faction. But in spite of many drawbacks I think that during 
 the first years of my union with Zuleika I tasted as full a measure 
 of happiness as ever falls to the lot of mankind; and certainly 
 had I known what the years which followed were to bring to me 
 I should have valued the comparative happiness of that time still 
 more highly than I did.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 83 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE SON OF ARTEMISIA 
 
 I had been married a little over three years, and although no 
 child had been given to crown my hopes I was too deeply in love 
 with Zuleika to feel this as a great disappointment, dearly as I 
 loved children and greatly as I had desired to have a child of my 
 own. 
 
 My fame as a physician had spread for many a mile around 
 Herat, and I was sent for by the highest officials of the Court of 
 the Afghan Princes. I was not greatly surprised, therefore, to 
 receive a summons to attend at the Palace, as a young kinsman 
 of the Ameer had been seized with violent convulsions which no 
 one was able to relieve. The Grand Vizier, who was one of my 
 patients, having mentioned my name to the Prince, I was sent 
 for in all haste. 
 
 On being shown into the chamber where the sufferer lay I 
 found that he was a young man of about my own age, handsome 
 but somewhat effeminate looking, and evidently weak of will. A 
 glance at him showed me that this was no common case of 
 epilepsy, but that the unfortunate Prince was the victim of a form 
 of Demoniac possession, which is far more common than is usually 
 supposed. To my clairvoyant sight it appeared as if a black 
 spirit of a low type was making frequent and violent efforts to 
 withdraw the rightful possessor of the young man's body, and 
 enter into that covering himself, much as one man may forcibly 
 wrench another's cloak from off his shoulders in spite of his efforts 
 at resistance. The fearful contortions of the Prince were caused 
 by the resistance of his half conscious spirit against the would be 
 despoiler. 
 
 Hastily uttering some words which I had learnt from Jelal-ftd- 
 din, and knew to possess a powerful effect upon spirits of this 
 class, I advanced slowly towards the Prince, keeping my eyes 
 steadily fixed upon the dark being struggling with him, and 
 throwing all the powers of my will into my determination to make
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 him release the young man. The dark being cowered down 
 before me, uttering fearful howls of rage, which, owing to the 
 closeness of the rapport between them seemed to come from the 
 unfortunate young man. As I laid my hand upon him, however, 
 he became suddenly silent, his limbs relaxed and he fell in a dead 
 faint upon the floor, while the dark spirit seemed to crawl like 
 a snake along the floor, wriggling its body away like a reptile. 
 As it withdrew it turned its head and looked at me, seeming to 
 spit out its anger like venom upon me, and showing to my aston 
 ished eyes the face of a black slave. The face and the action 
 were so exactly those of the vision shown me in Jelal-ud-din's 
 mirror, that for half a moment I had almost forgotten the poor 
 patient, till the voice of the Ameer himself recalled me to a recol 
 lection of where I was. 
 
 A few simple remedies soon restored the young man to his 
 senses, and although terribly exhausted he soon began to regain 
 his strength. 
 
 In reply to my inquiries, I was told that he had been subject 
 to these attacks for some years, and when under their influence 
 exhibited symptoms which had alarmed and distressed his family 
 so much that they feared for his reason if not for his life, since the 
 last few attacks had reduced him to so terrible a condition of 
 exhaustion it had been feared that each convulsion would prove 
 his death struggle. 
 
 I was highly praised for my successful treatment, dismissed 
 with a very handsome present, and commanded to visit my 
 patient again the next day. My friend the Vizier assured me, as 
 he conducted me from the room, that my fortune was made, since 
 the young Prince whom I had relieved was no less a person than 
 the only legitimate son of the King of Persia. 
 
 On visiting my illustrious patient next morning I found him 
 quite recovered, and contrary to his experience after former 
 attacks, very little the worse for the present one, and I was again 
 highly complimented upon my skill. 
 
 For a week I continued my daily visits, and then was sent for 
 once more in a hurry because the Prince of Persia had been again 
 seized with one of these strange and (to those around him) unac 
 countable fits of convulsions, although on this occasion the seizure 
 was much less violent. 
 
 As before, I found the cause to be the near approach of the 
 black spirit, who although the influence of my strong will inter-
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 85 
 
 posed a barrier between him and the Prince that prevented him 
 from again touching him, was yet able to draw near enough to 
 exert a considerable influence over him. 
 
 Since my first encounter with this dark being I had studied 
 one of Jelal-ud -din's valuable manuscripts, and was therefore 
 better able to deal with the obsessing spirit, whom I quickly 
 banished in a very summary fashion, without throwing the patient 
 into a state of unconsciousness. 
 
 I was now invited by the Prince to enter his service, and 
 attach myself permanently to his suite, either as a physician or in 
 any other capacity I might prefer. 
 
 "Surely," said the young Prince, "you have not spent all your 
 days as a student of deep mysteries. Methinks thou hast more 
 the bearing and appearance of a soldier than a follower of that 
 art of healing which seemeth most appropriate to gray hair and 
 slow blood. Thine eyes, my friend, did glisten I noticed as thou 
 beheldest the warriors who paraded before us the other day, and 
 I observed that thou didst sit upon thy steed as one who hath 
 learnt to maintain his seat in the saddle under all difficulties." 
 
 The blood mounted to my cheek, and the recollections of the 
 wild, free life of the mountains awoke in my mind as I listened to 
 this speech, and I bowed low to the Prince, as I answered proudly, 
 " I have been many things in even my short life, Most Gracious 
 Sire, and methinks I could yet handle a sword and spear in a 
 manner which would not disgrace even a soldier of your 
 Highness. 
 
 "Wouldst thou then care to follow my fortunes, not only as 
 my trusted physician, but as one of my fighting, men? If so 
 thou hast but to express thy desire and I shall grant it to thee, 
 for of a truth do I feel that I owe my life and my reason unto thy 
 skill, and I would fain reward thee as a Prince should." 
 
 For one moment I was so delighted at the prospect of an 
 active life and the chance of winning distinction on the field of 
 battle, that I was about to accept the Prince's offer. But I 
 thought of my wife, and of how I was to leave her. How I would 
 have to part from her entirely for a time; and my love and my 
 jealous fears proved stronger even than my ambition. With a 
 low bow, expressive at once of my sense of the honor which the 
 Prince wished to bestow upon me, and of my deep obligation to 
 him, I answered, "Sire, it is with the utmost reluctance that I 
 hesitate to avail myself of the honor p oposed to me. There is
 
 86 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 no career I would desire more than that of arms. But I have 
 ties which bind me more strongly than ambition, and, if your most 
 Gracious Highness will pardon the seeming indifference to the 
 favor offered to me, I would choose rather to continue in my 
 present career, since to follow your Highness through the present 
 campaign I must leave this city of Herat." 
 
 The Prince frowned, and seemed greatly annoyed by my 
 answer. Princes are not wont to find their favors so coolly re 
 ceived, and he answered coldly, "It is enough, Sir Physician 
 thou art dismissed from our presence." 
 
 "Oh, Ahrinziman," said my friend the Vizier, in a low voice, 
 as we left the presence chamber, "verily thou wert born under 
 an unlucky star, since thou hast not the wit to avail thyself of the 
 favor of Princes when it is showered upon thee. Who, or what, 
 is this wonderful attraction that keeps thee in Herat, when 
 fortune points the way to Persia?" 
 
 "It is my wife," said I, unguardedly. "I could not take her 
 with me on the long, forced marches of the Persian army, as they 
 go to quell the revolts in this distant province, and I like not to 
 leave her behind me." 
 
 "Thy wife," said he, laughing, "if that is all it is not 
 impossible that thou mayest follow the Prince of Persia yet. 
 Surely thou could st arrange for her safety and seclusion in some 
 way?" 
 
 "I know not," replied I stiffly. "But I have already given 
 my answer to the Prince, and been dismissed by him. The matter 
 is therefore at an end." 
 
 The Vizier laughed again, and his eyes twinkled slily as he 
 said, "Go to, Ahrinziman, tell thy wife of the offer thou hast 
 refused, and see if she will commend thy devotion to her." 
 
 As we had now reached the outer door I parted from the 
 Vizier without further remarks, and as I hurried home I resolved 
 to tell Zuleika and see if she were truly pleased to think I was not 
 going to leave her. The Vizier's words had awakened an uneasy 
 suspicion which half slumbered in my mind, and I was by no 
 means too certain that Zuleika would give me the thanks for 
 refusing the Prince's offer which I felt I merited. 
 
 And the Vizier was right. She heard me with a mixture of 
 surprise and pleasure till I told her how I had refused the pro 
 posed favor and elected to remain in Herat, and then she expressed 
 her disappointment in no measured terms, reproaching me with
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 87 
 
 having no ambition, no desire to rise in life and take a position 
 which would raise her as well as myself. 
 
 "A learned man is all very well in his way, no doubt," added 
 she, "but the practice of healing will never raise thee to the posi 
 tion in the state which thou, as a warrior distinguished by the 
 favor of a Prince, might attain. Thou hast told me oft that 
 in thine early days the practice of arms was familiar to thee. Why 
 then dost thou not avail thyself of so good a chance of adopting 
 war as thy profession, especially as by so doing thou couldst still 
 practice thy healing art upon the person of the Prince, and such 
 of thy comrades as had the ill-luck to be wounded." 
 
 I was so much offended at this address that I scorned to 
 explain to her my real reason, for I thought she showed but little 
 anxiety about my personal safety, and was somewhat too eager 
 to send me away from her. I was leaving the room in hot anger 
 when she called me back, saying, "Return here, Ahrinziman, 
 thou art so impetuous and so quick of temper I see that thou art 
 offended at my frank speech, and dost think I am careless of thy 
 life. But it is not so. For I deem that thou bearest a charmed 
 life, and I do not fear that even in battle harm would come to thee. 
 Moreover," she added, touching my cheeks and beard caressingly 
 with her finger tips, for I had returned to her side, "I am so 
 proud of thee, and so sure thou dost only want opportunity in 
 order to become as great as thou dost deserve to be, I would fain 
 have thee to accept a chance like this, which fortune hath surely 
 sent in thy way in order to help thee to that position in life to 
 which I am most certain thou dost by right of birth belong." 
 
 She had touched now upon a subject about which I was some 
 what sore, for I felt most keenly the mystery which surrounded 
 my birth and parentage, and I would have given much to know 
 to whom I of right belonged. My pride and my ambition caused 
 me always to cling to the belief that I might be the son of the 
 man who had given me the chain and spoken those strange words 
 of affection to me. I was sure he was a person of distinction, 
 but I knew not where to search for him. Nor was I sure that he 
 would welcome me, for he had never come to see me but that one 
 time. I had told Zuleika a great part of my history, only sup 
 pressing such portions as I thought it safest to abstain from con 
 fiding to anyone. She was very discreet, and capable beyond 
 most of her sex of keeping her own counsel and another's secrets, 
 and she had soon drawn from me all but what concerned my
 
 88 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 flight from the Temple and Jelal-ud-din's death. That I had 
 practiced the arts of magic she knew, though not that my instruc 
 tor in them was dead, and she had heard of my life in the moun 
 tains when a boy, and of my having joined the marauders of the 
 hills for a time. Ambitious herself, she had fed the flame of my 
 ambition, and encouraged me in the belief that some day I should 
 attain a position worthy of what she held to be my distinguished 
 parentage. And in alluding thus to my birth and my ambitions 
 she knew that she was advancing the strongest possible argu 
 ment in favor of accepting the Prince of Persia's offer. 
 
 "Thou dost not need to urge me to consider again the chance 
 I have missed, Zuleika, for I should have at once accepted it but 
 for the thought of leaving thee. Now it is too late. I have 
 declined it, and I shall not again sue for its renewal. I care not 
 to solicit the favor of any man, be he Prince or King." 
 
 "Nay, but he may offer it to thee again, and if so thou wilt 
 accept it, and when thou dost return a victorious conqueror I 
 shall reward thee in any way thou dost desire most, and I will 
 show thee how proud Zuleika is of her beloved." 
 
 She looked up at me with so much witchery in her dark eyes, 
 and touched me so lovingly, that my gloomy suspicions were 
 dispelled, and I embraced her in my joy and kissed her passion 
 ately. 
 
 Thus was my career changed; for, as Zuleika thought, the 
 Prince was too anxious to have me with him to give up the idea 
 lightly, and overtures were made to me through the Vizier, 
 which I now accepted with a mixed feeling of pleasure and reluct 
 ance, of satisfaction and foreboding of some coming evil. 
 
 My forebodings were not however fulfilled very quickJy. 
 Zuleika went to reside under her uncle's care during my absence, 
 and when the time of our parting arrived showed the amount of 
 emotion which was becoming on such an occasion. She perhaps 
 a little overacted the part, but she did it very gracefully, by no 
 means disfiguring her charming countenance with an excess of 
 tears, yet making up by appropriate expressions of her feelings in 
 words for any lack there might be of them, and I left reassured 
 as to her fidelity to me. I did not, however, suspect that my wife 
 had already been seen by the Prince of Persia, and that it was 
 only his sense of the gratitude he owed me which prevented him 
 from trying to possess himself of her. The Vizier, having re 
 peated to the Prince my remarks about my attachment to my
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 89 
 
 wife, he had conceived a desire to see the lady, and to judge for 
 himself of the power of her charms. By bribing some of my 
 servants the Vizier had contrived that the Prince should conceal 
 himself in my garden, and behold Zuleika when she was walking 
 there alone and unveiled. 
 
 Zuleika was supposed to be ignorant of this little plan, but in 
 truth she had beeen cautiously informed by one of her women, 
 and it was by her connivance that it was carried out, the idea that 
 the Prince wished to see her secretly having fired her imagination 
 and flattered her vanity. 
 
 The expedition to which I was attached was one sent to quell 
 a revolt in one of the minor dependent provinces, and the Prince 
 had been given the command by his father as much to remove 
 him from the court as to afford him a chance of distinction. I 
 soon learnt from those about the Prince that he and his father 
 were not always upon the best of terms, since the Prince sided 
 with his mother, between whom and the King there had been a 
 marked coldness, almost amounting at times to open enmity, for 
 many years. The Ameer of Afghanistan, being a kinsman of 
 Queen Artemisia, had allowed the Queen and her son to retire 
 more than once to his court, leaving the King of Persia for con 
 siderable periods, and Queen Artemisia was more than suspected 
 of engaging in constant, though hitherto unsuccessful, plots to 
 dethrone her husband and place her son upon the throne. 
 
 Prince Selim himself, was, as I had seen at first, somewhat 
 weak of will and easily dominated by those around him, and the 
 strong will of his mother kept him in constant subjection to her 
 wishes; the more so as there was a strong, even passionate, 
 attachment between them, while towards the King the son felt an 
 indifference and almost dislike, born no doubt of the divided feel 
 ing between his parents. 
 
 To me the young Prince soon showed a strong disposition to 
 attach himself, partly due to the influence I had to gain over him 
 in order to protect him, and partly to a feeling that I was to be 
 thoroughly relied upon as his faithful follower, as in very truth at 
 that time I was. 
 
 We experienced some sharp fighting and had by no means an 
 easy task in suppressing the revolt, and once engaged in the reali 
 ties of warfare I found little time to think of domestic matters. 
 The stir and bustle of a camp were very congenial to me, and 
 there was pleasure in serving with highly trained regular troops
 
 90 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 far superior to fighting in a promiscuous mle with an insub 
 ordinate mountain tribe where each man thought himself as good 
 as his leader, and where little or no discipline prevailed. 
 
 All my instincts of a warlike nature revived. I learned the 
 various arts of strategy from the experienced General who served 
 nominally under the Prince, but who was in truth our real leader; 
 and as I was high in favor with Prince Selim I was rapidly 
 advanced from one post of honor to another, those who envied 
 my success deeming it well to feign a friendship for me if they 
 did not always feel it. 
 
 My knowledge and skill as a physician made me of still more 
 importance, not alone to the Prince, but to my comrades, and 
 for a considerable time I appeared to justify Zuleika's belief that 
 I bore a charmed life, for I escaped any serious wound. 
 
 At last, however, I had the misfortune to receive a dangerous 
 thrust from a spear, and as I lay on the ground some of my com 
 rades' horses were driven in the tide of battle over me where I lay, 
 and I was still further injured by their hoofs, so that the fight, 
 being at last gained by our side and the enemy beaten back, I was 
 picked up scarcely alive and carried to my tent, where I lay for 
 many weeks in extreme danger. 
 
 At last I began to rally, and the siege of the city we had 
 attacked being by this time over, I was granted leave to return to 
 my own home in the city of Herat to rest and recover my strength. 
 
 My reception by Zuleika was all that I could desire, and more 
 than repaid me for the separation and suffering, while I could not 
 but wonder how I had so long been content to lead a quiet studious 
 life in that dull hill city.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 91 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 MY PRISONER 
 
 On my return to the army I found that all was in a state of 
 bustle and confusion in consequence of the news that had just 
 been received of the sudden and unexpected death of the King 
 of Persia, and the consequent necessity for the immediate return 
 of his son. The Prince, or, as I must now call him, the King, 
 was about to set out upon his return to the city and palace where 
 his father had died, and I, as a matter of course, was expected to 
 accompany him. 
 
 We had reached to within two days' journey of the city, and 
 were resting for the night, when a messenger arrived with a letter 
 from Queen Artemisia to her son, after reading which he sum 
 moned me to his presence, and addressing me said: 
 
 "Ahrinziman, thou art I believe faithful to me. Among all 
 around me thou art the one I would most readily trust as being 
 truly faithful to my interests, and therefore I desire to send thee 
 to receive the charge of a prisoner who hath been found conspir 
 ing already against me, and whom my mother hath thought fit to 
 
 arrest and send to the fortress of . But as he is a man 
 
 who held great power under my father, and was very popular 
 among the soldiers, it were unwise to confide the charge of him 
 to any who have been his friends in the past, and I desire, there 
 fore, to send thee with a troop of horsemen to conduct him to the 
 fortress, where thou shalt hand the charge of him over to the 
 Governor, who hath already received instructions how to deal 
 with his prisoner. Thou wilt start at once, and the messenger 
 who brought this letter will conduct thee to where the prisoner 
 now awaits thy coming. Thou wilt then join me at Parsagherd." 
 
 I bowed low to the King, and having kissed the hand which 
 he extended to me in token of my fidelity, I went forth to make 
 my preparations. 
 
 A sharp ride of a few hours brought us to where a company
 
 92 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 of soldiers were encamped with their prisoner awaiting us, and I 
 took over the command, sending the officer and his soldiers back 
 to the city by order of the King. 
 
 It was already dark when I did so, and as the prisoner was 
 much muffled up by a large cloak I did not take much notice of 
 his appearance at the time. Scarcely had the other soldiers 
 departed when a message was brought to me to ask if I would 
 grant my prisoner the favor of a few minutes interview. Accord 
 ingly I repaired to the tent in which he was confined, and lifting 
 the curtain aside from the doorway entered. 
 
 As the prisoner, a powerful man who was heavily ironed, 
 stood up and advanced to meet me I saw his face for the first time, 
 and uttered an exclamation of surprise, for I recognized him at 
 once as the man who had taken me to the herdsman's hut when 
 I was an infant the man above all others best able to solve for 
 me the mystery of my birth. 
 
 "Thou art surprised," said he coolly, "so was I when I saw 
 thee but now. I sent for thee because there is a matter of much 
 moment which I have to confide to thine ears, and also because 
 I think when thou hast heard my narrative thou wilt feel that at 
 least it should not be thy hand which conducts me to a captivity 
 that I know but too well will end only with my death. Queen 
 Artemisia and I are too old and too deadly enemies for her to spare 
 me now, when fate has delivered me into her hands. I saw thee 
 when thou arrived, and though thou art changed somewhat since 
 thou wert a boy, thou bearest too close a resemblance, both in 
 feature and in gesture, to thy father for anyone to doubt thou art 
 in truth his son." 
 
 "Thou dost speak of my father. I pray thee tell me who he 
 was, for long have I desired to learn from whom I spring?" 
 
 "Didst thou then never guess whose son thou art?" 
 
 "No, save that I believe it was the man who came with thee to 
 see me when I was a boy. He who gave me this chain," said I, 
 drawing it forth to show him, "must have been my father. But 
 if so why did he show so little care for me? Why did he come 
 but that one time to see his son?" 
 
 "Dost thou not even yet guess who that man was, nor why he 
 of all men dared not acknowledge his favorite child? Then must 
 I tell thee, Ahrinziman, that thy father was this King of Persia 
 who hath died so recently, and if thou wilt grant me the time I 
 will tell thee his story and thine own, and thou shall judge if the 
 lot of Princes is ever one to be envied."
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 93 
 
 He then told me the history of my parents, and of the murder 
 of my poor mother, much as it is related in the Prologue to this 
 story of my life, and went on to say: 
 
 "It was impossible to find any proofs of Queen Artemisia's 
 share in thy mother's death, but the King had very little doubt in 
 his own mind as to the hand which had dealt him this terrible 
 blow, and when the Queen met him as he went to his own apart 
 ments from his beloved Cynthia's deathbed, he shrank from the 
 caressing touch with which she sought to welcome his return, and 
 dissemble her own feelings, as though some loathsome thing had 
 touched him, for to his sight her hands seemed dyed red in the 
 blood of his murdered Cynthia. 
 
 "His expression and his gesture were enough for the Queen. 
 She drew back haughtily and turned away, and from that hour 
 there was naught but a thinly veiled enmity between them. She 
 could no longer hope to regain his love, and the dignity of her 
 position forbade her quarreling openly with her husband, but she 
 could and did embitter his life with the secret intrigues against 
 him which she encouraged , and she was able to estrange the affec 
 tions of his legitimate son, and make her child side with her on 
 all occasions. 
 
 "As for Cynthia's child, the whole thoughts of the King were 
 directed to finding some safe asylum where Queen Artemisia 
 should never discover him, and it was therefore given out to all 
 that the child was dead, while in truth I myself took him, as thou 
 dost know, to that worthy herdsman whose wife had nursed me 
 a few years before. The King himself could not for a long time 
 bear the thought of seeing thee, it revived so keenly that terrible 
 grief for thy mother's loss, from which he ever strove to win 
 oblivion. Not till I told him of thy visions, and how thou hadst 
 surely seen her spirit, did he desire to behold her child. When 
 he left thee it was with the full intention of arranging some plan 
 whereby he could bring thee to live with him, without exposing 
 thee to such a fate as had befallen thy mother. But he was sud 
 denly called away to Egypt by an insurrection there, and we 
 deemed it best for thee to send thee to the Temple, since that 
 would at least afford thee a safe asylum. 
 
 "It had been thy father's thought to train thee to the pro 
 fession of arms, and to keep thee near himself, but when diffi 
 culties of all kinds began to gather thickly around him , he took 
 another thought, and decided to let thee follow thy desire of
 
 94 
 
 becoming a Prophet of the Temple. He had a hope that thereby 
 he might still be able to see much of thee, while the sacredness of 
 thine office would give thee the strongest possible protection 
 against any plots of the Queen, even should she learn of thine 
 < \i-tence. Moreover thy father thought that the death of his 
 In-loved Cynthia was a judgment upon him for having taken unto 
 himself one who had been dedicated to sacred things, and he 
 thought to appease the offended Deity by giving to the service of 
 the Temple her only son. Thine own desire seemed to point 
 yet more strongly to this being the right course to follow. 
 
 "We were absent from Persia for some years, and wnen at 
 last we returned the King's first care was to send me to the Temple 
 of Amurath, to which he had caused thee to be sent, that I might 
 inquire as to thy welfare. There I learnt that thou hadst struck 
 down one of the High Priests and fled. Search had been made 
 for thee and thou hadst been traced to a shepherd's tent, where 
 thou hadst given two links of a gold chain (which I well knew to 
 have been given thee by the King) for food and clothes. Thou 
 wert followed in thy flight to a precipice, over which it was be 
 lieved that thou hadst fallen, since those who pursued thee beheld 
 thy white robes, and, as it seemed, thyself, lying upon the rocks. 
 It was impossible to recover thy body, so the attempts to do so had 
 to be abandoned, and the Priests, believing that the vengeance 
 of the Gods had overtaken thee, forbore to make further search. 
 
 "The King and I mourned thee as one dead, until a few weeks 
 before thy father's death, when a strange rumor reached us con 
 cerning one named Ahrinziman, who was in attendance upon 
 the Prince of Persia, and who had shown great medical skill, bi-ing 
 also thought to execute many of his cures by the aid of certain 
 gifts of divination which he possessed. 
 
 "We had heard of the wonderful cure wrought upon Prince 
 Selim by thee, but thy name was not mentioned till one came 
 from the camp who knew thee well, and his description of thee, 
 and of the name thou wert known under, caused to thy father the 
 greatest agitation. He decided to recall his son immediately, 
 in order that thou mightest accompany him. Then he hi-anl 
 that thou hadst left the camp and returned to thine home for a 
 season, and it had been arranged that I should seek thee out, 
 when the King was seized by his sudden and fatal illness: an 
 illness of whose cause, methinks, I could find another explana 
 tion than that which the learned men around the patient gave."
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 95 
 
 Al Zulid paused, overcome by his emotion, and then continued: 
 "Shortly before his death thy father, who called repeatedly upon 
 the name of his lost son, sent for me and for a scribe, and in my 
 presence and that of the Vizier dictated a decree by which he 
 left the kingdom unto thee, his son Ahrinziman, should it be 
 proved that thou wert still living. For he believed that were it to 
 pass to the Prince of Persia it would be equivalent to leaving it 
 to the Queen, since her son is entirely under her influence and 
 governance, and El Jazid did not consider it would be well for 
 Persia that Queen Artemisia should in effect reign over it through 
 her son. In the event of my finding that thou wert really dead 
 the kingdom was left unto a third son, who like thyself was his 
 illgitimate offspring. To the son of Artemisia thy father left 
 wealth sufficient for all his needs, even on the most Princely 
 scale. He left him one of his principal Palaces and much treasure, 
 but the government of his Kingdom he desired should pass into 
 other hands than those of Artemisia and her son. 
 
 "For sight of thee, Ahrinziman, he ever mourned, and when 
 he heard of the great military powers thou hadst displayed , and 
 of thy popularity with the army, he felt that wert thou indeed 
 his son thou wert only justifying the opinion he had formed of 
 thy character from that one interview he had with thee, and that 
 thou wouldst make a successor to himself under whom Persia 
 would increase in her greatness. 
 
 "As for himself, Ahrinziman, he ever labored as one from 
 whose life the zest had fled, and whose heart was ever a prey to 
 an abiding sorrow, which sapt at its roots the seed of ambition, 
 and rendered as dead sea fruit all the triumphs, all the conquests, 
 that he attained. Thus the promise with which his reign began 
 was never fulfilled, and he acquired a character of weakness which 
 was due rather to listless indifference to the struggles for power 
 of those around him." 
 
 As I looked at Ben Al Zulid I felt that he spoke the truth, and 
 it did not require much knowledge of mankind to convince me 
 that the nature of the man before me was essentially an honest 
 one. Had even gratitude to him for his care of my boyhood not 
 influenced me, I should still have felt a reluctance to sharing in 
 consigning him to captivity, and I was greatly agitated , not alone 
 at what he had told me of my parents, but at the strange chance 
 which had placed him in my power. My duty to the King who 
 had trusted me was clear, but did I not owe some duty to this
 
 96 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 man also? Could I hand him over to the certainty of captivity 
 and death? 
 
 While I considered, Al Zulid spoke again. 
 
 "Dost thou desire," said he, "to know where is this decree of 
 which I speak? Behold it is in the hands of the Grand Yi/ier 
 Bubadul. He was more fortunate than I, and had warning in 
 time to flee from danger, taking with him not alone the decree, 
 which had been entrusted to his care, but also the scribe who 
 wrote it. Therefore Queen Artemisia may suspect that it con 
 tains matter adverse to her interests and those of her son, but 
 she can have no certain knowledge of its contents, and in arrest 
 ing me she hath but acted upon a vague suspicion, without proof 
 to support it. Yet do I know well that the man to whose keeping 
 she hath consigned me will not trouble himself to look for proofs 
 of my guilt or innocence when the Queen commands my death. 
 He is but a creature of her own, only too ready to do her bidding. 
 
 "But as for thee, Ahrinziman, if thou dost desire a kingdom, 
 thou must seek out Babadul quickly, or else he will seek for this 
 third son of thy father, and set him up against Artemisia. There 
 be many who will join his standard, or thine, for there are many 
 who like not the rule of Artemisia and her weak-willed son. The 
 haughty Queen hath made many enemies." 
 
 "Nay," answered I, "but I dare not be the one to wrest the 
 kingdom from the grasp of Selim and his mother, since honor 
 and friendship alike forbid it. To the Prince I owe many a 
 favor. He hath shown me kindness and distinguished me with 
 marks of honor at a time when I was obscure, and when we knew 
 not there was any blood relationship between us. How, then, 
 can I avail myself of this decree, and turn like a traitor to rend 
 the hand which has showered favors upon me? How can I 
 thrust from his throne him to whom I have sworn fidelity? The 
 prospect tempts me much. There is no height to which I would 
 hesitate to climb, no position too exalted for the ambition of my 
 own de>ires. but I cannot climb onto a throne by trampling down 
 the rights of my patron." 
 
 Be it so, since thou dost regard it in that way, but at least 
 
 . thy>elf of the truth of what I have told thee, by seeking 
 
 out Babadul and beholding this decree which makes of thee a 
 
 King. And remember, if thou dost not use its powers against 
 
 Prince Selim, another will; one who hath not thy scruples. 
 
 re, moreover, of ever trusting Artemisia or her son. They
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 97 
 
 may load thee with favors to-day, yet to-morrow, if it served 
 their own interests better, they would consign thee to a dungeon 
 cell. The wolf is not more savage than Artemisia; the hyena 
 not more treacherous, nor the fox more cunning than this Queen, 
 who, did she but once know whose son thou art, would rend thee 
 in pieces in her bitter long-nourished hate, no matter what sacri 
 fice thou hadst made for the sake of her son. Trust her not, 
 and trust not her son; for, verily, as the sun shines in heaven, so 
 doth the hatred of Artemisia towards thy mother and thy father 
 burn like an ever scorching fire, whose flames will consume thee 
 some day." 
 
 The earnestness with which Al Zulid spoke impressed me in spite 
 of myself, for it seemed as though his words were as the words 
 of one inspired, and I resolved to take heed of this Queen, 
 and to keep from her all knowledge of my parentage. I thought 
 that I could play with a two-edged sword and yet not cut my 
 self, but who can foresee the tricks which fate may play him, 
 or who can guard against the decrees of destiny. 
 
 When the first selfish thought of myself and my concerns 
 had passed, I remembered Ben Al Zulid and his present position, 
 and I said to him, "But what of thee, my friend, cannot I help 
 thy fortunes in anyway? I owe thee also too much to lead thee 
 to thy death, yet how can I be the one to release thee? What 
 can I do? Wouldst it avail, thinkest thou, for me to intercede 
 with the King for thy release?" 
 
 Al Zulid laughed a scornful laugh as he replied, "As well 
 might thou ask a cat to spare the bird within its clutches as ask 
 Artemisia to forego her revenge upon me for my share in the 
 past. No, I would not have thee sue for my life to the son of 
 Artemisia. Rather would I die a thousand deaths," said he 
 passionately, "but if thou wouldst befriend me give me a sharp, 
 long knife, that I may conceal it about my person, and mount 
 me to-morrow on the fleetest horse thou hast, and I will do the 
 rest for myself. None will know that thou hast helped me. 
 Thou canst take all ostensible precautions thou dost choose 
 for my safety, for if I have but my long knife and a swift steed, 
 to-morrow's sun shall see me dead or once more free. I am too 
 old a soldier to be caught again easily, and had it not been that 
 Artemisia's soldiers came upon me at a time when grief had 
 well nigh deprived me of my wisdom, I should not so readily 
 have been taken bv them."
 
 98 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 \Vdl, then," said I slowly, "I will see that the horse thou 
 should st ride to-morrow shall fall lame before we start. There 
 is but one led horse with us now, that is mine own favorite steed. 
 I value it as the apple of mine eye. I never ride it in battle lest 
 harm should come to it, yet will I see that thou art mounted upon 
 its back to-morrow. Wert thou my father I could do no more 
 for thee, for this horse is fleet of foot as the fleetest horse of the 
 desert, and if thou dost ride well, and choose the time of thy 
 flight discreetly, he will be a swift horseman who overtakes thee. 
 
 "We start an hour before dawn. Ere the light becomes 
 bright thou mayest make thy bid for freedom.'' 
 
 Al Zulid bent his head, and taking my hand in his kissed it, in 
 token of his deep gratitude, and then turned away overcome by his 
 emotion. 
 
 As I turned to leave Al Zulid he said, "Ahrinziman, son of 
 my beloved master, if we meet not on earth again I would fain 
 repeat to thee 'Beware of Artemisia! Tarry not at the court 
 of her son.' For thee there may be many brilliant prospects 
 elsewhere, even though thou wilt not stretch out thine hand to 
 grasp thy father's kingdom. If thou wilt show this ring unto 
 Babadul and tell him that Al Zulid gave it unto thee as a token, 
 he will, for the love which he as well as I bore to thy father, help 
 thee to prospects as fair as any Prince Sielm can offer to thine 
 ambition. Farewell. Thy horse shall be returned safely to 
 thee if I escape, but no words can ever express my gratitude, 
 no favors I can bestow can return this service that thou hast done 
 me." 
 
 "Nay, speak not of it. It is I who should speak of thanks 
 to thee. I owe thee too much already, and it is but in a poor 
 fashion I seek to repay thee even a part of my debt," I replied. 
 We then saluted each other with much emotion, and I went forth 
 from the prisoner's tent to seek a few hours' repose.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 99 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 QUEEN ARTEMISIA 
 
 Some time before we started I arose, and under pretense of 
 examining the horses took care to lame slightly the one Al Zulid 
 was to ride, in order to have a pretext for mounting him on my 
 own favorite steed, leaving a soldier with the lame horse at a 
 small village near. 
 
 It was still dark when we started, and as the road lay through 
 a mountain gorge we were obliged to ride in single file. I myself 
 rode on ahead, leaving the prisoner to ride in the middle of the 
 small troop of soldiers. Just as we reached the head of the pass, 
 and the road widened out across the extensive plain, beyond 
 which lay another deep ravine, the first streak of daylight was 
 dawning in the East. As we emerged from the deep shadow of 
 the hills I had an impression that it was here my prisoner intended 
 to make his dash for liberty, and I accordingly spurred on my 
 horse and gave the order to advance rapidly. As we broke into 
 a quick gallop I saw the prisoner and his guards were skirting 
 the edge of a small ravine, whose precipitous sides were covered 
 thickly with brushwood. I did not think it wise to watch him, 
 so began to converse with the soldier who rode nearest to me. 
 
 All at once there was a loud shout and a sharp scuffle, and I 
 saw two soldiers and their horses rolling down the sides of the 
 ravine, where they were partly caught and their fall broken by 
 the brushwood. The prisoner, who had somehow managed to 
 free his hands, taking advantage of the surprise and confusion, 
 wheeled his horse round and fled across the plain, where in the 
 semi-darkness it was difficult to follow him. 
 
 Of course we gave chase, but, as I well knew, my fleet horse 
 soon carried him beyond pursuit, and the friendly veil of dark 
 ness prevented us from seeing accurately where he went. He 
 was, moreover, well acquainted with the country, and I was not, 
 and although I feigned the greatest anxiety to pursue him, I con 
 trived to confuse our route still further, and after a time we had 
 to give up the chase.
 
 ioo THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN . 
 
 I debated within myself whether I would return to the King 
 and confess how very inefficiently I had performed the duty 
 entrusted to me, or whether I would also make my escape. I 
 finally decided to face the situation, and trust that the value of 
 my former services would palliate the King's anger at my present 
 failure. 
 
 Fortune favored me at this juncture, for on reaching the 
 Palace at Parsagherd, and before I could tell of the escape of my 
 prisoner, I was met by an anxious messenger who had just been 
 despatched to hurry my return. The King had been seized with 
 another and far worse attack of convulsions. None of those who 
 were present could do anything, and the Queen and those around 
 feared each moment must prove the young King's last, so fearful 
 were his struggles and convulsions. Had I lost a hundred pris 
 oners the necessity for my skill would have excused me from 
 blame. 
 
 I at once did as I had done before, and succeeded in freeing 
 Selim from the obsessing spirit, but it was by no means so easy 
 a task, and my conversation with Al Zulid enabled me to guess 
 why. I had little doubt that the dark spirit was that of the un 
 fortunate murdered slave. 
 
 I did not at this time, however, know precisely where the 
 secret passage was situated, nor that the King was in the very 
 apartment out of which it opened. 
 
 When at last the patient had recovered, his own anxiety that 
 I should not again leave him was so great that he made me the 
 most flattering offers of every kind, for while he was annoyed at 
 the escape of Al Zulid, he was not disposed to visit his anger upon 
 one whose skill was so necessary to his own safety. I on my side 
 felt almost constrained to accept his favors and remain with him, 
 first because neither he nor I could hold ourselves responsible 
 for that enmity between our parents in which we had no share, 
 and secondly because however much I might and did recoil from 
 any intercourse with the Queen, who I had no doubt was the 
 murderer of my innocent mother, I hardly felt that I had a right 
 in consequence to abandon the King to the terrible fate which I, 
 more than any other, knew to be hanging over him. I could 
 see that it only wanted an opportunity to enable the black spirit 
 to obtain complete possession of him, and I felt a certain pro 
 fessional interest in pitting my skill and knowledge against the 
 powers of darkness arrayed against me. I perceived that it was
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 101 
 
 no longer only the one dark obsessing spirit against whose attacks 
 upon my patient I had to guard, but that behind him there gath 
 ered a horde of evil influences, who used the dark spirit as their 
 weapon of active attack; beings whom Artemisia herself, in the 
 hour when she had stooped to revenge and murder, had gathered 
 about her, and whose influence was the heritage she gave her son. 
 
 To me there was a certain fierce pleasure in combating these 
 dark beings, and beholding them retire baffled and subdued by 
 the force of my own will. It was as though I alone defended a 
 fortress from the assaults of many foes, and as each time I, and 
 not they, conquered, I felt like a commander who has beaten 
 back the enemy. 
 
 Thus I had a double reason for remaining with the King. 
 Gratitude, and a certain affection for one thus dependent upon 
 me, were added to the desire to free him entirely from his dark 
 and unseen foes. 
 
 In the first hurry of my arrival I had not noticed the Queen, 
 although she was in her son's room, and on my taking charge 
 of the patient she had retired to her own apartments, and now 
 sent word that she desired an audience with me, a command 
 which I obeyed with a mixture of curiosity and reluctance. 
 
 The Queen received me in her own private apartments, and 
 as she was closely veiled I had no opportunity of seeing her face. 
 As she signed to me to approach her I recognized the haughty 
 gracefulness of gesture which had been described to me. I felt 
 instinctively the power and determination of the woman's char 
 acter. As a matter of course I bowed low to her, but I did so 
 with a hauteur equal to her own, and the passionate anger which 
 welled up in my heart at the sight of her, and the thought of my 
 poor mother's fate, made it well nigh impossible for me to con 
 trol my emotions sufficiently to answer her with respect. To 
 what she ascribed my manner I know not, but in her anxiety 
 about her son, which was the one soft spot in her hard and proud 
 nature, she did not pay much heed to it, but began to question 
 me closely as to the causes of his illness and the remedies I could 
 prescribe. 
 
 I answered her cautiously and briefly, and took care to leave 
 the matter in as much mystery as before, while I assured her that 
 in a short time I hoped to cure her son. 
 
 "If thou canst do that there is nothing thou shalt ask which 
 shall not be granted unto thee. There is no height to which
 
 102 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 thine ambition can aspire which shall he too great for thee to 
 attain. My son is to me the one green spot in the desert of my 
 life, and on him who can preserve that son for me I will bestow 
 the equivalent of a King's ransom," said the Queen in a voice of 
 deep emotion. 
 
 "Nay, Queen Artemisia, it needs not that anyone should bribe 
 me to give my best services unto the King," answered I haughtily, 
 "I have done, and I will do, all that lies within the skill of 
 mortal man, yet must we ever leave the issue to higher powerit 
 Despair not though again the fit shall seize him, for each time is 
 shall be with less strength I trust, and the interval shall be longer 
 between." 
 
 "I shall trust my son to thee," said she, "but in order that 
 thou shouldst not leave him even for a day, I would desire that 
 thou take up thine abode within the Palace. Apartments suited 
 to thine office, and to the rank that thou shall hold, will be assigned 
 to thee, and thou shalt bring thy family to dwell here, and to follow 
 with thee when the King shall remove his court elsewhere. I 
 have given orders that all means to transport thy family and thy 
 household treasures shall be at thy immediate disposal, and I bid 
 thee not to delay in sending for them, since I must constrain thee 
 to remain with the King henceforth. All that thou canst desire 
 of wealth and treasure is already bestowed upon thee, and thou 
 shalt find that Artemisia knows how to provide as a Queen should 
 for those she desires to honor." 
 
 She then drew a costly ring from her finger and placed it upon 
 mine in token of her favor, and though my flesh crept at her touch, 
 as though a reptile had touched me, I could not refuse the gift, 
 and had to conceal my feelings as best I could, since I was resolved 
 to remain with her son and fight out the battle I waged on his 
 behalf.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 103 
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 MY VISION IN THE MIRROR 
 
 In accordance with the Queen's desires, no less than my 
 own, I went to bring Zuleika and all my possessions to 
 the magnificent apartments in the Palace which had been 
 assigned to me. Zuleika and her family were much gratified by 
 the splendid litter and train of servants and soldiers who were 
 sent to conduct her. Had she been a Princess she could not have 
 been treated with greater honor, and while I flattered myself that 
 all this pageant was intended as a mark of honor to myself, it was 
 in a great degree due to the admiration which the King had con 
 ceived for my wife on the one occasion when he had seen her in 
 the garden at Herat. Had I had the slightest suspicion that he 
 had ever seen her, I would have died a thousand deaths rather 
 than have allowed her to come to me, but I was ignorant of his 
 secret passion for her, and imagined that his sole thought in send 
 ing for her was to gratify me. 
 
 As for Zuleika herself, she was like one intoxicated with the 
 grandeur of her position. She had always been ambitious, but 
 her thoughts had never soared to a height such as this, and 
 towards me, as the fortunate man who had raised her so high, 
 she displayed a warmth of attachment which for the time was 
 in all respects real, and I was raised to the seventh heaven of bliss 
 by her many expressions of devotion. 
 
 Zuleika was, as I have already said, naturally reticent, and 
 not given to that indulgence in gossip which is the bane of her sex, 
 and I had therefore, in the hours of our love and confidence, con 
 fided to her much of my history. I now took the precaution to 
 warn her against allowing Queen Artemisia to gain any knowledge 
 concerning myself and my antecedents from her, telling her that 
 for many reasons it would affect me, not only injuriously, but 
 even cause me personal danger were the Queen to learn more 
 of my life than I had chosen to tell myself. I felt that Zuleika's 
 own affection for me, and her own self-interest, would keep her 
 from being betrayed into placing any confidence in the Queen,
 
 104 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 after my having thus warned her, and I know that Zuleika was 
 far too clever and too discreet to allow herself to be entrapped 
 into telling what she desired to keep secret. 
 
 I was anxious to gain more knowledge concerning the best 
 means of keeping the King in the satisfactory state of health 
 which he had enjoyed since my return to him, and therefore 
 bethought me of the parchments which I had buried in the vault 
 in Jelal-ud-dln's garden. The city was but a day's ride from 
 Parsagherd, and I therefore resolved to go and bring some of them 
 away with me. 
 
 Al Zulid had returned my horse to me secretly by a messen 
 ger who brought word that he was in safety in a Greek city in 
 Asia Minor, where I should find word of him at any time I desired 
 to seek him out. 
 
 I took with me a small box in which to carry back the parch 
 ments, should I be so fortunate as to find them undisturbed, and 
 mounted on my favorite horse I set out at a rapid pace for the 
 city where Jelal-ud-dSn had dwelt. 
 
 I reached it at nightfall, and found that the house was much 
 as I had left it, save for the dust and decay which had gathered 
 there in the few years which had passed. The superstitious fears 
 with which the magician's house was regarded, together with the 
 mysterious disappearance of its owner, had served to preserve it 
 from pillage, except as regarded the costly furniture and rich 
 hangings. These had all been carried away, but the chemicals 
 in the jars remained, and also the curiously preserved specimens 
 of dead animals, etc., while the house itslf was intact, and the 
 secret hiding place beneath the fountain had not been discovered. 
 The place was, indeed, avoided by everyone. 
 
 As time pressed I quickly took out those manuscripts which 
 I saw would be of use, and closing the stone returned to the house. 
 As I crossed the wilderness of a garden I thought I heard stealthy 
 steps following me, and a sound as of some one sighing. I could 
 see nothing, however, and concluded it must have been a fancy. 
 I entered the room where my former master had sat with me so 
 often, and in which he had died, and having selected certain jars 
 of chemicals which I packed up with the manuscripts in the box 
 I had brought. I was about to leave, when I bethought me of the 
 magic mirror which I usually carried about me, and curious to
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 105 
 
 know how those I had left at Parsagherd were getting on during 
 my absence, I drew it out to look into its dark surface. "Surely," 
 thought I, " I shall see something in this room, whose whole atmos 
 phere was saturated with our mystic studies. Surely if the dead 
 master can return to his pupil from that dark bourne to which he 
 was so unwillingly hurried, he will return in this room where we 
 worked so long together." 
 
 Scarcely had these thoughts passed through my mind when 
 I saw the mist gather on the mirror's polished surface, and as it 
 passed I saw two figures, a man in a rich dress whose back was 
 towards me, but whose height and figure somewhat resembled 
 my own, and a woman, whose head, when I first looked, rested 
 upon the man's shoulder, while her arms were twined around his 
 neck, and her whole attitude was one of clinging affection. She 
 raised her head and looked , not at me, but at the man whom she 
 caressed, and I saw her face was the lovely face of my wife, 
 Zuleika. But not as I had seen it last, soft and tender, and with 
 the innocent look of a petted child. She wore the evil smile, she 
 gave the man beside her the alluring tempting glance, which I 
 had seen the first time I had ever beheld her image in the mirror in 
 this room, and I shuddered as I saw it stamped upon her face again. 
 
 "Who was the man?" I asked myself, as a chill suspicion 
 gathered in my heart. "Who was it? His figure was like my 
 own. Surely the mirror showed me Zuleika as she would 
 receive me a few hours hence. That evil smile was not hers; it 
 was born of the evil atmosphere of this room, which tainted all I 
 beheld in it. Zuleika could never look like that ! It was a false 
 libel on her ! And yet again, who was the man? Was it myself? " 
 
 As if in answer to me, the man turned his head, and I saw the 
 face was not my face, but the King's. 
 
 In my furious anger I dashed the mirror upon the ground, and 
 stamped upon it with the iron-shod heels of my sandals, till I had 
 ground it into a thousand pieces, crying out that it was a false and 
 lying mirror, a cheating worthless reflector of the unseen things. 
 And as I stormed and raved in my passion I seemed to see a phan 
 tom form rise up and glide along the wall towards me, and the 
 face as it turned to me was the face of the dead Jelal-ud-din hin> 
 self. Not the face as I had known it in life, but as I had known 
 it in death, distorted and horrible.
 
 io6 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 The low, mocking, sneering hugh of the dead man fell upon 
 my ears, and his voice seemed to hi>> out to me in a fierce whisper, 
 ' ' Wait ! Wait and see whether my mirror hath lied to thee ! Wait 
 till all thy warm affections have turned to bitterness and gall! 
 Till all thy bright hopes lie like withered leaves around tlur! 
 Till the most sacred vows to thee have been broken, and thy trust 
 betrayed ! And thy ruined life shall cry aloud for vengeance, and 
 in thine agony thou shall call upon those powers of evil, whose 
 aid thou dost now despise, for help to crush those who have 
 wronged thee and then say whether the visions Jelal-ud-din 
 hath shown thee were true or false!" 
 
 The phantom faded as the words died away like a faint echo, 
 and I stood alone in the room, with the shattered fragments of the 
 broken mirror scattered around me. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 THE GATHERING OF THE STORM 
 
 On the afternoon of the day on which I had gone to visit the 
 house of Jelal-ud-din, Queen Artemisia sat alone in her apart 
 ments, gazing from the windows over the city which lay beyond 
 the Palace walls, and musing anxiously over the news of a for 
 midable insurrection amongst her son's subjects, which had just 
 reached her. The banished third son of El Jazid, accompanied 
 by the former Vizier, Babadul, and the fugitive General, Ben 
 Al Zulid, had entered Persia, and their standard had already 
 been joined by many who disliked or feared Queen Artemisia 
 and her son. Her anger against me was kindled afresh by this 
 news, and had it not been that she believed my presence necessary 
 to the safety of her son she would have ordered my arrest and 
 execution. 
 
 "Surely," thought she, "we have wise men at the Court of 
 Persia whose knowledge is equal to that of this stranger? The 
 secret power he wields is doubtless due to some magical art. 
 Could I but discover what it is there are plenty of learned men 
 in Parsagherd who could cast this spell as successfully as Ahrin-
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 107 
 
 ziman. I shall seek out this wife of his, and learn from her 
 what are his secret habits, and from whom he hath gleaned this 
 secret power. It is said that this is the same man who, as an 
 unknown youth, came unto a magician and dwelt with him until 
 both mysteriously disappeared. The clothes of the magician 
 were found lying in a little heap, as though he had cast them off 
 and there lay beside them naught but a little black dust; the man 
 himself had vanished, though whether he had left the earth or 
 but transported himself unto another place, none of his neigh 
 bors could tell. 'Tis a strange story, yet methinks there are 
 wondrous resemblances between the description that was given 
 me of the arts used by the vanished magician and the youth who 
 was his pupil, and those which Ahrinziman doth practice. Could 
 I then find where the master magician dwelt I could afford to 
 dispense with the services of his pupil Ahrinziman. And I 
 would like well to humble this proud man, who treats me, not 
 as a Queen, but with almost the air of an equal. He dislikes 
 me even as I hate him why, then, should I and my son be 
 under obligations to his skill?" 
 
 She rose and paced to and fro like a caged tigress, as she 
 thought of these things, and of yet another and more deadly 
 reason she had for hating me. It was but a suspicion as yet, 
 but each day it assumed the stronger appearance of a certainty 
 in her own mind. There were times when she was startled by 
 the resemblance I bore in gesture and in looks to the dead El 
 Jazid. Those tricks of manner which are often used uncon 
 sciously, and inherited from our parents, were very marked in 
 me, and others besides the Queen had noticed them. Artemisia 
 had never believed in the story of my death as an infant, and 
 the news of this insurrection was coupled with the statement 
 that Ahmed, the third son of El Jazid, was claiming the throne 
 by virtue of a decree signed by the King before his death, in 
 which there was mention of the child supposed to be dead, but 
 thought by El Jazid to be yet living. Nothing more definite 
 could the Queen learn as yet, but it was enough to turn her 
 suspicions into certainty. 
 
 "Oh, ye Gods!" cried she, passionately; "Oh, ye Gods! 
 Have I so long waited for my full revenge to find it in my hands 
 at last? Can it be that this is indeed the son of that Greek girl 
 who stole my husband's love, and cast a blight over all my life? 
 He doth bear a most wondrous resemblance unto the king, yet
 
 io8 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 there are times when he looks at me with her eyes, and I see 
 again the glance of half wonder with which she regarded me 
 ere fear filled her soul, and she fled in terror from the dagger 
 that killed her. A thousand times have I seen her thus. Shi- 
 haunts me like a dim shadow: dead always, since I killed her; 
 phantom-like, since she hath no more existence but a shadow 
 from which I cannot free myself; a phantom I can never lay to 
 rest. And in this her son, for of a surety he is her son, I see 
 again her face and El Jazid's reflected to me. I might kill him 
 any hour, but what is death? A momentary pang, and all is 
 over; the victims are gone where thou canst reach them no more, 
 while thou art left to eat out thine heart in a slow agony through 
 the long years of thy life. I killed the Greek girl in mine angry 
 haste; rather should I have killed El Jazid and let her live on, 
 that I might make her suffer, and taste, as I have, all the bitter 
 ness of scorn and neglect. Fate would seem to have delivered 
 unto me her son; and Fate shall help me to extract from him and 
 from his ruined and empoisoned life the salve which can alone 
 soothe the bitterness of my heart." 
 
 She ground her teeth and shook her clenched hands above 
 her head in her savage desire, and struck her breast in passionate 
 anger, as she thought over the fierce agony of her slighted love, 
 and the scornful contemptuous manner of the dead king towards 
 her. Well, indeed, would it have been for me and for mine 
 had I paid more heed to the warning Al Zulid had given me, 
 not to trust myself in Artemisia's power. 
 
 Zuleika had been in the Palace for a week only, and had 
 not yet seen the Queen, when a gracious message from Artemisia 
 filled her with a conflict of emotions in which gratified vanity 
 held the largest share. She hastily attired herself in the most 
 gorgeous raiment she possessed, and made an attempt to decorate 
 the apartments. She then went forth to receive her Royal visitor 
 at the entrance to them. 
 
 When the Queen had been conducted to the seat of honor 
 which had hurriedly been arranged for her, Zuleika made a 
 deep obeisance of respect, and prostrated herself at Artemisia's 
 feet with a truly wonderful imitation of the manners of the Queen's 
 attendants that did credit to her powers of mimicry. 
 
 The Queen, who was all impatience to see my wife, com 
 manded Zuleika to unveil, and as she drew aside the veil, with 
 which in a spirit of coquetry she had concealed her features,
 
 THE STORY OF AHRNIZIMAN 109 
 
 the Queen uttered an exclamation of surprise and satisfaction, 
 for she saw that Zuleika was indeed very beautiful. Her girlish 
 loveliness had matured into still more perfect charms since her 
 marriage. Artemisia signed to her to seat herself at her feet, 
 and, having dismissed the attendant women, thus addressed her: 
 
 "I had thought to have visited ere this the wife of one whom 
 my son delighteth to honor, but the cares of state are many, and 
 my time hath been fully occupied. Of a truth I must commend 
 the taste of thine husband, for thou, Zuleika, art lovely enough 
 to have found favor in the eyes of any man, were he even the 
 King himself." She fixed her keen eyes upon Zuleika as she 
 said this, to note whether she would betray any confusion at 
 the mention of the King's name, but Zuleika, ostensibly to ex 
 press how overwhelmed she was by the condescension of the 
 Queen, but in reality to hide a tell-tale blush which mantled her 
 cheeks for a brief moment, bowed almost to the ground, and 
 spread out her hands in the most profound salaam before the 
 O_ueen. 
 
 "Your Highness does me too much honor," said she, as she 
 rose up. "I am not worthy of these favors which are showered 
 upon me." 
 
 "Thou art doubtless a stranger to the ways of a Palace, 
 then, yet thou hast the manner of those who are not altogether 
 unacquainted with the presence of the great," said the Queen, 
 in flattering tones. "Whence didst thou come, before thou and 
 thy husband dwelt in Herat?" 
 
 "Nay but, your Highness, I know no city but Herat, where 
 I lived with my Uncle from a child." 
 
 "And thy husband, is he from Herat also?" 
 
 "Ahrinziman hath been a traveller, most gracious Queen; 
 who can say from what place those who travel much come?" 
 
 "Truly; yet he must have been born somewhere. Where 
 did his parents reside?" 
 
 "I know not. Ahrinziman is one of those who have known 
 little of a parent's love." 
 
 "Even as he hath spent his youth somewhere he hath learnt 
 the arts of healing and of war in some school. Dost thou know 
 so little of thy husband as not to know these things concerning 
 him? If so, thou art a model wife to trust, a mirror of wittily 
 discretion," said the Queen, irritably. 
 
 Again Zuleika prostrated herself before the Queen ere she
 
 no THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 replied. "Ahrinziman hath studied in so many schools it were 
 hard to say to which to give the honor of his success, or even to 
 remember where they all were, since I am but an unlearned 
 person, and know not where all the cities and countries are of 
 which men speak." 
 
 "Thou mayest be unlearned, but thou art no fool, I do well 
 perceive, and thy discretion does thee honor," said Artemisia, 
 with a show of indifference she was far from feeling, "but if thou 
 dost desire to rise in my favor, and that of the king, thou and 
 tby husband would do well to trust us with the history of his 
 past. Methinks I can do Ahrinziman service which will dis 
 charge in part the debt of gratitude I owe him, but to do so it 
 is needful I should learn of what country he is. Can Persia 
 claim him as her son?" 
 
 "I have always thought he is a Persian, Gracious Queen, 
 but I will surely ask him." 
 
 "Do so, only do not say the Queen desired to know, for I 
 design an honor for him, and would not have him to know of 
 it till all be complete. Thou art one who would grace well the 
 highest position, Zuleika, and thou must ever count upon the 
 friendship of Artemisia to raise thee to it. I am glad to have 
 seen thee. Thou and I must see much of each other." 
 
 Artemisia rose, and summoning her maids prepared to return 
 to her own apartments, parting from Zuleika with every mark of 
 favor she could bestow, so that Zuleika was charmed with her 
 Royal visitor and her head was filled with a hundred ambitious 
 dreams. 
 
 Scarcely had the Queen left when another messenger arrived, 
 this time from the King, bearing a most beautiful basket of 
 roses, amidst whose fragrance there reposed a magnificent necklet 
 of pearls, which the King begged Zuleika to accept as a mark 
 of esteem from himself. The slave who brought it added mys 
 teriously that Zuleika would do well to take a walk at sunset in 
 the garden, and to visit the little summer house at the further 
 end of the enclosure, wearing the King's present to show that 
 she had accepted it. 
 
 The moon had risen in the evening sky, and its light silvered 
 
 ith a glittering sheen the leaves and flowers around the 
 
 King and Zuleika. It flooded with its soft radiance the fair
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN in 
 
 garden, yet left the summer house in which they stood in deepest 
 shadow. As the moonbeams fell upon the necklet of pearls 
 which lay beside them, the King took it and clasped it round 
 Zuleika's lovely throat, while he bent down again and yet again 
 to press passionate kisses upon her lips. And then it was that 
 she responded to his caresses even as I beheld her in my vision 
 in the mirror. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 ZULEIKA QUIETS MY FEARS 
 
 I rode homeward as though a thousand devils pursued me, 
 the vision I had seen haunting me in spite of all my efforts to 
 discredit it, and making me half mad in my apprehension for 
 Zuleika's safety. 
 
 When I arrived at my own home Zuleika came forth to meet 
 me with so well acted a show of affection and pleasure that I 
 felt ashamed of my fears. To my anxious inquiries as to how 
 she had fared in my absence, and whether she had seen -any 
 thing of the King, for I was so jealously unhappy I forgot 
 to hide my feelings, and wished to see whether she would show 
 any embarrassment at the mention of his name, she raised her 
 fine eyes to my face in languid surprise, and without the slightest 
 trace of embarrassment said somewhat coldly: 
 
 "The King? What have I to do with the King? Didst 
 thou desire that I shouldst see him?" 
 
 "I desire?" said I. "No! a thousand times, No! But I 
 half feared his curiosity might prompt him to see thee, and I had, 
 moreover, a strange vision in which thou seemed to speak with 
 him." 
 
 "A vision," said Zuleika, contemptuously, "and if thou hadst 
 a vision, am I to be suspected? Nay, but thy jealousy carries 
 thee too far, Ahrinziman, thou art beyond all reason." And 
 she turned her back upon me as though to leave the room in 
 her indignation. But I followed her, and with many apologies
 
 H2 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 strove to make my peace with her vowing that she was an Angel 
 of truth and goodness, and I was a jealous fool, whose love 
 rendered him, even as she said, unreasonable. And so we 
 made it up, and Zuleika got out her harp and sang to me, and 
 did all that was possible to show how she welcomed my return, 
 till I vowed to myself that of a truth the mirror must have lied 
 and it was well I had destroyed it. 
 
 Although Zuleika affected to know nothing of the King, she 
 told me of Artemisia's visit, and amused me much by mimicking 
 the whole scene, acting the part of the Queen with a haughty 
 gracefulness that was but half acting. She so assured me of 
 the discretion she had shown in answering the questions of the 
 Queen that I had small apprehension when in a few days she 
 was sent for to visit Artemisia. 
 
 When Zuleika entered the Queen's apartments she found 
 her surrounded by costly treasures of every kind: rich silken 
 stuffs, interwoven with gold thread, and spangled with glittering 
 jewels; fine veils of snowy gossamer; fabrics elaborately em 
 broidered; priceless ornaments of rare workmanship, scattered 
 on every side, while the Queen herself, as she rose and advanced 
 a few steps to meet Zuleika (a mark of the greatest honor she 
 could give) made a striking contrast to the ambitious girl whose 
 aspiring mind made her already picture herself as occupying 
 the position of the proud Artemisia. The one born to rule, and 
 surrounded from her cradle with all the appanages of royalty, 
 beautiful still with the ripened beauty of the mature summer 
 or early autumn of life, taller than the ordinary height of women, 
 and though far from being stout, yet enough so to give a more 
 majestic appearance to her handsome figure a Queen in every 
 gesture, every thought. 
 
 The other, smaller, slighter, with the fragile delicate beauty 
 of a blush rose, the graceful caressing manner of a child, yet 
 with an ambition as keen, a heart as proud, a temper as indom 
 itable as that of the haughty Queen, before whom she was con 
 strained to affect a humility she did not feel; with a cunning as 
 deep, an intellect as keen, as Artemisia's own, and a capability 
 of accommodating herself to the circumstances of the moment 
 which the impatient Queen did not possess; and with a 
 calm indifference to all but her own interests, an insensibility 
 to all deep emotions which the passionate elder woman could 
 not have understood. Artemisia could act when it suited her
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 113 
 
 purpose, and feign a friendliness she did not feel to hide her 
 real intentions, but with her the graciousness was forced, the 
 deception a matter of study, and an effort to herself; while with 
 Zuleika the acting was instinctive, she was always acting, 
 always posing to herself as well as to others. In the solitude 
 of her own chamber she posed to herself as the possessor of an 
 emotional character as foreign to her real nature as fire is to 
 ice. She depicted passions as she had seen them displayed by 
 others, and mimicked the most intense manifestations of love or 
 hate, joy or despair, without feeling the smallest throb of these 
 emotions herself. 
 
 It was because she was a mere mimic, and not truly an actress, 
 that she failed to arouse in others the answering svmpathy which 
 can alone be awakened by the perfect actors or actresses, who 
 themselves feel vividly for the time all the intensities of passion 
 which they depict. Zuleika was a mere mimic, and in her 
 mimicry her real inner nature had no share, her soul no part; 
 and this was the reason that her deepest protestations of love 
 left my heart still in doubt; her most carefully acted devotion 
 left me still suspicious and distrustful, for while I argued that 
 she showed me all the affectionate attention a husband could 
 desire, my instinctive sense of the unreality of her loving words 
 and soft caresses kept my heart restless and unsatisfied. 
 
 In the struggle these two women, who both sought to wield 
 power through their influence over the King, were pretty equally 
 equipped, the qualities possessed by each being balanced very 
 evenly, for while Zuleika's youth and beauty, her art, and her 
 perfect coolness of temper gave her certain advantages over the 
 Queen, the latter had the influence of years, the ties of long 
 affection, the habit of obedience to her in the past, to aid her, 
 and had it not been for the interposition of a power, with whose 
 influence neither had reckoned, it is impossible to say which 
 would have been the victor, or which would have had to yield 
 to the supremacy of the other. As it was, they each affected a 
 friendliness they did not feel, and each believed they had deceived 
 the other.
 
 n 4 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 THE KING'S FAVORS 
 
 Soon after Zuleika returned from her audience with the 
 Queen I was summoned to attend the King, and sent on a mission 
 which took me away for a few hours of tin- evening. On my 
 return I went as usual to take my parchments from their box, 
 for I was deeply interested in reading those I had at last brought 
 from my dead master's house. They contained a most curious 
 description of the means whereby the spirits of the Astral plane, 
 and the multiform beings of an evil nature who hover around 
 the earth, could be controlled and made to serve man as humble 
 if dangerous servants a knowledge which Jelal-ud-din had 
 withheld from me. I had almost finished the manuscript, and 
 thought I would do so before I slept. 
 
 When, however, I opened the box I perceived that they had 
 been disarranged. They were not in the order in which I had 
 placed them, and on taking them into my hands I at once be 
 came conscious of a fresh influence pervading them. Some one 
 had been to the box. Some one had discovered my hiding 
 place, and my treasures were no longer safe. 
 
 Much agitated by this discovery I resolved to lose no time 
 in placing them in a fresh place of concealment, and taking the 
 box with me I went out, and mounting my horse again rode 
 away unattended to a lonely spot a few miles from the city. 
 Here I buried the box under some wild tamarisk bushes, and, 
 having carefully removed all traces of my having done so, re 
 turned unobserved to my apartments in the Palace. 
 
 Who it was who had found out my manuscripts I could not 
 guess. Zuleika I did not suspect, and the influence of the person 
 who had been handling them was a strange one to me. Doubt 
 less, thought I, some servant hath done it, and finding the box 
 contained no money left it alone. I wished now I had not so 
 hastily destroyed the magic mirror in my anger, for it might 
 have shown me something. My own powers were not available 
 unaided, because the bustle and confusion of my present life,
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 115 
 
 my anxieties and worldly thoughts, had impaired them so much 
 that I could no longer command my visions, or behold things 
 I wished to see save in fitful uncertain glimpses. The mirror 
 had aided my weakened powers, and formed a means of reflect 
 ing in a semi-material manner the multitudinous events that 
 were taking place around me, or had shadowed forth those 
 which were approaching. I had now no means of forewarning 
 myself of the plots and machinations which were gathering 
 around my path, and the dim sense of coming evil which op 
 pressed my soul only served to render my own unaided powers 
 still less fit for use. All my dreams were broken and disturbed, 
 and the pictures in them were like distorted reflections in the 
 broken fragments of the mirror, which in my passion I had 
 destroyed. All the omens around me seemed to point to some 
 great misfortune, or even to death; whose, I could not see, but 
 I felt that my own fate was involved with that of others. Th- 
 atmosphere of the Palace oppressed me. The manner of Zue 
 leika was so artificial in its semblance of affection that I began 
 to suspect her. The King, whose mind I could often read, 
 gave me the feeling that he was meditating some treachery 
 towards me, how or in what way I could not see. The Queen 
 I had always felt to be my enemy, as I was hers, and I had little 
 doubt that she was planning some mischief against me. 
 
 In this state of affairs I resolved to leave the Palace and the 
 King, and to seek out Al Zulid and learn what he could do 
 for me. 
 
 Well would it have been had I but done so promptly, and 
 left the very night I found my parchments had been tampered 
 with. But I hesitated. I wished Zuleika, as a matter of course, 
 to be the companion of my meditated secret flight from the 
 Palace, and she refused to go. She was most indignant at what 
 she termed my folly, my insanity, in proposing to throw away 
 the favor of the King, the position of honor which I had enjoyed 
 for such a very few weeks, and all because, forsooth, I had bad 
 dreams, suffered from forebodings, and was suspicious and 
 distrustful! She assured me of the favor the Queen had shown 
 her, but she did not add that the King and she had met daily, 
 and that his favors had considerably outweighed in value those 
 bestowed by the Queen. She coaxed me, she soothed me, she 
 practised all her arts to tranquillise my mind, and so great was 
 her magnetic power she succeeded in lulling me into a species
 
 of mental torpor, though she could not beguile away my 
 apprehensions. 
 
 In truth, she was seeking to gain time. She did not wish to 
 put herself absolutely in the power of the King till she was very 
 sure that the foundations of her influence over Selim were secure, 
 and strong enough to bid defiance to any assaults of the Queen 
 or any other person. She did not want me to come to any harm 
 she was not heartless enough for that but she did want to get 
 me out of the way as quietly as possible, since I had become a 
 barrier between her and her ambition. She had never really 
 loved me, and, strange as it may seem, she had conceived a 
 passion for the King, born principally of her admiration for his 
 power and wealth. She wanted me to go away, but she had no 
 idea of accompanying me. Events had hurried on so fast that 
 it was not yet two months since Selim had ascended the throne; 
 scarcely two weeks since Zuleika had arrived from Herat, 
 and yet the current of our lives was bearing us on in a rapid 
 rush towards a mighty whirlpool of destruction. The impa 
 tience of the King was precipitating the crisis of Zuleika's fate, 
 which she was vainly striving to delay. 
 
 In less time than a week from the time when I had discovered 
 that my parchment scrolls had been inspected, I was sent for 
 by the King, and informed with many flattering speeches that 
 it was his desire to appoint me Governor of a distant province 
 for a short time, in the absence of the present Governor. " Ahrin- 
 ziman," said he, "if for these few weeks thou dost find that the 
 cares of Government are to thy taste, on thy return we can think 
 of some position about the Court to suit thee, and this experience 
 will give me excuse for appointing thee unto it. For my.-clf, 
 I feel now so well I think I can dispense with thy constant pres 
 ence for a short time, and when thou dost return thou shalt find 
 we have not forgotten thee in thine absence. I have here a 
 letter, written and signed with mine own hand and seal, which 
 thou shalt give unto the Governor whose place thou art to occupy 
 for a brief season. It tells him how highly I esteem thee. As 
 for thy wife, Ahrinziman," he added, coloring confusedly, for 
 my eyes were intent upon his face, and his own fell before my 
 gaze, "As for thy Wife, my mother will charge herself with the 
 care of her till thy return. She hath conceived a great liking 
 for her. Surely thou wilt feel that she is safe in the charge of 
 the Queen?"
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 117 
 
 I bowed to him in silence, for my thoughts were in a tumult, 
 and I could not trust myself to speak. 
 
 He handed to me the letter I was to deliver to the Governor, 
 and as he did so his hand shook as the hand of one with a palsy, 
 while his eyes sought the floor, and he said in uncertain tones: 
 
 "Ahrinziman, it is because of my friendship for thee that I 
 send thee on this mission. It is that I may have excuse to confer 
 upon thee yet higher honors. Thou art of too great value to 
 myself for me to send thee forth without good reason, and I 
 shall await with impatience the hour of thy return, Oh, my friend." 
 
 His words were the words of friendship, but I knew that he 
 lied to me, for I could read his thoughts. Though I could read at 
 the time the thoughts of none other around me, I could read his, 
 and I knew that he lied, for in his heart he said that I should 
 never return, since he was only sending me to find, not honor 
 but my grave. 
 
 In my anger at his ingratitude and treachery I would have 
 drawn my dagger and stabbed him to the heart as he sat there, 
 for he and I were alone; there was none to witness our audience. 
 But I restrained myself, and though my fingers played with the 
 hilt of my dagger, and mine eyes gazed at him with a steady 
 look of scorn, till he quailed beneath their glance and thought 
 to summon his guards, I drew not my weapon. I contented 
 myself with a haughty bow to him as I said: 
 
 "Oh, Sire! Well do I know how to value the favors of 
 Kings, and greatly do I thank thee for this last, this crowning 
 mark of thy honor and thy regard." 
 
 Then I went forth, and sought Zuleika, that she and I together 
 might leave this Palace of evil omen. 
 
 Again and again I sought to take her with me. Nay, in my 
 anger and suspicion I even tried to take her by force, for she 
 refused to go with me. She wept and implored that I should 
 leave her where she was. She vowed she believed in the friend 
 ship of the Queen, and she refused to believe that any harm was 
 meant to me, and at last when I tried to force her away she 
 turned upon me in hot anger, and vowed she would rouse the 
 Palace with her screams if I did not go and leave her. "Wait," 
 said she, "and if thou dost not return I will go to thee, but I 
 shall not be hurried thus away for thy foolish fancies, thy un 
 worthy suspicions of thy best friends." 
 
 At last I was so angry that I left her, saying in ray wrath
 
 n8 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 that if her heart was with her new friends rather than with her 
 husband, they might keep her body with them also; but in mine 
 own mind I vowed to myself that if they sent me away I would 
 return unseen, as I well knew how to do, and would learn the 
 meaning of their strange desire to be thus rid of me. 
 
 It was early morning when I set forth, and all that day I 
 rode on at the head of my troop of soldiers, and it was as though 
 all the black devils of hell rode with me, so full of bitter anger 
 was my heart, so bent was I upon my scheme of vengeance. 
 "For," said I to myself, "if Zuleika be false to me, if she hath 
 stayed while I am sent away in order that she may become the 
 plaything of the King, verily as there is a sky above our heads, 
 as certainly as there are powers of evil around its, it shall be no 
 common revenge that I shall exact from those who have wrought 
 the ruin of my life. And by the powers of Ahriman, they shall 
 die, each one. The devils of the darkest hell shall drag them 
 down there together. If truly thou hast spoken to me, Oh my 
 dead master, if thy mirror lied not when it showed unto me the 
 vision of Zuleika and the King, then of a truth will I call on thee 
 and thine unseen servants of Darkness to aid me in my revenge." 
 
 I had scarce quitted the Palace half an hour ere Zuleika, 
 who was all impatience to possess herself of my mysterious 
 parchments, went to look in the former hiding place for them. 
 As I had been led to imagine that I was only to be absent for a 
 short time she did not suppose I would take them with me, and 
 she was still further reassured upon this point by seeing that I 
 departed without any box resembling the one she knew to con 
 tain the coveted scrolls. Her dismay may be imagined when 
 she found the hiding place empty and the papers and box gone! 
 
 She turned deadly pale, and for the first few moments it 
 seemed to her that all was lost, for I must have grown suspicious 
 and taken them with me. The glance which the court Astrolo 
 ger had obtained of the papers had been too hurried to allow 
 of his mastering their contents in a way to prove of any practical 
 value, and who knew what I might do were my suspicions fully 
 aroused. Zuleika flattered herself that she had sent me away, 
 angry, no doubt, but yet in ignorance of the fact of her infidelity 
 to me, and she hoped that ere I discovered it she would make 
 her position with the King so secure as to enable her to defy
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 119 
 
 my anger. She even hoped that she might be able to evade all 
 consequences of her treachery. 
 
 Now, however, with the scrolls gone as well as myself, how 
 were they to protect the King? At any moment he might be 
 taken ill again, and her fine castle might tumble about her ears. 
 She dared not tell Artemisia of the loss, but she sent for the 
 court Astrologer, and with many wiles beguiled him into prom 
 ising to help her in keeping the disappearance of the papers a 
 secret till it was possible to obtain possession of them again. 
 This he assured her he had a very safe plan for doing, although 
 he declined to tell her what it was, merely assuring her that there 
 were others besides her husband who could cast spells and cause 
 missing property to be found. This man had no particular 
 love for me, as indeed he could hardly have, seeing how I had 
 supplanted him and cast discredit upon his skill, and he was only 
 too ready to assist in hastening my downfall. He sought out 
 the King, and with much caution informed him that from study 
 ing the stars he perceived that it would not be possible that I 
 should be allowed to continue my journey; were I to do so disas 
 ter would overtake his majesty. "Oh, Sire!" said the Astrologer, 
 "while he lives, danger will menace the person of the King, 
 for so did it appear in my vision, and only with his death will 
 the life of your majesty be secure." 
 
 The Astrologer prostrated himself before the King, but even 
 while his head was bent down his cunning eyes were striving 
 to read the effect his words had produced upon his master. 
 
 As for Selim, he was visibly disturbed, and after twisting 
 nervously at the fringe of his sash for some moments, he replied : 
 
 "Thou sayest that were Ahrinziman once dead his power 
 would cease and I should be safe. To secure this it needs not 
 that we should recall him, for, behold, I have myself thought 
 his power boded no good to me, and though he carries with him 
 a letter of friendship to deliver unto the Governor, I have sent 
 a swift messenger before him with another, wherein I have 
 directed that he be imprisoned and slain. It needs not that 
 we recall him. I desire not his return." 
 
 The Astrologer started with surprise at this speech, and 
 answered: "True, Oh King, yet the Governor of that city hath 
 no knowledge of occult things. He will slay Ahrinziman, with 
 out doubt, but he will not extract from him first the knowledge 
 we desire. Ahrinziman will die without releasing your High-
 
 120 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 ness from his spell, so that the last state of your Majesty will 
 be worse than the first. Had my august Master thought fit to 
 consult me, his humble slave, I would have warned him of this 
 danger. Now I only pray that Ahrinziman may he retailed, in 
 order that ere he die we may force him to withdraw his spells, 
 and disclose the source of his secret power. It needs not that 
 he should approach your majesty, or guess why he hath been 
 recalled." 
 
 Again the King hesitated, then fear for his own safety, and 
 a feverish desire to put an end to his present state of suspense, 
 prevailed, and summoning his scribe he gave the required order 
 for my return, and a messenger was sent in hot haste to bring 
 me back, on the plea that the King had forgotten something 
 he desired to tell me. The crafty Astrologer returned from his 
 audience well pleased, for he did not doubt that he should now 
 be able to get me into his power, and force me by means of tor 
 ture to disclose where I had put the missing parchments. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 THE DARK ANGEL'S HELP 
 
 At nightfall we pitched our tents on the outskirts of the Great 
 Salt Desert, and so soon as I had seen to the arrangements for 
 the repose of my escort, I retired to my own tent, and gave strict 
 orders that I should on no account be disturbed. 
 
 As soon as all was quiet around me, save for the measured 
 tramp of the sentry before the door of my tent, I took from my 
 bosom the scroll which I had last brought from the secret reposi 
 tory of my dead master, and trimming the little lamp which 
 burned in my tent, sat down to try to read over again all that it 
 said about the methods of controlling the mysterious forces of 
 the Astral plane. I had a vague confused idea of turning those 
 powers into an instrument to execute my meditated vengeance, 
 but in the agitated state of my mind I felt it impossible to think 
 out any plan clearly, or to still the wild throbbing of my brain.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 121 
 
 I would have given anything now to possess again the magic 
 mirror which I had destroyed; I wanted to see Zuleika, to learn 
 what were her real motives in remaining behind. In vain I tried 
 to read the scroll; the characters danced before my eyes, and 
 only a word here and there could I decipher. I thrust it from 
 me at last, and rose to pace backwards and forwards in the little 
 tent, as a relief to my restlessness. 
 
 I had taken but a few turns when the sound of a deep sigh, 
 uttered as if in mockery of my own, saluted my ears, and in the 
 farther corner of the tent I saw a dim, black, shadowy figure, 
 shrouded in a mantle. It seemed to waver and grow faint, 
 then gather together again, and become more distinct, yet always 
 with the appearance of being a mere reflection, a veritable 
 shadow thrown upon the curtains of the tent. For several 
 minutes I watched it in silence, then I called aloud, though in a 
 low voice, "Who art thou? From whence hast thou come?" 
 
 The shadow grew darker, stronger, more sharply defined 
 for a moment, and as I gazed I recognised the majestic figure, 
 the regal poise of the shrouded head which I had seen in the 
 veiled Angel of Darkness which I had beheld so long before on 
 this very desert plain. There was no figure visible this time, 
 only this dark shadow of its form, veiled and shrouded as before. 
 
 A soft mocking laugh came like a distant echo to my ears, 
 and the sound of a far-off voice seemed to speak this answer to 
 my question: 
 
 "Thou dost ask who I am? Thou, who shouldst know me 
 well, since I have constituted myself the guide of thy life, and 
 have helped on the accomplishment of thine ambition. Thou 
 didst desire to climb, and thou hast climbed high already, al 
 though thou hast not yet reached the pinnacle of thy desire. My 
 hand hath helped thee up step by step, and now in the hour of 
 thine anguish thou dost still hesitate to call upon me for aid. 
 Thy heart is sore. Try, then, the sweet balm of vengeance 
 which I can offer thee to soothe its pangs." 
 
 "Thou dost speak of vengeance, Oh thou Angel of Accursed- 
 ness. Canst thou show me how to pierce a Palace wall, and 
 drag from its shelter those who I deem have wronged me? Canst 
 thou show me, and show me truly, what my wife doeth now? Of 
 whom she dreams? I" would know the truth as it appears unto 
 the eyes of God. Canst thou, whose powers are evil, show me 
 that which is true?"
 
 122 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 The figure seemed to rise up before me, till it towered above 
 my head, and tasting back the mantle bade me look upon the 
 face of the dark Angel, and gaze into his eyes. And as I strove 
 to do so there came a face, as living and distinct as mine own, 
 into the shadowy form; the eyes looked with steady gaze into 
 mine own, until it seemed as though they would scorch me with 
 the lightning of their glance; the haughty brows frowned at 
 me in mingled rage and scorn, and from the compressed lips 
 these words came hissing in a fierce whisper: 
 
 "Can I show thee those things which are true, thou dost 
 ask? Dost thou think all that is evil must be false? Is there 
 not the germ of truth in all things? Yea, even in that which 
 would have seemed the grossest falsehood to thee once, hath it 
 not been proved already there was truth? I am an Angel of 
 Darkness, and in mine own dark realm I reign supreme, over 
 beings as vile and evil as any in our dread kingdom of Hell, but 
 in all my court there are no liars; they who lie must even x-ek 
 another King, since I have naught in affinity with them. Search 
 the Spirit World from end to end, if thou canst even in imagina 
 tion do it, and thou wilt ever find that like draws unto like; 
 treachery seeks unto it its fellow traitor; but even in the lowe>t 
 depths, surh as thou and I have no affinity with the mean liar, 
 the snake-like friend, who stabs in the dark, while his face smiles 
 unto thee by day. Behold! I am a Ruler in Hell. I am as 
 evil as is the most evil of the Angels of Ahriman. Murder and 
 War, Bloodshed and Revenge, Destruction and Fear, follow in 
 my train; but Falsehood knows me not; Deceit flies before my 
 approach, and if I show thee aught there will be at least truth in 
 what I show. 
 
 "Thou wouldst see thy wife? Behold her now." 
 
 He waved his shadowy arm, and in the corner of the tent 
 there appeared a crimson star, held in a circlet of gold like unto 
 a crown. Around the star a grey mist like a veil appeared to 
 float, and as it grew thinner and thinner the star shone out with 
 brighter rays, and by its light I saw that the circlet of gold en- 
 ( in led a woman's head. More and more transparent grew the 
 misty veil, and I saw Zuleika. She appeared to .-land before a 
 mirror of }>olished steel, and to poise her head gracefully, first on one 
 side and then upon the other, while she watched the jewel >parkle 
 amidst her lonu floating hair; and her I wreathed in smiles 
 
 as she admired her own beauty reflected in the burnished steel.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 123 
 
 She was attired in her richest dress, the dress which Artemisia 
 had given her, and her bare arms and throat sparkled with jewels 
 which I had never seen her wear. "From whence had she 
 obtained them?" I asked in my jealous anger. 
 
 As though in answer to my thought, she raised one hand to 
 her lips, and kissed with passionate delight a ring she wore 
 a man's ring. Oh, powers of Heaven' I recognised it then. 
 It was the King's Signet Ring. She spread out her hands and 
 looked at it, as a child admires a new toy. She coquetted with 
 her own reflection; she pouted, she frowned, she smiled, yea, 
 she even half blushed, and drooped her eyes in sweet and modest 
 confusion, as though she parried the advances of a too ardent 
 wooer. It was not my wife I looked at then, but some young 
 shy maid, who dreams for the first time of love. 
 
 Suddenly her manner changed, as a fresh mood seized her. 
 She threw up her head in haughty grace; she walked a few steps 
 forward and then back, as though she were a Queen; she held 
 out her hands, as though to raise some suppliant; she signed 
 imperiously to an imaginary companion to begone, and turned 
 away with a contemptuous frown, and a proud toss of her head, 
 worthy of a Queen. Then she changed again. She became 
 all radiant smiles, all bewitching rapture, and held out her arms 
 as though to embrace some one, while her lips murmured, not 
 my name, but that of Selim. 
 
 So realistic was the vision that in my rage I rushed forward, 
 dagger in hand, to stab her to the heart, and like a thing of mist 
 she vanished, and I stood alone in my tent. 
 
 Even the shadow of the Dark Angel had vanished, but his 
 voice was still audible to me, and as I drew back, trembling 
 with anger and disappointment, he said: 
 
 "Thou dost know now how false is this daughter of the 
 Serpent, and thou would st desire to kill her. If so thou canst 
 only do so in thine own material body. The powers which I 
 wield have no influence over her, or over that false Queen who 
 killed thy Mother, and hath ruined thine own life. They belong 
 not to the sphere wherein I rule, and the stars of those two women 
 dominate thine, so that on the spiritual plane of thine earthly 
 lives they shall prevail against thee. To avenge thy wrongs 
 upon them thou must obtain power of a material kind, and 
 while I can aid thee to obtain this, I cannot affect their welfare, 
 either materially or spiritually. With Selim it is different; he
 
 i2 4 THF STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 hovers between two spheres. He hath certain affinities with 
 thee, through thy common father, and he is already subject to 
 their influence. If thou dost desire to visit the Palace at I'arsag- 
 lu-rd, do so now. 
 
 "Draw around this earthly body of thine the signs used by 
 the master Jelal-ud-din, that it may rest safely till thy return. 
 Then go forth in thy spirit form, and judge for thyself if I have 
 shown thee truly the nature of this woman whom thou hast so 
 madly loved. Go, and my servants shall go with thee." 
 
 The voice ceased, and I took up mechanically the black wand 
 that I carried always with me, and traced out upon the floor the 
 protecting circles. Then wrapping myself in my mantle I laid 
 my body down as though to rest, while in my heart there was the 
 most fierce tumult of emotions, and in my soul the chill despair 
 of my dead hopes, the fearful agony of withered love. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 MY REVENGE 
 
 For the first time in my experience I was fully conscious of the 
 process by which a spirit can leave the earthly envelope to roam 
 untrammelled through the earth plane. As I withdrew niy-ilf 
 from my mortal covering I felt like one who throws off a cloak, 
 and after two or three slight tremors of the muscles I stood forth 
 in my spirit form, free from my material body, save for a fine 
 thread of gossamer-like texture, which still attached me to it, and 
 kept it animated by my life fluid. 
 
 In all my previous experiences I had been unconscious during 
 the change, and had awakened, as one wakes from sleep, to the 
 knowledge of my spiritual surroundings. But on this occasion 
 it was as though I had stepped forth upon a new stapc of life, and 
 a> 1 did so had withdrawn the curtain which veiled its scenes and 
 actors from my mortal sight. 
 
 Around me I perceived the spiritual counterparts of all ma 
 terial things, but they no longer appeared as they had done to my
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 125 
 
 mortal sight. Some were infinitely more beautiful; others had 
 lost all trace of their earthly beauty, by reason of their spiritual 
 defilement. My own body, as it lay before my eyes, looked as I 
 was wont to see myself, but it appeared veiled by clinging cob 
 webs, like garments dipped in some scorching corrosive fluid, 
 and stained with mud; and on looking at my spirit form I per 
 ceived that I was clothed in a like manner, while the haggard 
 wildness of my features had been transferred from the clay-like 
 image of myself upon the ground to the living, suffering spirit. 
 
 I passed my hand across my brow, to clear my brain and steady 
 my wavering thoughts, then "willing" that I should visit Zuleika, 
 I felt myself rise and rush through the air. As I hurried onward 
 I beheld around me, above and below, myriads of strange beings 
 of every shape and kind. Those phantasmal creatures I had 
 beheld so dimly before were distinct and clear to my vision now: 
 spirits like unto myself, human in their forms and in their natures; 
 some bright as radiant Angels, others dim and dark and full of 
 woe. All around me, on every side, were multitudinous forms 
 of life: man, beast, and bird; fishes and reptiles; plants; flowers; 
 all like and unlike to those of material earth life. Stars glowed 
 above me; lights flashed up and down; all was rush and hurry 
 and turmoil; and there was neither rest nor peace anywhere. 
 Like the waves of a mighty ocean the life of the astral plane surged 
 to and fro. 
 
 As I rushed onwards I saw that I was accompanied by a great 
 train of spirits; weird creatures of phantom shapes, and the 
 human spirits of dead men and women of evil lives. Onward 
 with me they rushed, howling, shouting, crying, yelling out wild 
 imprecations and fierce cries for vengeance upon all mankind, 
 gesticulating like a set of maniacs, and fighting with each other 
 like a pack of wolves. Laughing and screaming in fiendish joy 
 at the thought of the sport which awaited them; waving their 
 long, skinny arms to cheer me on, and mouthing at me with their 
 hideous faces; shrieking curses upon each other and upon me, 
 even while each one struggled to get the foremost place beside 
 me, that they might the more enjoy the expected scene. 
 
 Above all this wild throng I saw the floating form of the Dark 
 Angel, poised upon his outspread wings like a majestic bird of 
 prey, who watches the battle from afar that he may swoop down 
 only to carry off the spoil which others have gathered for him. 
 And as the tide floats driftweeds onward upon itj restless bosom,
 
 iz6 THE STORY OF AHRINRIMAN 
 
 so were I and my wild escort floated on upon the current of my 
 fierce and murderous desires. 
 
 We reached the Palace and city of Parsagherd, and hung like 
 a Mack cloud over it for one brief moment, ere we all sank down 
 through roofs and walls which no longer offered any obstruction 
 to our pus-;i<_v. We entered the outer court which led to my own 
 apartments, and passed along the passage to that inner chamber 
 where Zuleika had slept in my arms so many times. At the door 
 I paused, and like a rushing torrent that meets with an obstruction 
 in its path, the rush and hurry of my feverish thoughts seemed 
 checked. 
 
 1 uld not enter. The memory of our past love, the thought 
 of all the sweetness of those vanished hours, rose up as a barrier 
 between me and my revenge. The goodness and purity, the faith 
 and trust, of the dead past, were like white Angels with outstretched 
 wings to bar the way against sin and murder. I paused. I 
 wavered for a moment in my wild thirst for vengeance. I half 
 turned back, and dropped the curtain I had begun to draw aside. 
 Another moment and my good Angel would have conquered, and 
 I should have left my meditated deed undone. 
 
 But at this critical moment, while the scales trembled in the 
 balance, the voice of Zuleika, of my faithless wife, fell upon my 
 ears, speaking in soft dulcet tones fond words of love unto my 
 rival. With a furious cry of wrath I tore aside the curtain from 
 the doorway, and looked in. 
 
 There she sat, attired as I had seen her in the vision in my 
 tent; the jewelled circlet in her hair, the rich dress, the sparkling 
 gems, the King's ring upon her ringer, all exactly as I had seen 
 it. And now upon her face there was the evil, seducing smile; 
 the shameless glance of the temptress wa> in her eyes, and she 
 looked as I had seen her first in Jelal-ud -din's mirror. 
 
 \nd Selim sat beside her. His arms encircled her. His lips 
 were pressed to hers, again and yet again, in passionate kisx 
 
 I could bear no more. With frantic haste I rushed upon them, 
 forgetting that as a spirit I was invisible, and all my angry words 
 iible. Me they saw not, but a violent trembling seized the 
 King; a cold wind as of ice enveloped Zuleika, and she drew back 
 from her lover in a sudden alarm. I tried to grasp the King. I 
 tried to strangle him. But to my astonishment my hands made 
 no impression upon him. It was as though I had become an 
 intangible shadow myself. My hands glided off his body, as
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMA 127 
 
 though the protecting armour of his material form offered an 
 impervious wall against all my attacks. I drew my dagger, or 
 rather the spiritual counterpart of the dagger, which I usually 
 wore: my dagger was like myself, a shadow, beside the strong 
 covering of the material shell. 
 
 Furious with helpless rage, I stamped upon the ground, and 
 to their ears, muffled by the flesh, my steps gave out no sound. 
 Fear filled both their hearts, but it was a nameless fear of the 
 unknown. 
 
 In my hot anger I called aloud for some power to aid my 
 vengeance, and the mocking laughter of the Dark Angel answered 
 me, as he said: 
 
 "Oh, fool ! Fool ! To think that thou, as a spirit, couldst pene 
 trate the thick armour of mortality. But behold those who can! 
 See whom I have sent unto thine aid." 
 
 A cloud enveloped us all; a cloud as black as the darkest storm 
 cloud of night, as dense as a stream of filthy black mud. And 
 in the midst of its darkness I beheld strange hideous gigantic 
 forms; frightful creatures like human apes; their hands like giant 
 hands; their arms like flails; their bodies short and misshapen, 
 like some fearful abortions of human birth. These creatures 
 wrestled and fought as they enshrouded us with their foul dark 
 atmosphere, and then the foremost of them grasped the King 
 with a grip of iron, and strangling him in an instant, as a dog 
 would kill a rat, flung his quivering body upon the ground at 
 Zuleika's feet, and like a wave of darkness the foul creatures were 
 gone as suddenly as they had come. 
 
 Fierce as had been my desire for revenge, I shuddered at the 
 horrible scene, and scarce conscious of anything but the horrible 
 face of the murdered King, I rushed away from the fatal spot. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 I AM PROCLAIMED KING 
 
 It was well that I returned so quickly to my earthly body, for 
 I found that a horrible looking low earth bound spirit was already 
 touching it, and striving to take possession. The protecting ring
 
 n8 THE STORY OF AHRJNZIMAN 
 
 of astral fire had died out in one place, and through this gap the 
 dark spirit had entered. In my wrath I rushed forward, almost 
 annihilating the wretched creature with the withering scorn of my 
 glance, and he cowered down abjectly at my feet and slunk away, 
 while I, re-entering my body with a violent and painful shock, 
 awoke with the feeling of having dreamed some dreadful night 
 mare vision, and it was some moments before I collected my 
 thoughts sufficiently to reali/c that my late experience had been 
 no dream, but a dread reality. 
 
 While I was thinking over what had passed I heard a hurried 
 whis|>ering outside my tent, then the curtain was raised caution-h 
 and some one looked in. With an exclamation of pleasure I 
 sprang up, for I recognized my father's faithful friend Al Zulid. 
 I had sent a messenger to him when I left Parsagherd, but I had 
 not hoped that he would meet me so soon, and after the terrible 
 adventure of the last hours his presence was doubly welcome, for 
 I had resolved to confide all to him, and to be guided by his 
 counsel. 
 
 He greeted me with much affection, and heard \\ ith a sympathy 
 very welcome to my sore heart the story of my wrongs, and of the 
 vengeance I had already exacted for them in so strange a manner. 
 
 "Said I not unto thee to beware of Artemisia? Did I not warn 
 thee, Ahrinx.iman, not to trust them for an hour? Verily do I 
 believe that the Queen hath had a large share in the accomplish 
 ment of thy dishonor, and of a truth thou and I shall pay off to 
 gether the debts we owe her. But it will not be wise to let others 
 know that thou hast in effect slain the King. We must act as 
 though we believed him still to be alive, and it will be time enough 
 to speak of him as dead when others shall tell us of it." 
 
 "Thou dost not believe that he is dead? That I have seen 
 him die even as I tell thee?" 
 
 "I think, friend, that thou hast had a troubled dream, mayhap. 
 Perchance it may be even as thou sayest, but till I know from 
 others that Selim hath died, and died even as th< .1 cannot 
 
 well believe so strange a thing. Think not that I despise thy 
 vision. Frown not so angrily upon me, son of my dead master, 
 for I do not doubt thou hast seen something. The gifts of divina 
 tion are thine by right of birth, even as the throne of Persia shall 
 be thine, but I think that thine agitated frame of mind may have 
 colored thy vision, and given it a more extreme ending than hath 
 belonged to it in truth. But come, thou art awake now. The
 
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 129 
 
 time for dreams is past, and if thou wouldst avenge upon Arte 
 misia thine own wrongs, and those of thy parents, we must lose no 
 time. Prince Ahmed is with me, and so are our followers, for 
 we were on the march to Parsagherd when thy messenger met 
 me, and I turned aside to seek thee. Come and see Ahmed with 
 me, for he hath dreamed of reigning, since thou wouldst not take 
 thy father's place, and he will not much like to resign his dreams 
 in thy favor.. Yet must he even do so, for thou art first. Thy 
 name comes before his, and I swore to El Jazid that should I find 
 Ahrinziman yet in life I would devote all my influence, all my 
 power to place thee, the favored son, upon the throne of Persia." 
 
 "I thank thee, Al Zulid," said I, grasping his hand with much 
 emotion. "Thou art indeed the truest of true friends, but can 
 not we arrange with Ahmed so that he shall not be wholly dis 
 appointed? Cannot we share the kingdom? Cannot he and I 
 reign each over a part, in unity not in enmity? I confess that I 
 I do now desire to reign. Love is dead for me, but Ambition 
 may yet be my God and Power my Idol. I may still seek in 
 public life the solace of distinction. Persia shall be my mistress, 
 since I have now no wife, and care for the greatness of my country 
 shall fill the void left in my heart. Besides," added I, grinding 
 my teeth with rage, "besides that, have I not my revenge still 
 incomplete? Shall I not grasp at power that I may wrestle upon 
 more equal terms with Artemisia? Her son is dead, whether thou 
 dost believe it or not, for I have seen him die; but he is only one, 
 and they who have wronged me were three. Lead me to thy 
 troops, and to Prince Ahmed, and what seems wise and right I 
 will do, for I must no more delay to take up the heritage which 
 is mine by right of birth and deed of gift." 
 
 "Good, Ahrinziman, King of Persia. But it must not be 
 thou who dost seek Ahmed; he must come to thee, and I will 
 bring him hither." 
 
 So saying he went forth, and presently returned accompanied 
 by Ahmed and the principal officers of his army, as well as the 
 Vizier Babadul. My tent was lighted only by a small lamp, but 
 a light watch fire burned outside, and as Al Zulid held back the 
 curtains of my tent, its rays fell full upon my face and figure. As 
 I stepped forth to meet Ahmed, and to assure him that my desire 
 was to divide the Kingdom with him, not to cl.iim the whole for 
 myself, the light from the fire illuminated my features and Babadul 
 and the Generals with him, who had known my father well, uttered
 
 130 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 an exclamation of surprise, for the likeness to my dead father, 
 not alone in feature and figure, but in gesture and speech, was 
 so strong they could almost have believed it was Kl Jazid himself 
 who stood again before them. Only it was like El Jazid as he 
 had been in youth, ere care had furrowed his brow and sorrow 
 dimmed the lustre of his eyes and the pride of his carriage. 
 
 As for Ahmed, he' regarded me in sullen astonishment and 
 anger. He refused my proffered hand, and bowing haughtily 
 said : 
 
 "I cannot share the Kingdom with thee. It is mine or it is 
 thine, but I at least will have no divided inheritage. I will owe 
 to the courtesy and policy of no man the power which must be 
 mine by right or not at all. I withdraw myself and my claims 
 since Ben Al Zulid and Babadul have found thee, who are named 
 before me in my father's decree. But I claim for myself perfect 
 freedom of action. I will owe no allegiance unto thee." Then 
 turning upon his heel he strode from the tent, and mounting upon 
 his horse rode away. 
 
 As soon as he was gone the others crowded around me, each 
 eager to assure me of their fidelity, and then Al Zulid advised that 
 we should go forth, and that I should show myself unto the troops, 
 to whom he had already explained who I was, and why he had 
 turned aside from his march to meet me. 
 
 Among the soldiers, and with the populace in Persia, Ben Al 
 Zulid was a great power. He was a favorite with everyone. 
 His powerful physique, his splendid military talents, his undaunted 
 courage, his success as a commander, all contributed to make him 
 popular with a warlike people, while his unswerving fidelity and 
 his noble nature won him the trust and confidence of all who 
 knew him. I verily believe that had he chosen to grasp the regal 
 sceptre for himself, instead of for me, he would have been elected 
 to the throne with acclamations of joy. 
 
 As it was, when he led me forth mounted upon my favorite 
 
 horse and surrounded by the Generals who had led the army of 
 
 my late father through so many successful campaigns, and pre- 
 
 d me to the assembled troops as the true King, appointed 
 
 '. .1 Jazid himself to succeed him, there went up a great shout of 
 " Ix)ng live the King Ahrinziman ! Long life to the son of El Ja/i< 1 ! 
 Down with Queen Artemisia and her feeble son! Long may a 
 King reign who can restore the fading glory to Persia!" 
 \ The day was breaking and the red rays of the rising sun
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 131 
 
 flashed redly upon the waving spears and nodding plumes of the 
 great cavalcade of warriors before me, as the whole army collected 
 by Al Zulid shouted forth my name and greeted me as their new 
 King, and for one brief moment the triumph of my ambitious 
 desires seemed as a solace to my wounded heart, and the first sip 
 from the cup of power, sweet to my lips. And then there rose 
 before my eyes again the vision of Zuleika, as she had hung so 
 fondly on my rival's breast and whispered her words of love to 
 him, till he changed into the horrible, distorted, hideous corpse I 
 had seen lying at her feet. Then did all my thoughts of triumph 
 turn to dust and ashes; all my exultation to bitterness; all the 
 sweetness of the cup of prosperity to gall and wormwood, even 
 as I tasted that first sip. 
 
 I bowed as one in a dream. I bowed mechanically in answer 
 to the ringing cheers; and as Al Zulid gave the order to resume 
 the march to Parsagherd he put his hand upon the bridle of my 
 horse, and bending down his head, whispered: 
 
 "Awake! Awake! Ahrinziman. Leave thy dreams of love 
 and disappointment behind thee, for a new life, the life of action 
 and of power, lies before thee, and it shall bring consolation even 
 for a woman's fickle smiles. It is the time to act, not to dream 
 of that dead past of thine affections." 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 I ENTER MY CAPITAL 
 
 When Zuleika recovered from the first shock of dismay and 
 horror at seeing the lover she was caressing die in so sudden and 
 so unaccountable a way, in so terrible a manner, her first thought 
 was of the danger to herself at being found with the dead body 
 in her sleeping chamber. She had seen nothing of me, or of those 
 horrible phantoms who had killed Selim. She thought he had 
 died in convulsions. She felt a dim belief that I was in some 
 way responsible for the catastrophe, but she had no idea that I 
 had been actually in the room. What to do she did not know. 
 She could not touch Selim's body now, fond as she fancied she 
 had been of him ten minutes before. Neither dare she leave it
 
 i 3 2 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 where it lay, to be found in her room by Artemisia. Trembling 
 and sobbing- she sought out the trusty slave who had tended her 
 from a child, and who had brought to her first the knowledge of 
 the King's admiration when she was at Herat. To this woman 
 she related what had happened, and after a short conference it 
 was agreed that Selim's body should be taken through the secret 
 passage by which he had entered Zuleika's room, and laid upon 
 his own bed, there to be discovered by his own attendants, who 
 would fancy he had died suddenly in the night. Zuleika and the 
 faithful slave dared not summon anyone to aid them in their task, 
 but fortunately the slave was a large, powerful woman, while the 
 King, though tall, was a slender man, and not heavy, so that while 
 the woman carried the poor contorted body in her arms, Zuleika, 
 with much fear and trembling, helped to support it, and between 
 them they carried it through the short passage and laid it upon 
 the bed. 
 
 They then shut the secret doors, and Zuleika, who was by this 
 time almost in hysterics, was laid upon her own couch and tended 
 by the faithful slave, who kept all others away from the bedside, 
 lest the state of Zuleika's mind, her wild weeping and great terror, 
 should arouse suspicion. 
 
 Thus did the night pass, and with early morning the King's 
 death was discovered by one of the attendants, who ran in great 
 alarm to call the Queen. 
 
 Consternation reigned everywhere. 
 
 As for Artemisia, she was like a tigress that hath been robbed 
 of her young. In her frantic grief she hung over the dead body 
 of her son, and refused to believe that he could be dead. She 
 kissed the poor swollen, livid lips; she caressed the senseless head; 
 she strove to straighten the twisted limbs, to warm the icy body 
 by contact with her own passionately throbbing heart; she held 
 her dead child in her arms, and rocked him on her bosom, 
 as though he were still the infant upon whom she had lav 
 ished all her love, and to whom she had turned in her slighted 
 affection. 
 
 She turned like a wild beast upon all who tried to touch the 
 dead man, or draw her away from him. For hours she continued 
 her wild, useless efforts to restore him, forgetting, fortunately for 
 Zuleika, all else, in her attempts to revive her son. Then, at last, 
 the full measure of her woe broke upon her mind, and with a mad 
 shriek of grief, a frantic cry of despair, she sank insensible upon
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 133 
 
 her son's body, while the wild wail of her attendant maidens rent 
 the air in lamentations over the dead Selim. 
 
 It was by this time late in the afternoon. I and my troops 
 had reached the Palace of Parsagherd. We had met the messen 
 ger sent by Selim to recall me, and his presence gave me a good 
 pretext for entering the city quietly, without appearing to know 
 aught of what had befallen the King. 
 
 We met no opposition anywhere, scarcely did our appearance 
 excite surprise. The awful events in the Palace filled the public 
 mind, to the exclusion of all other things. Everywhere were 
 scattered groups talking over the strange death of Selim, the news 
 of which had spread like wild-fire through the city. Even when 
 we reached the Palace gates no one opposed our entrance, when 
 I showed the keepers of the gates the order for my return. 
 
 Ben Al Zulid had turned very pale when he heard the news 
 of Selim 's death, and had exchanged a hurried glance with me. 
 but he was careful not to betray our previous knowledge, and we 
 rode into the court yard of the Palace unopposed, amidst a throng 
 of bewildered soldiers and courtiers. 
 
 Not with cries of joy was my coming welcomed, but as I drew 
 near to the Palace door there fell upon our ears the long, wild, 
 lamentation, the mournful cry of the Queen's women, as they 
 raised the death wail over the murdered King. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 MY WIFE 
 
 A short conference took place between Al Zulid and the leaders 
 of the late government. The decree of El Jazid was ex 
 hibited to them, and it was made plain to the minds of Artemisia's 
 friends that I had behind me a power strong enough to support 
 my claims. The death of Selim left no pretext for opposing my 
 elevation, and whatever might be the secret feelings of those about 
 Selim's court, it was evidently not thought wise to display any 
 animosity towards me. Moreover I was not without friends, even 
 among the late King's courtiers, and these all hoped to share in 
 my prosperity.
 
 I 3 4 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 Thus was my elevation to the throne accomplished without 
 any violent opposition, and even Artemisia herself had no excuse 
 for interfering with me. 
 
 The obsequies of Selim were conducted with much splendour 
 (as is the custom in the East). Artemisia, who -was still half 
 frantic in her grief, remained unmolested in her own apartments, 
 attended by her women, and unaware of my arrival, since I shrank 
 from intruding upon her at such a time, and resolved to defer my 
 revenge against her till a more fitting season, merely ordering 
 that she should not be allowed to leave the Palace. 
 
 Zuleika I had not seen. She also was in effect a prisoner. 
 She had heard with wonder, not unmixed with alarm, of the 
 strange events which were taking place, and of my sudden eleva 
 tion to power. Her first thought was regret that she had not been 
 faithful to me, her second, relief in remembering that I was in all 
 probability ignorant of her falsehood. And as she recovered 
 a little from the shock of Selim 's death she began to consider how 
 best to turn the unexpected change to her own advantage. She 
 wondered that I had not come at once to see her, as she felt sure 
 my first impulse would have been under ordinary circumstances. 
 She felt somewhat uneasy at my strange absence, but hoped it might 
 be due to other causes than displeasure. She wished she had not 
 been quite so angry with me when we parted, and at last resolved 
 to send word to me, to ask if I had forgotten Zuleika. Meantime 
 she had attired herself in her simplest yet most becoming manner, 
 and removed as far as possible all traces of her late agitation. 
 
 I had only just awakened from a short sleep of utter exhaus 
 tion when Zuleika's message was brought to me, and it was some 
 minutes ere I realized all the changes which had taken place. 
 When I did so my anger against my faithless wife revived in all 
 its bitterness. 
 
 As I entered the room Zuleika, who was resting upon her 
 cushions, hurried forward with much show of delight to greet me. 
 It was early morning, and she was but half dressed. Her beauti 
 ful hair hung loose upon her shoulders; her white round arms 
 and neck were bare, and her pretty feet were thrust hastily into 
 her slippers; her dark eyes looked unusually large and wistful 
 by reason of the paleness of her face. Her hands trembled as 
 she strove to gather her veil around her and fasten her robe, but 
 she turned to me with a smile as sweet and innocent as of old, and 
 put out her arms caressingly to embrace me.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 135 
 
 But I drew back from her haughtily, and looked at her coldly 
 and sternly, even while my heart gave a wild throb of anguish, 
 and I would have given all the earth to know she was yet true to 
 me, and that all the terrible past was but an awful dream. My 
 voice choked and trembled as I said to her: 
 
 "You forget. It is not your husband, Ahrinziman, who has 
 returned to you, but the King of Persia. What did you desire 
 of him?" 
 
 Zuleika's arms dropped to her sides, and her large childlike 
 eyes filled with tears; real tears, no doubt, as she replied : 
 
 "Oh, Ahrinziman! I thought thou would st ever be the same 
 to me. I thought not that thou wouldst keep thine anger thus. 
 We parted in anger it is true, but I thought thou wert unreason 
 able in thy suspicions; and see, I have wept such bitter tears since 
 thou didst leave me, without one kiss, and now thou art as cold 
 as ice to me. Can it be that thou dost love me no more? That 
 thou no longer carest for my love since thou art become the 
 King?" 
 
 She looked not like a guilty wife, but like a pleading child, as 
 she spoke thus to me, and I had almost begun to believe in her 
 again, I so longed to take her to my heart, and hear her say she 
 loved me. I took a step toward her, and my face softened, and 
 mine eyes filled with tears. And then, Oh God ! if I have sinned 
 had I not grave provocation, for there upon the carpet between 
 us lay the King's signet ring the ring he had given Zuleika, and 
 which she had worn upon her slender finger at the fatal moment 
 when I had seen her in his arms. In the hurry and agitation the 
 ring had fallen from Zuleika's finger, which was much too small 
 to wear it, and had lain unnoticed upon the floor, to rise up like 
 a silent accusing witness of her falseness and my dishonor. 
 
 I started as though an adder had stung me, and picked up the 
 ring, and holding it out to her said: 
 
 "Oh, Woman! Fair and faithless! Oh smooth faced liar 
 that thou art! Thou sayest that thou wept for my departure, 
 when it was the lover who died even at thy feet for whom those 
 tears were shed. If thou knowest nothing of Selim how comes 
 his ring, his Signet ring, within thy sleeping chamber? The 
 chamber that should be sacred to thee and me alone. Perjure 
 thyself no more. Seek no further to deceive me, for behold, I 
 saw thee with him, and I saw him die, even as thou didst see him 
 die, at thy feet. Oh, most false of women, who couldst lie in my
 
 136 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 arms and whisper words of love into mine ears, when thou hadst 
 already deceived and dishonored me. Thou shalt die. Yea, 
 of a truth thou shalt die, and go to Hell to seek for thy paramour." 
 
 I drew my dagger, and would have stabbed her to the heart, 
 but she uttered a piercing cry and fell at my feet, kissing them 
 like a slave, and grovelling on the ground in abject terror, while 
 she pleaded for life only life. Then was my wrath turned to 
 contempt, and I spurned her from me with my foot, and drew 
 my sash which she had grasped in her agony of fear, away from 
 her hands, as though her touch defiled me. 
 
 "Thy life, vile harlot! What is the value of a life such as 
 thine? Thy life ! Is it so dear a thing to thee? Then live till 
 thou art old and grey and withered, and all those charms with 
 which thou hast beguiled men's hearts are turned to hideousness, 
 and thou art known for what thou art, a woman without virtue 
 and without shame. Live! Yea, thou shalt live, but thou 
 shalt enjoy the fate thou and thy betrayer planned for me. Thou 
 shalt go to a prison, not to the palace of thy dreams." 
 
 I turned away. I could not trust myself to look on her again, 
 as she lay sobbing on the ground in all the abandonment of her 
 terror and despair, Ies f mv neart should soften and she should 
 beguile my soul once more. 
 
 When I returned to my apartments I found Al Zulid await 
 ing me, with the news that Queen Artemisia had fled during the 
 night from the Palace. 
 
 "It is perhaps as well that she hath done so," said he, "since 
 we could not have retained her as a prisoner without raising 
 around us a hornet's nest of her powerful kindred, who would 
 be only too glad of a pretext to attack us. As it is they have no 
 excuse for doing so, and so soon as thou art securely seated upon 
 the throne of Persia we shall have ample opportunity of avenging 
 upon Artemisia our mutual wrongs, and of humbling even to the 
 dust this proud Queen. First grasp with a firm hand the regal 
 power and all else will follow." 
 
 "Doubtless it is even as thou dost say, Al Zulid, but, Oh! 
 friend, to one whose wrongs burn the heart as do mine, it is hard 
 to wait, even for an hour, ere I may satiate my thirst for vengeance. 
 l'j>on Artemisia \vc may yet avenge ourselves, but can aught 
 restore to me the happiness whkh I have lost for ever? Can 
 anyone give back to me my wife, in her innocence and purity?"
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 137 
 
 "Art thou so sure, Ahrinziman, that she was indeed innocent 
 in thought, as well as in fact, ere Artemisia and her son tempted 
 her to fall? Methinks that virtue must be of a poor quality which 
 yields to the first assault, and that love but a base counterfeit 
 which fades before the glitter of a King's crown. For thee it is 
 a bitter awakening from thine illusion, but if Zuleika had no true 
 love for thee doth it matter so much whose hand hath drawn 
 aside the veil from her real nature? Think not that I fail in 
 sympathy with thee because I speak thus, or that I know not how 
 sore thy heart doth feel, how empty is this hour of thy triumph, 
 since she who should have been the chief sharer of its pride hath 
 proved so faithless. I would but arouse thee from dwelling upon 
 the past, which thou canst not alter, and bid thee turn to that 
 future which is yet thine own, and which thou canst shape to com 
 pensate thee at least in part, for the disappointment of thine 
 affection. Let Persia henceforth be thy mistress, and the pros 
 perity of thy people thy chief thought." 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 ARTEMISIA AND AHMED 
 
 In sending Zuleika to the fortress in which I intended she 
 should pass her days, I allowed her, as a special favour, to take 
 with her the faithful negro woman who had nursed her as an 
 infant, and who ever showed a devotion to her mistress which 
 was worthy of a more grateful object. It was this woman who 
 had helped Zuleika to remove the dead body of King Selim 
 from her chamber, and who possessed more of Zuleika's confi 
 dence than any other person. This slave, whose name was 
 Bamba, soon contrived to ingratiate herself into the favor of the 
 humbler guards at the fortress, and was allowed to pass in and 
 out with comparative freedom, a circumstance which inspired 
 Zuleika with a plan for making her escape. 
 
 To one like my discarded wife the solitary imprisonment to 
 which she was condemned was almost as terrible a thing as death 
 itself. To feel her youth and her beauty withering away between
 
 138 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 four gloomy walls; to have no companion hut a humble slave, 
 no fine dresses, no costly jewels to wear, no ^littering bauM 
 toy with, no pretty things to surround her, no one to pay her 
 homage, none to envy or to flatter; this was indeed a bitter fate, 
 and the feelings of the vain, selfish, frivolous beauty towards me 
 were full of the most intense hate. For was it not I who had sent 
 her to this awful prison? My scorn and contempt when I had 
 spurned her from me with my foot had galled and wounded her 
 vanity as my love had never been able to touch her heart. My 
 bitter words rankled in her mind, though my words of fond 
 endearment had made but little impression. The dim sense she 
 had of the truth in my angry speech stabbed her to the quick, 
 disturbing that good opinion of herself which she had ever 
 cherished, and shaking her perfect faith in her own amiability, 
 her own beauty, her own worth. Anything she had done she 
 had fully justified to herself in her own mind, and my out 
 spoken words she regarded as a deadly insult to her self-respect, 
 and an outrage upon her self-love which was unpardonable. I 
 had despised her. I had rejected her attempts at a reconcilia 
 tion. I had heaped contempt and injury upon her, and for me 
 she felt a vehemence of petty spite which for the first time in her 
 life brought her to the verge of feeling a strong, passionate emotion. 
 At last her tepid, selfish nature was roused into some throb of 
 hot anger, some sense of the strength of the passions which can 
 stir the human heart, and next to her desire for freedom was the 
 desire to revenge upon me what she was pleased to call her wrongs. 
 
 As day after day passed on, and the weary weeks changed 
 into months as weary, she paced to and fro in her prison like a 
 pantheress in her cage, planning how to get free. At last the 
 ease with which Bamba could enter and leave the fortress sug 
 gested a scheme to her mind. Gold and jewelry she had none. 
 Everything of value which might have served to bribe her guards 
 to help her had been taken away. Friends she had none, save 
 this one poor slave, yet in her devotion Zuleika possessed a treasure 
 more potent than any gold, more valuable than any jewels. If 
 Zuleika sighed for freedom Bamba would hesitate at nothing to 
 procure it, did she but know how to set to work, and when Zuleika 
 called her to her and told her of a plan, Bamba acquiesced at once. 
 
 "See now, good Bamba," said Zuleika, "it is now four terrible 
 months that we have endured the life of this prison. It might 
 well be four years; to me it seems an eternity. I can support
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 139 
 
 this life no longer. For so desperate a case we must try a des 
 perate remedy. 
 
 "As for thee, thou must find means to reach Queen Artemisia. 
 I have no money to give thee, so thou must even beg thy way. If 
 thou art missed I shall pretend to great concern for thee; I shall 
 show great anger, and say thou, even thou, hast deserted me in 
 my captivity. I shall ask daily for thee, and weary them with my 
 importunities for news, that they may not suspect that I have 
 sent thee from me. If Artemisia will help, let her give thee gold, 
 for a golden key will open even a prison door, be it well applied. 
 And surely the Queen will help to free me when thou dost tell 
 her of all that I will do, all that I can tell." 
 
 Bamba prostrated herself at Zuleika's feet, and kissing them, 
 vowed that if it was possible for one poor slave to move the heart 
 of Artemisia, Zuleika should have the chance of freedom. Then, 
 after a few more directions from her mistress, set forth upon her 
 long pilgrimage. 
 
 With infinite labor and difficulty the poor faithful woman 
 found out the Queen, who had taken refuge with some of her 
 kinsfolk, and who had been joined by Prince Ahmed, with whom 
 she made common cause against me. 
 
 Very eagerly did she listen to the tale told her by poor Bamba, 
 and after a little consideration as to the best means of helping 
 Zuleika, she sent a eunuch of her court with a large amount of 
 money to accompany Bamba, and help her to effect Zuleika's 
 deliverence. 
 
 Having given orders that they should bribe liberally those 
 who kept the prisoner, she also sent word to Prince Ahmed, who 
 happened to be at the time absent from the Palace, bidding him 
 to go and see what assistance he could render, and how swiftly he 
 could bring Zuleika to the Queen. 
 
 "Help this woman," said she, "by all means in thy power, for 
 in so doing thou wilt help both thyself and me. Through this 
 woman's aid I trust to be avenged upon the man who hath robbed 
 me of a son, and thee of a Kingdom."
 
 1 40 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 THE ESCAPE OF ZULEIKA 
 
 It was a hot, sultry day. The sun poured down its burning 
 rays upon the wide stretch of sandy plain The scorching dust 
 blistered the skin, and the fierce glare from the white sand blinded 
 the eyes of the weary travellers who struggled painfully across the 
 arid wilderness, known as the Great Salt Desert. The wretched 
 camels they bestrode seemed scarce able to drag their limbs 
 another pace, while the terrible thirst which consumed alike the 
 poor animals and their riders, was rendered the more unbearable 
 by the sight on the horizon of a small clump of date trees, which 
 marked the presence of one of the few wells of that almost water 
 less region; a well which neither camels nor travellers seemed 
 destined ever to reach. 
 
 Two of these unfortunate people were women, the third was 
 a Nubian slave, one of those useful men who are found in attend 
 ance upon the harems of the East. 
 
 As one of the wretched camels sank in a dying condition upon 
 the hot sand , the woman who had been mounted upon it extricated 
 herself from the poor animal, exclaiming in a fretful tone to the 
 slave who hurried to her assistance: 
 
 "Trouble not about me, it is vain to hope that we can escape 
 from this horrible desert. And after all what doth it signify to 
 any where the bones of the unfortunate Zuleika rest. I can 
 struggle no more, and like this wretched camel, which might 
 surely have struggled yet a little further, I must even lay me down 
 upon the sand and die." 
 
 She gave an impatient kick with her foot to the luckless camel, 
 whose failure at such a time inspired her, not with pity for its 
 sufferings, but annoyance and disappointment for herself; and 
 then, with more vigor than is usually shown by one at the point 
 of death, she walked a few paces away and threw herself upon 
 the ground. The other woman, who was no other than Zuleika 's 
 faithful slave Bamba, had by this time also dismounted, and 
 with a solicitude akin to that of some faithful dog, strove to shield
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 141 
 
 her mistress from the fierce rays of the sun with her own body, 
 while the man, after a short conference, set forth alone to seek 
 for water at the distant well. 
 
 Hours passed ere the man returned, and during that weary 
 time Zuleika sank from a state of fretful complaining into a semi- 
 unconsciousness between sleep and utter exhaustion, the poor 
 woman beside her being also overcome. 
 
 At last the sun sank, and the short twilight gave place to the 
 darkness and coolness of night. Then the stars came forth and 
 the moon rose, and by its light the dark forms of several vultures 
 could be discerned hovering near the dying women, and descend 
 ing upon the carcass of the dead camel, making night more terrible 
 than the day with their hoarse cries, and filling the heart of the 
 half conscious Zuleika with dread and horror. 
 
 With the horrible instinct of their species the vultures knew 
 that neither of the women was yet dead, and they hovered near, 
 waiting till the final moment of dissolution ere they attacked their 
 
 Prey- 
 Then, as the night wore slowly on, there came another sound 
 than the vultures' cries to break the stillness. It was the tramp 
 ling of horses' feet, and the sound of men's voices shouting, as 
 they sought for the deserted women. The Nubian slave had 
 been fortunate in his quest, and had found, not alone the water 
 that he sought, but the encampment of Prince Ahmed and his 
 troops. 
 
 Zuleika heard the voices as one hears in a dream. She heard 
 them approach and then die away, yet she could not rouse her 
 self enough to give one feeble qry in answer. She knew the sounds 
 betokened life and hope, yet could not make a sign to guide them 
 to her. Again and yet again they drew near, then died away again 
 till at last the black cloud of vultures hovering above the dead 
 camel and the dying women caught the eyes of the seekers, and 
 with a loud shout the horsemen galloped forward. 
 
 Another moment and Zuleika's rigid limbs were being chafed 
 by friendly hands, and water was poured drop bv drop between 
 the swollen lips. Her veil had been drawn aside, and as she 
 revived her eyes met those of a handsome young man, none other 
 than Prince Ahmed himself, who had ridden to her assistance 
 when he heard who it was who lay dying in the desert. 
 
 With tender care Zuleika was placed upon one of the horses 
 and supported by the Prince, who was much struck by her exceed-
 
 i 4 2 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 ing beauty, and as she had now revived sufficiently to sit up when 
 thus supported, Ahmed lost no time in returning with her to his 
 followers, and setting forth with my fugitive wife. 
 
 As for the poor faithful Bamha, she was past all aid, and expired 
 even while her rescuers stood over her. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 MY ENEMIES 
 
 In one of the upper chambers of her kinsman's house Arte 
 misia awaited the coming of Zuleika. Since she had sent her serv 
 ants forth to help her the Queen had never ceased to watch for 
 her arrival, even long before it was possible that she could even 
 have escaped. A hundred times a day would Artemisia wander 
 to the casement and look forth over the broad stretch of country 
 it commanded, to see if there was any sign of the expected caval 
 cade. Those who had known the beautiful Queen in the days 
 of her glory found it difficult to recognize her now, so greatly was 
 she changed. Twenty years of ordinary life would not so have 
 aged her. The clear pallor of her skin had changed to a dull 
 leaden hue. The handsome aquiline features had become sharp 
 and prominent, and bore the semblance of a bird of prey. The 
 cheeks, once so round, so smooth, were sunken and wrinkled. 
 The white forehead furrowed. The perfect figure wasted and 
 angular, while the eyes wandered restlessly to and fro, and glit 
 tered with a wild fire that was almost that of insanity. The long 
 masses of dark hair, once so admired, so carefully arranged, so 
 becomingly dressed, now hung loose and neglected upon her 
 shoulders, giving an added wildness to her appearance. 
 
 Ever and anon as she wandered aimlessly back and forward 
 she struck her bosom with her clenched hand, uttering a low, 
 strange moan as of some animal in pain, and calling again and 
 again upon the name of her dead son. 
 
 "Oh, Selim! Selim!" she wailed, "where art thou now, my 
 son? Hath Paradise opened its gates to thee, and left me behind
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 143 
 
 to drag out mine existence alone? Can it be that Ahriman hath 
 taken thee, because thou wert my son, and I have sinned so that 
 the gates of Heaven can never open at my touch? I would even 
 that thou should st go to Hell rather than to Heaven, yea even 
 though it were to the sufferings of Hell, for then thou and I should 
 meet. Can Paradise have a place for thee? Within its gates I 
 can never enter. If thou, Oh my son, mine only son, dost love thy 
 mother even as she loves thee, thou wilt welcome the dark depths 
 of Hell and all its horrors where thou would st dwell with me, 
 rather than the glorious scenes of Paradise where we would be 
 parted. Oh Selim, child of my soul! Beloved of all my loveless 
 years, do thou return to me, or let God have mercy upon me and 
 let my soul go forth to thee." 
 
 She sank upon the floor with a long wailing cry of anguish, 
 and rocked herself backwards and forwards in her despair, 
 calling now in softest caressing tones and anon with frantic wild- 
 ness upon the lost Selim. 
 
 Suddenly she was aroused from her solitary grief by the sound 
 of bustle and excitement in the court yard below. There was the 
 loud trampling of horses, and the sound of men's voices, and as 
 she sprang up and hurried to the window she beheld Prince 
 Ahmed assisting a closely veiled woman to alight from her horse, 
 and in the graceful veiled figure she had' no difficulty in recogniz 
 ing Zuleika. 
 
 With an exclamation of savage joy Artemisia hurried from 
 the room, and meeting the party on their way to her, they all 
 returned together to the room, the once stately Queen laying aside 
 all attempts at Royal state in her eager haste and fierce longing 
 to know what Zuleika could tell her. 
 
 To Artemisia she therefore said that she felt sure I had caused 
 Selim to be slain, even if I had not, with my own hands, killed 
 him, for I had boasted to her that I had seen him die. 
 
 " Who," cried Zuleika," knows better than the unhappy Zuleika 
 what fearful spells Ahrinziman can cast over those he would 
 destroy, what dread powers he can call upon to aid him in his 
 wicked designs. Have I not, alas! known for years how terrible 
 were the things he could do, yet was my tongue always tied, and 
 myself constrained by ihe influence he had over me. I thank 
 God that the spell is broken at last, and that I can speak freely 
 to your Highness, and say that the hand which slew thy son was 
 the hand of Ahrinziman,"
 
 144 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 Artemisia gave a shrill laugh of derision as she heard the con 
 clusion of Zuleika's speech, and her voice was fierce with anger 
 as she replied: 
 
 "If thou hast no more than that to tell me thou needst not 
 have come so far, thou mightest have lain and rotted in thy prison 
 ere I would have sent help to thee. For long I have known 
 that Ahrinziman killed my son with his foul spells. In the hour 
 Selim died I knew it, and I live now only that I may bring this 
 murderer to a fate as tragic, and an end more lingering and 
 painful, than was the end of my poor son. If thou canst tell me 
 what were the means whereby this husband who hath cast thee 
 off, thou paltry schemer, used to procure his ends, speak on, but 
 if not, if thou hast no more to tell me than I know already, then, 
 by the Heavens above us, thou shall find thou hast but changed 
 one prison for another, one condition of sorrow for one yet more 
 hopeless. Trifle not with me. Thou didst lead my son unto 
 his death. But for thee and thy hateful charms he had been 
 alive now to bless my life, not dead and cold and gone to leave 
 me in despair." 
 
 Her voice shook, and she ended her angry speech in a wild 
 burst of sorrow for her son, while Ahmed and Zuleika, scarce 
 knowing how to answer her, stood silently by. The Queen's 
 mood changed, and she turned again to Zuleika with mock 
 courtesy, as she said: 
 
 "Come now, tell me all thy news, rehearse to me the story of 
 thy life with this most wonderful Ahrinziman. Or stay, I should 
 perhaps rather tell thee the latest news. I forgot that thou in thy 
 captivity canst have heard but little of his fine doings. It must 
 surely give thee pleasure to know that this man, to whom thou 
 wert so true, so exemplary a wife, hath risen to the loftiest height 
 of power and popularity since he cast thee off. All men praise 
 him : all say that since the days of Darius the Great there hath 
 not arisen a King so fit to add to the glories of Persia and restore 
 to her that position among nations which was slipping from her. 
 They praise his military talents, his dauntless courage, his tact 
 and kingly address. They praise his person, and say how hand 
 some is this man, how gracious, how full of resource, how capable 
 of governing how strong of will, yet how generous of purpose. 
 Do I not speak truly, Ahmed? Is it not thus that men speak of 
 the man who hath thrust thee aside, and whom thou in thy turn 
 wouldst pull down from his high estate? Doth it not please thee
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 145 
 
 to think he is so popular that thine own chance beside his is but 
 small? Thou art alike the illegitimate offspring of El Jazid, but 
 unlike thee, Ahrinziman was the chosen son, the well beloved 
 of my once husband, while thou wert set aside. Surely it must 
 give thee pleasure to know it was for no unworthy object? And 
 for thee, Zuleika, most beautiful, most graceful of courtesans, 
 thou must feel pleasure to know that Ahrinziman hath taken unto 
 himself six of the most beautiful maidens in all Persia, to fill that 
 place in his heart which thou didst hold alone? When he wearies 
 of the charms of one he can try the fascinations of another, whereas 
 thou hadst charms enough to hold his fancy by thine own beauty 
 alone. Thou mightest have been as great a Queen as the most 
 royally born, had it not been that thou didst bestow thy valuable 
 affections upon my son my murdered son. Oh, thou fool! 
 Thou vain fool ! Thou wretched trifler with men's hearts," said 
 the Queen, lapsing again into her hot anger, "haste thee and tell 
 me all thou hast to tell, for the same air cannot be breathed by 
 thee and me, thy presence stifles me, and thou hadst best be 
 swiftly gone." 
 
 Trembling with apprehension, yet watching anxiously the 
 face of Ahmed to know what help she might expect from him, 
 Zuleika told of my life with Jelal-ud-din so far as she knew it. 
 What she had to say sounded vague and trifling before such 
 fierce impatient questioning as Artemisia subjected her to, and 
 she felt that her sole hope must now be in the good offices of 
 Prince Ahmed on her behalf, and after a few moments of terrible 
 suspense Zuleika burst into a passion of tears, and was overcome 
 by faintness, half real and half assumed, as an escape from further 
 questioning, while she petitioned to be allowed a few hours in 
 which to recover from her fatigue and collect her thoughts. 
 
 The angry Queen therefore called one of her women and bade 
 her conduct Zuleika to a chamber where she could rest for a 
 little. As she was about to leave the presence of Artemisia 
 Zuleika contrived to make a sign to the Prince that she desired 
 to speak with him, and as he gave her a gesture of acquiescence in 
 return, Zuleika departed a little reassured. 
 
 Zuleika had been resting for scarcely half an hour when Prince 
 Ahmed came to visit her, and in her then state of suspense and 
 anxiety it was almost a relief that he came so soon. 
 
 Yet Zuleika was at heart afraid of Ahmed. She felt instinct-
 
 146 
 
 ively that the love she had inspired in the heart of this man wa? 
 ry different feeling from that with which the poor weak minded 
 King Selim had regarded her, or the chivalric devotion which had 
 made her almost a sacred being in my eyes. Ahmed was a man 
 of coarse, determined character, and Zuleika felt only too con 
 scious of her own helpless, forlorn position. She struggled hard 
 however to hide her apprehensions, and to maintain her own 
 dignity as long as possible, that she might make better terms for 
 herself. 
 
 As Ahmed entered Zuleika rose to receive him, and prostrat 
 ing herself at his feet said: 
 
 "I sought an interview with thee, Oh Prince, because in thy 
 help and in thy generosity must the sole hope of the unhappy 
 Zuleika be. The Queen, who I thought would befriend, seems 
 like unto one distraught; the death of her son would seem to have 
 affected her brain, since she raves when she speaks upon that 
 subject, and says things which are but the offspring of her own 
 wild suspicion." 
 
 Zuleika's fine eyes filled with real tears as she thought on her 
 hard fate, and she raised them to Ahmed's face with the timid, 
 suppliant look of a frightened child. But Ahmed was not one 
 to be so easily moved, and he replied coolly: 
 
 "Distress not thyself to explain these things to me, fair 
 Zuleika. Wert thou doubly guilty thou hast charms enough to 
 cover all thy failings! I do indeed perceive that thou canst ex 
 pect no secure asylum from the Queen, but in my seraglio thou 
 wilt be safe even from her anger, and there thou canst forget 
 the past." 
 
 "Thou dost do me great honor, Oh Prince! and I am not 
 ungrateful unto thee, but I would fain ask whether it is an honor 
 able asylum that thou dost offer me? Mine honor is all that hath 
 been left to me; wonder not then that I would still guard it even 
 with thee." 
 
 Ahmed frowned, as he replied hastily: "What would st thou 
 have? Thy position shall be as honorable as any of my other 
 women, thy jewels as fine, thy robes as costly, thy comforts as well 
 studied. But if thou dost ask if I will make thee a Queen, even 
 as report sayeth Selim would have done, thou art somewhat too 
 ambitious! Thou dost forget that I am Prince Ahmed, the King 
 Ahmed it should be by right, and I wed but the daughter of a 
 King. Thou canst find an asylum with me, but it is I, not thou,
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 147 
 
 who shall dictate the terms. In thy present position it seems to 
 me, most beautiful Zuleika, thou hast but scant choice." 
 
 "And thou, Prince Ahmed, hast but scant generosity, or thou 
 wouldst not thus remind me of it," cried the mortified Zuleika, 
 almost weeping. 
 
 "Nay, then," replied Ahmed, "dry those tears. A man loves 
 not to see a woman's tears, and if thou dost accommodate thyself 
 to circumstances thou mayest have other things wherein thou 
 canst indulge thine ambition. Thou canst tell me of this Ahrin- 
 ziman, and of his life ere he met the magician. It seemed to me 
 that thou didst keep something from the Queen; reveal it now to 
 me, and Ahmed will not forget to reward thee well. Smile upon 
 me once more, Zuleika, for though I will make no promises to 
 thee, I vow thou shalt have no reason to regret trusting thyself 
 into my hands." 
 
 Then falteringly and with much hesitation Zuleika told him 
 all she knew, all she suspected, and suggested how her informa 
 tion might be used for Prince Ahmed's advantage. 
 
 The Prince regarded her with much admiration. "Verily," 
 said he, "thou art a clever woman, and a discreet one. It is 
 well thou didst not tell this to Artemisia, for she would have pub 
 lished it to all the world before the right time. She is not to be 
 trusted now, and thou and I must keep our own counsel. I will 
 seek out this robber tribe, and doubtless we shall have the means 
 ere long of showing this Ahrinziman to the world as an impostor. 
 Not that either thou or I believe him to be one, he hath too strong 
 a likeness unto my father for that, and Al Zulid is not one to be 
 deceived; but it will serve our purpose to affect to believe it, and 
 if we kill Ahrinziman men can believe he was El Jazid's son or 
 not, as they choose. Our purpose will have been gained. Of a 
 truth thou art clever to think of this, and to keep it to thyself for 
 so long; thy beauty is not the most dangerous of thy many charms 
 after all." And Ahmed advanced towards Zuleika with a look 
 of admiration so bold, so insolent, that she burst into a passion 
 of angry tears, for she felt that the cup of her degradation was 
 full at last.
 
 148 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII 
 
 ABUBATHA'S WARNING 
 
 It was night, and in my Palace of Parsagherd I rested alone 
 within my private chamber. I hat! come that day from Teheran, 
 expecting to meet Al Zulid, but he was delayed upon his 
 journey, and I was alone in the Palace, save for the presence 
 of my attendant soldiers and my slaves. 
 
 Six months had I reigned, and in the pursuit of ambition I had 
 found a certain measure of solace for my wounded love. Arte 
 misia had spoken truly when she had described my life and pros 
 pects to Zuleika, but none save myself knew how much my heart 
 still longed to welcome back my faithless wife, nor how little the 
 charms of other women had been able to banish the memory of 
 my hours with her. I had not yet heard of her escape, for the 
 fortress to which I had sent her was in a remote corner of Persia, 
 and those who had guarded her were not too eager to send me 
 word of her flight. The rich bribe given by Artemisia caused her 
 captors to regard with some indifference my wrath, since it would 
 enable the chief offenders to quit Persia ere I could seek vengeance 
 upon them for their lack of trust. 
 
 As I reposed upon my couch I watched the stars peep out one 
 by one and glitter in the dark canopy of the night sky, and my 
 thoughts wandered back to the days of my boyhood, when the 
 stars had seemed to me almost as companions, and when I had 
 watched for that other star whose coming betokened the presence 
 of my White Angel. Ah ! how far away now it seemed, those days 
 of innocence and trust. How wide the gulf between myself and 
 then. How great had been my fall from the pure aspirations of 
 those days to the sordid ambitions which now filled my thoughts. 
 Power and Pleasure had become my Gods; self-gratification my 
 idol. If I sought to do my best for my country and my people, 
 it was that I might reap the rewards of greatness through the 
 gratitude of my people. The pure unselfish patriotism which 
 animated Ben Al Zulid, and made him indifferent to his personal 
 interests, superior to all temptations to enrich or aggrandise
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 149 
 
 himself, was a different feeling to that which inspired me. In 
 all my schemes, in all my efforts, the animating, dominating feel 
 ing was self-interest and personal ambition. My people should 
 be great, my country prosperous, because it was my country, and 
 its glory reflected its lustre upon my own life. What had been 
 done by the greatest Rulers should be done by me, and if possible 
 I would do more, for I would fain have been the greatest of all 
 Rulers myself. Nothing could daunt me, no difficulties deter, 
 because the greater the difficulties the greater the glory of over 
 coming them. To my ambitious thoughts the conquest of other 
 nations was but a matter of time and determination, and if, as I 
 often imagined, the Dark Angel whom I had seen was in truth 
 helping me to the dominion he had promised, it only required 
 that I should follow where events seemed to open the path before 
 my feet, in order that I might avail myself of his help, in a sphere 
 where the Dark Angel of the Blood Red Star reigned as a mighty 
 King. 
 
 Now and again my dreams of glory would be broken by the 
 vision of Selim, whom I, in intent if not in act, had murdered; 
 and like a dim wraith, no more material than are the clouds that 
 float across the sky, the face and form of my victim would hover 
 near, distorted and disfigured by the agonies of his violent death, 
 even as I had seen the wraith of Jelal-ud-din on the day when I 
 had visited his deserted house, and seen my vision of Zuleika and 
 Selim in the magic mirror. The forms of both these haunting 
 shapes bore the impress of the same violent death, and I had little 
 doubt were due to the same unseen agency. Not often, however, 
 did these ghosts of my past obtrude themselves upon me ; and I 
 was so much absorbed in the active life of material existence that 
 I had but little time to think of my occult studies. 
 
 To-night, however, the spirit world seemed strangely near to 
 me once more. The gates so long closed were again ajar. My 
 senses were so abnormally acute that the distant sounds in the 
 Palace fell with. startling distinctness upon my ears, and the far 
 off hooting of an owl sounded like the warning note of a feathered 
 sentinel. Very gradually and imperceptibly I sank into a state 
 of slumber, and then the unconsciousness of sleep gave place unto 
 a vision. 
 
 Methought I walked within a fair garden, wherein bloomed 
 the fairest flowers of earth; and away beyond the garden I could 
 behold the blue misty outlines of a lofty range of hills. A clear
 
 ISO THE STORY OF AHR1NZIMAN 
 
 stream flowed at my feet, and soft trees waved their green branches 
 above my head. Then, even as I gazed upon this fair scene, dark 
 storm clouds rose and swept over the sun-lit garden, enveloping 
 all in their darkness. The clear crystal stream changed into a 
 rushing, roaring muddy river, whose dark waters rose and rose 
 till they had engulfed me, and I was swept from the fair garden 
 and borne downwards on the rushing, roaring stream's thick, 
 muddy water. I was swept on and on. It seemed to me I 
 travelled on that dark flood for an immense time, yet it could 
 only have been a few moments of earthly time. At last I found 
 myself being borne past some mighty rocks which reared their 
 dark heads above the turbulent stream, and in my fear and anguish 
 I grasped hold of one great rock as I was swept past. With the 
 grasp of despair I held on to it, although the dark waters well nigh 
 swept me away, and at last a tiny star appeared from the black 
 ness above me, and as the star flickered o'er my head, a voice said : 
 "Hold on and raise thyself, for thine own hand must raise thee up, 
 even as thine own hand hath caused thy fall." 
 
 With frantic haste I struggled to arise and to free myself from 
 the clinging weeds, the long rope-like grass and reeds which grew 
 in that sullen stream and held me like ropes of iron. And at last 
 I seemed to rise and shake myself free, till one limb after another 
 was released, and I stood upon the hard, sharp surface of the rock 
 in safety. 
 
 Then did I behold a figure beside me wrapped in a mantle 
 of silver grey that sparkled as with many glittering drops of dew, 
 which like tiny stars of light bespangled the spirit's robes. As I 
 looked the veil which had hid the face was drawn aside, and I 
 beheld the features of my long lost friend, the dear companion of 
 my boyhood, Abubatha. 
 
 His face shone with a radiance like the halo around a saint; 
 his smile was sad and tender, and his voice low and musical as a 
 silver bell, as he spoke these words to me: 
 
 "Oh, Ahrinziman, my beloved friend! Dear youth whom I 
 loved as a son, I pray thee think of holier things than the vain 
 pleasures of the earth. Turn to nobler thoughts than the thought 
 of selfish ambition. Nourish not this longing for revenge, for 
 thou art more than avenged already, did thou but know it, and 
 the sordid thirst to inflict suffering upon those who wrong thee is 
 as these dark weeds which imprisoned thy limbs; and evil 
 thoughts are like yon rushing stream that bears men to destruc-
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 151 
 
 tion. None can enslave thee but thyself. None can have domin 
 ion over thy soul unless thou thyself give them the power. Assert 
 that sovereignty over thyself which is the divine prerogative of all 
 mankind, and yield not thyself a subject to any, be it to the dark 
 Angels or to thine own evil passions. Awake my son! 
 Arouse thyself, for enemies draw near thee! Yet is the enemy 
 thou shouldst dread most of all thine own undisciplined passion 
 ate heart." 
 
 I tried to rush forward and touch the figure as he ceased to 
 speak, but he faded and was gone ere I could move, and I awoke 
 with a shock to find myself standing with outstretched arms in the 
 middle of my room. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII 
 
 THE SECRET PASSAGE 
 
 When I succeeded to the throne of Persia I had caused to be 
 closed up the wing of the Palace at Parsagherd in which my mother 
 and Selim had alike met their deaths; and in order that none 
 might use again the 111 omened secret passage I caused the door 
 opening into the late King's rooms to be built up. The other 
 door I left untouched, since no one was likely to use it, as the 
 fatal chamber into which it opened, being thought to be haunted, 
 was avoided by all. 
 
 On this night, however, this deserted wing of the Palace was 
 no longer in solitary darkness. Access to it from outside had 
 been obtained through a private entrance known only to Arte 
 misia, and now Ahmed, Artemisia, Zuleika and a slave in attend 
 ance upon Ahmed, glided softly and swiftly through the silent 
 and neglected rooms. 
 
 Ahmed had lost no time in following out the idea suggested 
 by Zuleika. He had hunted up my history with the robber tribe. 
 He had seen Dilferib and the artful Hadji, whom he found ready 
 to assist him in his plans. 
 
 The same night Ahmed had arranged that emissaries of his 
 own should be scattered through all the principal towns in Persia,
 
 i 5 2 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 to circulate simultaneously a garbled and strange account of my 
 history and doings, showing how I was the vilest of men. 
 
 This, and much more, did Ahmed cause to be circulated con 
 cerning me, but so artful was he that he did not circulate these 
 tales until he had so carefully laid his plans to compass my death 
 that there was little fear that I would ever have the chance of 
 explaining my actions or contradicting these wild stories, so near 
 the truth yet so false in reality. 
 
 Ahmed was accompanied by a slave, a strange deaf and dumb 
 creature, with whom he could communicate by signs so perfectly 
 that it was seldom the deaf mute failed to carry out all Ahmed's 
 instructions correctly, while his affliction made it impossible for 
 him to betray easily his master's secrets. 
 
 To-night Ahmed had entered the Palace by this secret way, 
 in order that he and the slave might open from the inside one of 
 the smaller gates to admit a large body of his soldiers, who, fully 
 armed and prepared for a fierce resistance, awaited his summons. 
 In the East treachery of every kind is the great evil Rulers and 
 ruled alike have most to fear, and treachery and bribery had both 
 been at work to render certain soldiers of my own guard ready 
 to make but a mere feint of resistance when this small gate should 
 be attacked. A larger body of Ahmed's troops were to attack 
 the principal entrance the moment that a given signal should 
 announce to them that their comrades had gained an en 
 trance to the Palace, and it was calculated that when thus 
 surprised and assailed from within and without my own 
 guards would have but a poor chance of successful resistance, 
 while I myself woud be assassinated ere I had well realized my 
 danger. 
 
 As Ahmed and his dumb slave hurried onward, followed by 
 the Queen and Zuleika, this conversation took place in dumb 
 show: Ahmed, who carried a tiny lamp to see the way, making 
 signs to his peculiar confidant which would not be understood by 
 the others: 
 
 "Dost thou see the Queen, slave? Mark well that to-ni^ht 
 thou shall give her a potion so strong that she shall wake no more 
 from her sleep. To one so crazed as she, methinks it were a 
 kindness to help her to find that death which would seem to have 
 forgotten her." 
 
 Then to himself Ahmed added, "I would not have a hell-cat 
 like Artemisia about my court for all the wealth and glory of
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 153 
 
 Persia. I would never know when she might take a fancy to 
 stick her claws into me." 
 
 In order to reach the wing of the Palace where I dwelt it was 
 necessary to pass through the rooms which Selim had assigned 
 to me when I was in his service, and as they approached the one 
 in which Zuleika had slept, and Selim died, she drew back and 
 hesitated to enter it. A shudder of fear passed over her, for to 
 her eyes it appeared for a moment as though the contorted body 
 of the murdered man yet lay upon the floor, a dread thing of fear 
 she could not pass. Moreover she had begun to repent of her 
 intention to be present to see me die. She had thought it would 
 be sweet to her to be thus avenged upon me for my scorn of her. 
 But now that the critical moment was so near, she drew back, 
 and felt that she could not go on. She could not look upon death 
 again. The memory of Selim as he lay dead at her feet was too 
 horrible to her. She stopped, as Ahmed and his dumb slave 
 passed out at the upper doorway, leaving her alone with Arte 
 misia in that fatal room. Ahmed was too absorbed in his own 
 purpose, and the Palace was too dark, for him to notice whether 
 the two women were following him closely or not, and he passed 
 on without missing them. 
 
 Zuleika's impulse was to turn and fly by the way they had 
 entered, but ere she could do so Artemisia laid her hand upon 
 Zuleika's arm, and said in a low tone of great melancholy, yet 
 with more sanity than she had shown of late: 
 
 " Doth it fill thee with sorrow, even as it does me, to enter this 
 Palace again, to picture to thyself the happy hours as well as those 
 of sadness which we have known -within its walls? I could almost 
 say the ghost of my dead son stood near us now, and that I had 
 but to stretch out my hands to touch him. Doth it seem the same 
 to thee?" 
 
 Zuleika shuddered and drew back from the Queen, as she 
 glanced around apprehensively. 
 
 " Oh no ! No ! There is surely no one here but thee and me. 
 It is too horrible to think that the dead might come to us. Let 
 us away from this dreadful room. I cannot go on. I cannot 
 see Ahrinziman die ! I cannot think of death, and a violent death, 
 again." 
 
 At the mention of my name Artemisia's mood changed to one 
 of passionate frenzy, and in a fierce eager whisper she hissed into 
 Zuleika's ear, while she grasped her arm like a vice:
 
 154 THE STORY OF AHR1NZIMAN 
 
 "Thou dost fear to see Ahrinziman die, thou paltry, weak 
 minded fool? Thou dost shudder at the thought of death within 
 these walls wherein died my son? I tell thee the whole atmos 
 phere is full of death. It taints the air we breathe, as though 
 this Palace were a charnel house. The ghosts of those who died 
 within this room are with us now, and they mock and point at us 
 with their skeleton fingers, and gibe at us with their dumb lips. 
 Thou art in the presence of death now. Its black mantle falls 
 like a shadow around thee, as though it would enwrap thee in its 
 sable folds, and yet thou sayest thou dost not want to see Ahrin- 
 zimandie? Oh Powers of Hell ! And thou! Thou art afraid!" 
 she cried, her madness growing into a fit of frenzy, then changing 
 to a chuckle of laughter, she suddenly released Zuleika's arm. 
 "Thou art afraid! Afraid! If so, go! Go! See what a fine 
 means of escape there is for thee! Far better than returning 
 alone through yon dark rooms, wherein of a surety thou wilt die 
 of fright ere thou dost reach the gates. See, my sweet Zuleika, 
 my timid, gentle fawn, enter thou at this small door, and it will 
 take thee straight to a room which opens into the great Hall, 
 beside the great doors of the Palace, which are thronged even 
 now by our followers who will soon be pouring into the Hall, for 
 the dumb slave will have opened by now the door and let them 
 in. Come and enter in, that thou mayest be safe, for I must 
 hurry on lest I miss the fine sport for which I have waited now 
 so long." 
 
 The Queen held open the little door into the secret passage 
 as she spoke, and Zuleika, frightened and anxious to escape from 
 the mad woman beside her, hastily entered the passage, counting 
 that she would be able to get out at the other door, for she did 
 not know I had walled it up. But Artemisia knew it. 
 
 With a wild shriek of insane laughter which rang through the 
 deserted rooms and reached even to where I sat, Artemisia shut 
 the door upon Zuleika and fastened it upon the outside, dragging 
 some heavy furniture before it to make it the more secure to her 
 frenzied mind. 
 
 "Oh sweet! Sweet! Sweet is this hour to me," she cried 
 through the closed doorway. "Rich, rich shall be thy reward, 
 fair Zuleika! Long mayest thou enjoy the harvest of all thy 
 wiles and all thy petty scheme^. Thou wilt have ample time to 
 enjoy the memory of the past, for thou shall lie and rot within 
 the-e walls, and all thy fair beauty with \\hich thou didst beguile
 
 THE STORY OF AHRNIZIMAN 155 
 
 my son unto his death shall turn to loathsome decay ere one shall 
 come to succour thee! Die! Die! like a rat in a trap, a toad in 
 a hole, and in thy death agonies remember that it is thus that 
 Artemisia hath rewarded thee." 
 
 Then, like a maniac, laughing and muttering to herself, 
 Artemisia rushed after the others, while the unfortunte Zuleika, 
 realizing the horrors of her position, uttered shriek after shriek 
 of alarm and agony, sounds which, alas! brought none to her aid, 
 for did they not come from the haunted part of the palace, and 
 only inspired with superstitious terror those who heard them. 
 None thought they came from a human being in mortal extremity, 
 for none knew that aught in human form would venture into 
 those fatal rooms, and soon the sound of Zuleika 's shrieks were 
 drowned in a yet greater tumult. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV 
 
 THE CURTAIN OF DEATH 
 
 I was still musing upon my vision, and wondering to what 
 danger Abubatha's warning pointed, when on the stillness of the 
 night there broke first the muffled sound of Artemisia's wild laugh 
 and then Zuleika's frenzied shriek, and as I grasped my scimitar 
 and hurried to the door to see from whence these sounds came 
 I found myself face to face with the forms of Ahmed and his dumb 
 slave, while the room behind him became quickly filled with the 
 stealthily creeping figures of a number of men. 
 
 I tried to defend myself, and for a few moments my skill as a 
 swordsman enabled me to keep my assailants at bay, but what 
 can one man do against twenty, and though my shouts brought 
 my guards in a few moments around me, and roused the whole 
 palace, the soldiers of Ahmed had found entrance in a half a dozen 
 places. My guards fought well, but they were confused and 
 without any settled plan of defence, while Ahmed 's men were 
 carrying out a carefully arranged scheme. Desperate was the 
 resistance we made. My soldiers fell beside me fighting to the 
 last, while I myself, though wounded by many a spear thrust,
 
 156 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 contrived to fight my way into the larger room where the battle 
 was thickest, and strove to rally my guards. But there I suc 
 cumbed, overwhelmed by numbers and mortally wounded. 
 
 For a brief moment I lost consciousness, then I revived to 
 find myself almost alone, while the tide of battle had swept past 
 me towards the great Hall. As I opened my eyes I saw that the 
 grey dawn of day was breaking, and the dim light from the case 
 ment fell across the floor where I lay. I could not raise myself, 
 I could not move. My life blood was flowing from my many 
 wounds and forming a deep red pool upon the floor, and as I raised 
 my fast glazing eyes from it I saw a woman's figure stoop over 
 the crimson pool, and dip her hands in the warm blood as though 
 she were washing them, while to herself she kept muttering and 
 laughing in soft, exultant tones of pleasure. With a start I recog 
 nised Artemisia, and grasping my dagger I made a frantic effort 
 to raise myself and stab her where she knelt. But my feeble hand 
 fell powerless by my side, my dying grasp relaxed, and I sank back 
 upon the ground in the last agony of the great change which men 
 call death. And as my eyes closed I saw Artemisia bend forward 
 over me, with the cruel, vindictive smile of gratified malice, even 
 as I had seen her do in my vision so long ago, and the last thing 
 mine earthly sight beheld was the look of mingled hatred and 
 fiendish triumph in the eyes of Queen Artemisia. The legacy I 
 bore with me to the spirit world was the legacy of our fierce hate. 
 
 Thus fell the curtain of death upon the first act of that drama 
 which had been begun in our earthly lives, and which was yet to 
 be acted out upon the wider grander stage of the spirit world. 
 For as we had sown the wind, so verily was each one of us to reap 
 the whirlwind.
 
 THE STRANGE STORY OF 
 
 AHRINZIMAN 
 PART II 
 
 THE REAPING OF THE HARVEST 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE AWAKENING IN THE ABYSS OF INFERNO 
 
 From a Death-sleep of years my Soul at last awoke to a renewal 
 of its conscious individuality. For as a fruit that is plucked 
 untimely from the tree must be ripened by artificial means ere 
 the living seeds within can attain the degree of development 
 necessary to their germination, so the Soul which is hurried from 
 the earthly stage of life before the Spiritual body is sufficiently 
 developed to serve as the medium for its sustainment must lie like 
 a germinating seed within the green husk of its Astral envelope 
 until the gradual ripening of the truly Spiritual germ, and the 
 consequent decay of the mere Astral husk or shell, shall, in accord 
 ance with a law of all nature, release the Soul-seed which has lain 
 sheltered within the protecting envelope till it was ripe for the life 
 of the Spirit World. 
 
 The Souls of all who die before they have lived the full span 
 allotted to man are not necessarily cut off from the tree of life in 
 an unripened state. Many who thus seem to die too soon have 
 already reached the measure of the experience Earth was des 
 tined to give them. They have gathered their ripened sheaves, 
 and for them the dagger of the assassin, the sword of the enemy, 
 the chill hand of pestilence, or the seemingly untoward accident, 
 was but the key that unlocked for them the gloomy portals of that 
 gate whose Guardian Angel men call Death. 
 
 It was but to a dream consciousness in the astral world that 
 my soul at first awoke a nightmare compared to the clear and, 
 
 157
 
 158 THE STORY OF AHRINZ1MAN 
 
 serene consciousness of the spirit that has attaint- 1 to its true life 
 in the spirit spheres, but yet a terrible reality to the self that was 
 emerging from its deep sleep. 
 
 Have you never, when your soul has been weighed down by 
 some oppression, passed through horrible scenes and agonies of 
 experience that were as realities at the time, yet emerged at last 
 into the serene waking into the fresh dawn li^ht of another day? 
 But what if you could not wake, and your painful oppression 
 continued its sense of reality for years and years! 
 
 In my case my earthly life was an unfinished story, a half- 
 written page, whose blurred message and half-learned lessons 
 required that my Soul should hover near the Earth to learn 
 completely. 
 
 In the darkness of the Astral Plane, upon the Earth yet not 
 of the Earth, lay my Soul in its death trance, for several year- 
 absorbing unconsciously the atmosphere of earthly magnetism 
 which was needful to sustain its life, and ripen that Spiritual 
 envelope through which I was again to manifest my individuality. 
 
 Such was the penalty I paid for the great debasement and 
 passions from which I had not freed my Soul when it was hurried 
 from its earthly tenement the debasement of my licentiousness 
 when living with Jelal-ud-din and the passions of earthly pride 
 and murderous revenge that dominated my Soul through its brief 
 career, and still dominated it against Selim, Zuleika and Arte 
 misia. While my soul still burned with the fire of this wil 1 
 passion it remained in the domains of my Dark Angel in the 
 regions of Inferno the astral spheres beneath the Earth Plane. 
 
 But why dwell at length over the horrible episodes that now 
 seemed part of my life. Let it suffice to show that these experi 
 ences are all bound by a definite law of correspondence, and to 
 warn my fellow beings against the consequences of similar acts 
 of Earth life. As thou sowest, so shall tliou reap. 
 
 In a mighty cavern of the Astral Plane my Soul awoke at la>t. 
 and as one who arouses himself from a troubled sleep I turned 
 and gazed upon my surroundings. I thought at first that I had 
 dreamed a troubled dream in which I had been slain, so real an 1 
 solid to my sight and touch were the grim walls of rock on either 
 side. 
 
 Then memory awoke, and I remembered that it was in the 
 Palace of Parsagherd that I had died. 
 
 I looked around me and saw that vague, shadowy shapes
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZiMAN 159 
 
 were flitting about in the semi-darkness, and a chill fear fell upon 
 my Soul, for I felt that I was indeed dead, and this the world of 
 the Dead that I beheld, and of which I had become a part. 
 
 Clearer and clearer to my sight grew the misty forms; sharper 
 and yet sharper were the sounds which fell upon my ears, at first 
 like faint echoes heard in dreams, then with the fullness of material 
 sound. Veil after veil of gauze-like vapor, which appeared to 
 hang between me and my surroundings, seemed slowly to rise, 
 and reveal to my eyes the wonders of the dread Astral Plane 
 wherein I lay. 
 
 I was still shuddering at the thoughts sugested to me, still 
 thinking with remorse of the days of my own moral degradation, 
 when I had lived with Jelal-ud-din and indulged in practices that 
 I now knew to have borne such awful fruit, when I was aroused 
 from my thoughts by the sudden inrush of a crowd of Spirits, 
 who came yelling and laughing into the cavern where I lay. 
 
 These last arrivals were so like mortal men and women that 
 I had no trouble in recognising them as disembodied human 
 beings like myself. In them there was no lack of intelligence, 
 but it was intelligence which had been used for evil and not for 
 good purposes, and the fierce light of passion, the dull glow of 
 hatred, the sullen bitterness of despair, gleamed from their eyes 
 and traced their marks on every feature. 
 
 These beings gathered around me with angry cries, coarse 
 taunts, and savage shouts of welcome, hailing me as a comrade 
 and reviling me as being to the full as worthy of damnation as 
 themselves. As I shrank back in horror from their clumsy, 
 ferocious embraces they began to assail me with cries of anger 
 and savage blows, shrieking out to me to look at myself and see 
 in what respect I differed from them, by what right I dared to 
 hold aloof from such good company? 
 
 Rousing myself by a mighty effort of my will from the trance- 
 like spell which bound me, I sprang up from the hard rock 
 whereon I lay, and hurling aside the nearest of my assailants 
 rushed from the dark cave along a narrow passage to a wide 
 plain that lay beyond. As I fled I heard the wild crew whom 
 I had left begin a violent quarrel among themselves, which for 
 the moment caused me to be forgotten.
 
 160 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 IN THE INFERNO; THE VALLEY OF THE GENII 
 
 For a short time I felt myself hurried onward, I could neither 
 see nor guess where. I appeared to glide over the ground and 
 float in the air, impelled forward by some unseen force. Then 
 my journey was suddenly arrested, and I found myself standing 
 in a wide misty valley, shut in by dark, lofty hills which rose on 
 every side, while above my head thick clouds of inky vapor hung 
 like a funeral pall. Dark forms of gigantic stature hovered 
 around me with outstretched wings, their dimly outlined forms 
 being those of men, while their wings were shaped like those of 
 mighty birds. Impalpable as smoke wreaths were they, and yet 
 distinct as figures carved from tinted glass, and as transparent. 
 As these phantom forms floated to and fro around me they crossed 
 and recrossed each others' paths, mingling their dark bodies like 
 streams of vapor, yet each emerging from the contact in as perfect 
 a form as though they had been made of iron. Some of these 
 beings were of enormous size, and bore the impress of individual 
 intelligence in their faces, while others were diminutive and atten 
 uated in figure, and almost vacant in expression. 
 
 At first these figures were seen by me as through a curtain of 
 dark mist, but even while I gazed on them I felt the same curious 
 impression of curtain after curtain of gauzy vapor being raised 
 around me which I had felt on awakening in the cavern, and one 
 by one the features and forms of these hovering shapes became 
 distinct to me. 
 
 I saw that each figure bore upon its forehead a tiny Star, like 
 a spark of light, each of a different color, and the shadowy robes 
 which enveloped each form seemed to glitter like the many 
 colored scales upon a dragon's body in the dull glow of light from 
 these tiny Stars, while the outstretched wings that were in shape 
 like unto the wings of a bird were as gossamer and transparent 
 as a spider's web. 
 
 As the mists around me rose and floated like clouds away I 
 noticed that all around me there was a circle of these strange
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 161 
 
 beings, not so large as were many of the others, yet huge hovering 
 phantoms compared to my own stature. To my surprise I saw 
 that the features of each bore so close a resemblance to my own 
 that they looked like replicas of myself, only the expression was 
 different in each case, and represented each the influence of a 
 different passion, even as each phantom shape differed in size 
 and in the color emitted from its tiny Star. 
 
 One which bore a pale white light was small, and seemed at 
 times to melt almost away. Another, whose light was green 
 was also small, and something whispered to me that these 
 represented, the first the quality of unselfishness, and the second 
 the passion of envy. The Star of a third was yellow; a fourth's 
 pale blue; a fifth's lilac; a sixth's purple; while the seventh Star 
 was a deep crimson red. The Genie with the purple Star was 
 large and towered above his fellows, and to my thoughts he sym 
 bolized the boundless ambition that grasps at Royal Power. The 
 Crimson Star upon the brow of the seventh Genie glowed like a 
 living coal, and the fierce murderous gleam in the bloodshot eyes, 
 the tiger-like ferocity of his expression, told me at once that here 
 was the embodiment of the passions of hatred and revenge and 
 murder. Equal in size unto the Genie of Ambition, this being 
 was even more instinct with vitality and power. Near to this 
 seventh Spirit there hovered a grey and almost shapeless form, 
 with shrouded head and veiled face, that like an attendant shadow 
 dogged the footsteps of the Genie of Revenge and followed every 
 movement that it made. This grey shape, vague as yet and 
 featureless, almost formless and half created, I knew to be Re 
 morse, whose shadow ever haunts Revenge, but whose whisperings 
 are ever powerless to stay his hand. 
 
 And as I gazed upon the wavering, circling figures of these 
 embodiments of man's passions, a voice again breathed to my 
 Soul the interpretation. 
 
 "Behold now these, the attendant Genii of thy life, who sym 
 bolise each a passion of thy Soul. Born into life when thou wast 
 born; fed and sustained by the life of thy passions; destined to 
 grow or to fade, to endure or to perish, according to the strength 
 of the vitality and power with which thou hast supplied them. 
 Look upon them well, and ask thyself whether they shall be thy 
 servants or whether thou shalt yield thyself unto them as a slave; 
 whether thou shalt rule them or they shall rule thee. Turn thine 
 eyes from the contemplation of thine own passions and see the
 
 i6i THE STORY OF AHRINZ1MAN 
 
 structures which have been reared by the pa>sion> and desires of 
 other men. For, behold! Thou art in the Phantom Valley of 
 the Genii of men's Souls, and around thee are the mighty works 
 which the ambitions, the greed, the jealousy and the anger, the 
 2nvy and the hatred, the despair and the hope, the selfishness and 
 the unselfishness of myriads of men have created, to endure as 
 monuments of their past lives long after they who created them 
 shall have passed on to other spheres. The true Genii whom men 
 call to their aid are but these embodiments of the passions of man 
 kind; the power they wield is but the resistless force of the great 
 ocean of thought waves which ebb and flow to and from the Earth 
 continually, and bear man to sorrow or to joy, to good or evil deeds 
 according as he chooses to commit himself to one or the other of 
 the mighty currents of passion that sweep around the Soul. 
 These Genii live in these waves of passionate thought as fish 
 swim in the sea. Were they transported to where the fiercer 
 passions no longer sway the Soul they must perish and dissolve 
 like vapor in the sun. Yet here upon the great Earth Plane they 
 have a distinct existence, and they act and re-act upon man, sug 
 gesting thoughts to him, even as a higher intelligence, be it good 
 or evil, shall direct them. Soulless and perishable, no more ma 
 terial than the thoughts men breathe, they yet possess a mighty 
 power over those who yield themselves unto their passions. 
 
 "Hast thou considered how great, how enduring, is the power 
 of a single thought sent forth to influence the lives of all to whose 
 minds it is repeated? If so, canst thou wonder that the thought-. 
 the passions, the desires of man, should thus become endowed 
 with an almost independent life, and become in this etherealised 
 atmosphere almost material beings? Think on these things, 
 for in the life that lies before thee now thou shalt again be 
 called upon to choose thy path, to be the architect of thine own 
 Destiny, and as thou shalt suffer the one or the other of thy 
 passions to sway thee, so shall thy pathway turn to Darkness or 
 to Light, to Heaven above or to the depths of Hell below." 
 
 The voice ceased. I gazed around me and perceived that the 
 valley was full of light. The mists were gone, and around me 
 on every side rose Palace after Palace of colossal size, yet aerial 
 and transparent as the fleecy clouds upon a summer sky, rainbow 
 hued, and gli.stcning in the dazzling light that now filled the' valley, 
 till they looked like fairy palaces in a dream. The delicate 
 pillars, the graceful porticoes, the golden gates, the snow white
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 163 
 
 roofs, all distinct and clear yet fragile as a gossamer and aerial as 
 rainbow tinted vapor. Vast beyond the power of sight to follow 
 appeared the confines of this valley. Stretching onward and ever 
 onward were these cities of men's thoughts and hopes, their 
 passions and desires, floating like cities built in the clouds: while 
 in and out, backward and forward through these colossal buildings 
 floated the mighty Genii whom I had so dimly seen at first. 
 
 Here there would be a Palace of blood red marble, its 
 windows glowing like furnaces, its gates like white hot iron; 
 around this there hovered myriads of Genii of the Blood Red 
 Star of Revenge. 
 
 Beyond that there glittered the purple and golden Palace of 
 Ambition, and next it the green and copper-tinted Palace of Envy 
 and Jealousy. 
 
 Each Star and each passion had its corresponding Palace, 
 which seemed to afford a dwelling place for the Genii of that Star. 
 The glow of light that filled the valley was like prismatic waves, 
 changing to every hue of the rainbow and suffusing the scene with 
 first one glow of color and then another. 
 
 I gazed on the strange scene with a mixture of wonder and 
 delight as Palace after Palace was revealed to my sight. And 
 then suddenly, even as I gazed, it all crumbled into dust. The 
 walls of the Palaces were shattered as by an earthquake, and a 
 foul swamp seemed to open and swallow them up. The radiant 
 light gave place to a misty vapor, heavy and foetid as though it 
 blew from an open graveyard, pestilential as from a plague 
 stricken city of the dead. The heavy mist rolled on like a sea 
 till it shut me in on every side, and wrapped me round as with 
 a mantle of darkness. 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 THE DOWNWARD PATH AND THE DARK ANGEL 
 
 As the darkness shut me in I heard a voice that I recognized 
 to be the voice of Queen Artemisia, calling aloud and invoking 
 curses upon my name. At the sound of that voice my recollec
 
 164 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 tion of the past and of my death grew suddenly clear. The 
 memory of all my unsatisfied ambitions, all my unfulfilled hopes, 
 all my many wrongs, my ruined life, my dishonored wife, my 
 murdered mother, my own untimely end, surged like a sea of 
 passion across my Soul. Silhouetted like pictures traced in fire 
 and blood I saw the events of my life thrown upon the dark 
 screen of mist around me. The last picture of all was that of 
 Artemisia as she sat beside my dying body and dabbled her hands 
 in my life's blood. 
 
 The bitter hatred of that moment, the impotent and uncon- 
 quered thirst for the revenge of which I had been so long baulked, 
 awoke with ten fold power within my Soul, and with a great cry 
 of rage I rose to my feet, and stretching forth my hands I called 
 aloud to Heaven and to Hell in the name of Justice to grant me 
 vengeance! Yea, though it should take a thousand years to 
 accomplish, and though the slaking of my thirst should sink my 
 own Soul to the lowest depths of Hell. 
 
 As I uttered my impious prayer the ground beneath my feet 
 trembled as though a mighty volcanic shock had shaken it. A 
 great chasm opened before my feet, and a great gulf seemed to 
 separate me from the spot whereon I had stood. There was the 
 rushing sound as of a great host, the hurried flight of myriads 
 of winged creatures towards me, and then a great blaze of red 
 light. The sudden glow as of a mighty Star seemed to rend the 
 mantle of darkness around me, and like a figure of flame, clad 
 in robes of crimson and purple, I saw the Dark Angel once more. 
 
 No longer veiled was that majestic countenance. As clearly 
 as the sun lights up the Earth at noonday did the fiery light which 
 surrounded him illuminate each feature, and show me how the 
 fierce flames of passion had seamed and scarred every feature, 
 marring the beauty of what even yet was a type of the most per 
 fect manly beauty. The eyes almost scorched me with the in 
 tense passion of their gaxe, yet did I not flinch from their regard, 
 but answered him with a look almost as proud and passionate a^ 
 his own. 
 
 The deep, full tones of his voice seemed to vibrate through 
 my Soul and awaken yet fresh echoes of anger within me, as he 
 said: 
 
 "Behold, I am come! Say in what manner I can assist thee." 
 
 And I answered him : 
 
 "Oh, Angel of Darkness! I seek revenge upon mine enemies.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 165 
 
 I desire to reign here as a King, since I can no longer reign on 
 Earth. I look to thee to aid me, since thou art mighty, and thou 
 hast responded to my call." 
 
 'And dost thou not fear," said he slowly, "to call upon the 
 Dark Angels to help thee? Doth not the terror of Death lie 
 even yet upon thy Soul, since thou art in Death's Kingdom? 
 Hast thou no longings left for Heaven, since thou art so ready 
 to plunge thyself into Hell?" 
 
 "In Heaven Artemisia doth not dwell. She can no more enter 
 there than can I myself. Whether she is yet on Earth I know 
 not, but this I know, that I am surely in Hell and here will I await 
 her till she and I have adjusted the bitter measure of the debt 
 between us. I could not live in Heaven were its doors to open 
 to me now, and know that by entering therein I resigned my 
 chance of meeting her. Paradise could have no joys for me while 
 the fires of Revenge consume my Soul." 
 
 The Dark Angel laughed a bitter savage laugh of exultant 
 malice, as he replied: 
 
 "Of a truth thou art worthy to become one of my followers! 
 Even I can feel no deeper hate than thine! But tell me, what 
 wilt thou give me in exchange if I grant thy wish? Wilt thou 
 sell thyself to be my slave?" 
 
 "Thy slave? No! I have said that I would be a King ! Is 
 any man truly a King who holds himself the slave of one even 
 so powerful as thou? I could not promise to be the slave of any, 
 for I could not keep that promise; and dear as is my vengeance 
 to my Soul I cannot make false promises to attain it. If thou 
 wilt aid me I will give thee the best service that is mine to give. 
 I will serve thee till the debt is paid, with interest a thousand 
 fold. I will sit at thy feet as one who sits at the feet of a great 
 master, and I will serve thee as a soldier serves his general. More 
 I cannot say, for more I would not do. If thou wilt not give me 
 thine aid then must I find other means to gain mine ends, for 
 if I have to live through all the ages of eternity to gain my desires 
 I shall not cease to strive for them." 
 
 For some moments the Dark Angel answered me not, but 
 fixing his hollow eyes upon my face gazed at me with a look half 
 wondering and half sad. Then with a deep sigh he said : 
 
 "Eternity! But Oh, man! Fresh from Earth life, can it 
 be that thou dost indeed realize what an Eternity can mean? Ah, 
 no! None can, save those who have watched the slow ages roll
 
 166 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 on unchanging and unchanged. I might refuse thee aid upon 
 the terms which thou dost offer, hut I am attracted by the boldness 
 of thy .^pirit which hath much in affinity with mine own, and as 
 I have aided thee in the past, so will I aid thee again to work 
 out thine own damnation and garner for thyself the bitterest fruits 
 of the tree of knowledge. 
 
 "Behold the followers whom I will assign to thee, and if thou 
 canst control so wild a crew, and bend their wills to thine, then 
 of a truth shall thou be worthy to reign with me in these dark 
 spheres ! " 
 
 He waved his hand, and as one sees the tail of a comet stretching 
 far out across a night sky, so did I see a vast train of fiery Spirits 
 sweep downwards to the glowing Star which encircled the Dark 
 Angel. Then did he wave his hand thrice over my head, as 
 though in some awful mockery of a benison, while his voice rang 
 out in strident tones this command unto his followers: 
 
 "Serve ye this man, this newly arrived son of mortality. 
 Teach him the secrets of the Dark Spheres, and serve him even 
 as ye would serve me. 
 
 " I'are ye well, or rather fare ye ill, for naught but evil comes 
 to those who seek the gifts and friendship of the Dark Angels." 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 I MEET MEGABYZUS 
 
 As the Dark Angel vanished I turned to look at the motley 
 band of servitors which he had assigned to me, wondering much 
 how I was to learn the qualities and capabilities of each, and how, 
 without such knowledge, I was to control this volcanic mass of 
 sentient beings which gathered around me like a great ring of 
 evil, standing aloof from personal contact in attitudes of respect 
 ful fear. 
 
 While I contemplated them, as a general surveys the forces 
 at his command, an aged Spirit stepped out from the throng and 
 prostrated himself at my feet in a salutation of the most abject 
 humility. His figure though bent with age was large and power-
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 167 
 
 ful, his hair and beard long and flowing and white as snow. His 
 face, yellow and crinkled as old parchment, bore nevertheless the 
 stamp of great intellectual power. The eyes which looked up at 
 me from their hollow sockets were bleared and dull, and watched 
 my face with the furtive cunning of a ferret. A dull ferocity of 
 suppressed passion was expressed in the tightly compressed lips 
 and hard lines about the mouth, while the whole countenance 
 bore the impress of the most degraded sensuality and wickedness, 
 and yet there were traces in his face of a Spirit that had once been 
 noble and that had some kinship to my nature. 
 
 As I signed to him to rise, and bade him speak, he stood up, 
 but still keeping his head bowed before me, said : 
 
 "Most Gracious Prince for only to a Prince would our great 
 Master, the Dark Angel, assign so great a train as he hath given 
 thee most Gracious Prince, if it pleases thee to hear me I would 
 fain instruct thee in all things concerning these wondrous Beings 
 of the Astral Plane who are assigned to thee as servants. Behold, 
 on Earth I was a mighty Sorcerer, who once, alas! followed knowl 
 edge for its own sake. Then I was tempted, and I fell, and turned 
 my knowledge to evil purposes alone. Thus have I come here, 
 and therefore must I dwell within these dark regions. Yet even 
 here Knowledge is Power, and by its aid I bend to my will those 
 whom I desire to serve me. I have studied here upon this further 
 shore of the dark River of Death the subjects which engrossed 
 my thoughts on Earth, and in correcting many errors I have 
 gained a degree of power undreamed of in the life of Earth. 
 Much of this knowledge I will impart to thee, since it is the 
 command of the Dark Angel that I should do so. I will be thy 
 guide through these dark regions, and none can guide as well as 
 he who hath himself traversed in Earth life every step of the 
 winding paths of forbidden knowledge." 
 
 "And, if I may ask the questions, who wert thou in thine 
 Earth life? How long hast thou been a dweller in these spheres?" 
 
 "Alas! Ages upon ages have I dwelt here. The Earth was 
 but young when I was born into its life, and though I lived for 
 many centuries beyond the allotted span of man's days, yet was 
 my long life but as a mere drop in the great ocean of time through 
 which I have existed. Who was I? Ask not that question. Let 
 my name and memory be buried in oblivion. Let none know 
 what is the fate of one who was esteemed the wisest magician of 
 his age. But if thou wouldst know somewhat of my personality
 
 168 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 I may tell thee that it was I who wrote the parchment scroll that 
 was taken from the grave of Adam and given unto thy Master 
 Jelal-ud-din, and it was I who snatched that scroll from thy hand 
 when thou didst sit beside thy watch-fire on the lonely plain, and 
 sought to read the secrets never meant for thine eyes to see." 
 
 He paused, and his voice trembled with passion as he spoke, 
 while the dull eyes lighted up for a brief moment with the fire of 
 youth and anger as he thought of the great secret I had so nearly 
 stolen from the keeping of the dead. Then the fire died out of 
 voice and eyes, and the dull impassive expression of calm malig 
 nity came upon his face once more, and he stood silent at my side. 
 
 "And didst thou then ever influence my Master Jelal-ud-din 
 in his studies, for he admired the teachings of thine Earth life 
 much?" 
 
 "Jelal-ud-din I have influenced at times," he replied, "but it 
 was difficult to impress him clearly. With a great thirst for 
 occult knowledge, he did not possess the needful powers, and he 
 was so fond of studying the records of those who had explored 
 the path before him, so ready to adopt all their teachings as 
 infallibly correct, that I found it impossible to correct through 
 his agency the errors for which I was responsible, and which 
 arose through the imperfect sight which is the bane of all who 
 would explore the wonders of the unknown world of the Astral 
 Plane from the Earthly side of life. Few, very few, who possess 
 the needful clearness of sight ever learn how to use it successfully. 
 Still fewer have the indomitable will and the unquenchable thirst 
 for knowledge which will carry them through all the dangers and 
 trials and disappointments, and the infinite toil and labor, involved 
 in these studies. 
 
 "The gifts of etherealised Soul-sight are seldom or never 
 combined with the sterner qualities of the great student; there 
 fore it is that the student has to depend upon the revelations given 
 him by others. His data are all based upon the supposition that 
 those Soul-seers have told him truly and correctly all they saw, 
 and in most cases, even where all possible care has been taken, 
 the clairvoyants will see either a reflection of a mixture of their 
 own thoughts with the visions shown, or the thoughts of those 
 who are their earthly teachers. 
 
 "Thou hast served in a Temple in thy youth. Thou must 
 know that though I am evil, yea, very evil, as are all those who 
 serve the Dark Angel, yet in my thirst after knowledge I ever
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 169 
 
 sought for truth, and only truth, and the love of the true 
 knowledge is yet strong within me, the desire to impart it is as 
 great as ever. 
 
 "Therefore, when I beheld thee, and read the intense passion 
 of discontent which consumed thy Soul, the wild longings of 
 Ambition, the fierce thirst for Independence and for Power, I was 
 attracted to thee, and I sought by all means to draw nearer and 
 still nearer, that I might draw thee from the shelter of the Temple's 
 walls and turn thy footsteps till they should cross the path of my 
 pupil Jelal-ud-din. I sought to guide thee to him, and though 
 other influences intervened to delay my purpose for a time, I at 
 last succeeded. Hadst not Ambition and thy desire for Earthly 
 grandeur been a stronger influence than thy thirst for knowledge 
 I should have tried through thee to give to the world the teachings 
 I could not give through Jelal-ud-din." 
 
 Again was his face lighted up by the enthusiasm awakened by 
 this subject, which, even amidst the hopelessness of his awful 
 surroundings, had power to awaken his interest and beguile his 
 thoughts for a time from a sense of his degradation. 
 
 I could not refrain from contemplating the strange character 
 of this man, who, essentially evil in all other desires, could yet 
 retain so pure a love of truth in the pursuit of knowledge. And 
 I asked myself whether this one ray from the Star of Truth might 
 not some day, perhaps prove a rope of light to raise him even from 
 this dark sphere. 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 MY OLD MASTER; TEACHINGS ON THE DEMATER- 
 IALIZING OF OBJECTS AND THE PROLONGA 
 TION OF LIFE IN EARTH BODIES 
 
 "Thou dost speak of Jelal-ud-din," said I, "where is now 
 this man? What hath become of his Spirit? How has he passed 
 the time which hath elapsed since his death? I would fain know 
 of these things, and also by what agency he met his death?" 
 
 "Come with me and I will show thee Jelal-ud-din," he replied.
 
 170 THE STORY OF AHRINZINAN 
 
 "But first dismiss thy many followers, for we do not require their 
 presence, and thou canst recall them to thee at will." 
 
 I bethought me of some of the expressions by which Jelal-ud- 
 dln had been wont to summon or dismiss these low Astral Spirits 
 whom he had learned to control, and making use of one of them 
 I saw all the strange beings who had hung around us while we 
 talked suddenly vanish like a dark cloud. Then taking me by 
 the hand, the Spirit who was guiding me rose in the air, and as I 
 followed with him I saw that we were travelling by a widely 
 ascending spiral path to a large globe that I knew to be the 
 Earth. In a very few moments we alighted upon it, and I found 
 that we were in the deserted garden of the house which had 
 belonged to Jelal-ud-din. 
 
 But what a different place it seemed when viewed from the 
 Spiritual side of life! No mere decay of years could have so 
 appallingly stamped upon it the evil nature of the deeds of which 
 its walls had been the silent witnesses. The corruption of those 
 who had dwelt there seemed to have infested the house as with 
 the plague of leprosy, and draped the walls in the foul shimmer 
 of a stagnant pool whose waters hid the still more loathsome 
 corruption of the decaying corpses of murdered men. The 
 garden was a vast wilderness of poisonous weeds. Rank, unholy 
 trees, exhaling an odour more deadly than the baneful upas tree, 
 had sprung up around the house. The whole air was tainted 
 with an infection more subtle than that of a plague, more swift 
 in destruction than the most deadly gas. In the great branches 
 of these trees huge birds of prey sat brooding, like vultures enjoy 
 ing the rank odour of the carrion below. Horrible creatures of 
 every conceivable shape and kind crawled or fluttered amongst 
 the poisonous weeds. Awful beings of the Astral Plane sought 
 shelter within the crumbling walls of the accursed house, and 
 wraith-like figures of the many mortals whom Jelal-ud-din had 
 poisoned and killed by divers means haunted the deserted rooms 
 and wandered through the silent passages, attracted by the 
 magnetism of the man whose arts had killed them. 
 
 Could I have cried aloud unto mankind and proclaimed how 
 terrible a plague spot was this house, and how deadly a miasma 
 breathed from its decaying walls, I would have bade them level 
 it to the ground and consume it and the foul garden in one great 
 funeral pyre, and scatter the ashes to the four winds of Heaven, 
 rather than leave it thus to become a focus of corruption from
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 171 
 
 whence exhaled a poison more destructive than any earthly poison 
 could be; a center from which could radiate the influences most 
 fatal to the Spirit. 
 
 But I was dead. To my voice all mortal ears were deaf for 
 ever more. 
 
 As I turned from the house something large and dark rose 
 from the ground beside the fountain, and began to drag itself 
 along the ground with slow and painful movements of its body, 
 like those a snake makes as it wriggles along. Something, that 
 as it drew near I saw to be in size and form like unto a man, 
 clothed in dark rags like tattered cobwebs. The face was 
 bent towards the ground, and the hands, like claws, were 
 used to dig into the ground as the figure drew itself slowly 
 towards me. 
 
 Then the head was raised for a moment to look at us, and 
 as with a savage cry of rage the figure raised itself slightly to look 
 more closely, I recognized the swollen and distorted features of 
 my late Master Jelal-ud-din. Fiercely he struggled to rise up to 
 attack me, but his limbs were powerless to bear his weight, and 
 with a moan of savage anguish he sank on the ground once more, 
 and made frantic efforts to wriggle to my feet to clutch at me. 
 
 Horrified at the sight of his awful condition, I addressed him, 
 and asked him why he displayed such animosity towards me, 
 since I had come to see him in all friendliness. 
 
 "Friendliness!" he hissed out savagely in hoarse, broken 
 gasps, "what friend of mine wert thou to leave me at the very 
 instant when success was about to crown the efforts of many 
 years? What friendship hadst thou, who could desert me at 
 that crisis, and consign me to this worse than death? Avaunt! 
 or I will rend thee in a thousand pieces ! Were I but able I would 
 tear thee limb from limb." 
 
 "Nay, be not so savage with me," said I, "thou dost forget, 
 surely, that to give thee the life thou didst crave meant that I 
 should die instead of thee. I knew not this when I left thee alone, 
 'tis true. I did but follow the fair vision of my Guardian Angel, 
 who led me from thy room, and that thou wert dead ere I returned 
 filled me with remorse and sorrow, until I read the first part of 
 the mystic scroll. Then did I see the fate thou hadst meant for 
 me, and which engulfed thyself instead. Yet, Oh my once master,
 
 172 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 let us forget the past, and tell me whether there is aught I can do 
 to help thee now?" 
 
 Jelal-ud -din's answer was a savage snarl like a wild beast's 
 as he turned and wriggled away from us again, and disappeared 
 behind the broken fountain. 
 
 The Spirit beside me, who was known in the Spirit World by 
 the name of Mansur, touched me on the arm. "Behold!" said 
 he, "Jelal-ud-din hath gone into his treasure house, there to 
 resume his watch over the baubles which he hath collected in his 
 Earthly life, and which he doth not yet know to be valueless to 
 him now. He thinks that thou art yet in the body of the flesh, 
 for his sight, like his other powers, is but imperfect, and he 
 fears that thou art come to steal some of his treasures." 
 
 Then I remembered how I had already come and taken away 
 certain Parchment Scrolls, dreaming that the dead had no longer 
 property in the goods that once belonged to them, and I resolved 
 to go to where I had hidden them and restore them to Jelal-ud-din 
 since he still valued them so highly. My thought must have been 
 read by Mansur, for he laughed derisively as he said: 
 
 "Go to, thou too honest thief! Go and look at those hidden 
 scrolls, for it is no longer possible for thee to lift one corner of the 
 very least of them. Thou art in the Spirit body now, and canst 
 not affect aught which is still enclosed in its material shell as in 
 a locker! treasure case." 
 
 "But to return to Jelal-tid-din. Tell me why it is that he 
 crawls thus upon the Earth? Surely the reason is not alone 
 because his life was evil?" 
 
 My companion laughed a mirthless laugh, as he replied, "I 
 see that thou dost think that I am myself to the full as evil as he 
 was, yet I grovel not upon the Earth. Even so. But it is not 
 because of his many sins that he crawls thus, or else the Dark 
 Spheres would be peopled by human reptiles. No. But Jelal- 
 tid-din when he sought to prolong his life far beyond the ordinary 
 life of man did not know that thereby he was imprisoning his 
 Spirit in the mortal shell long after it had grown too confined to 
 hold it. If thou dost take a growing child and place it in a 1><>\ 
 that fits tight over all its limbs, so that it can neither develop nor 
 make use of its muscles for its own support, then will the body 
 of that child become deformed; its muscles and its limbs will 
 wither away, and it will either die or become like one stricken 
 with a palsy, whose impotent limbs can in no wise obey the
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 173 
 
 desires of its mind. So hath it been with Jelal-ud-din. So is it 
 with all who seek ignorantly to change nature's laws. By cling 
 ing to the mere Earthly shell, because it seemed to him a means 
 of life, he retarded the development of the Spirit, and so crippled 
 it that many years, yea, many centuries, must elapse ere it regains 
 the full vigor that should belong to a man endowed at first with 
 such strength as was his. Look upon me! Behold my grey 
 hairs, my bent form, and know that I also, when I renewed again 
 and again my Earthly life made the mistake Jelal-ud-din did, 
 and it hath taken me these many centuries of Spirit life to win 
 back even the strength I now possess, which, after all, is but that 
 of an old man, and wonder not that I sought to destroy all traces 
 of that manuscript in which I detailed the means which had led 
 to mine own destruction. Sin hath me in her clutches. The 
 love of evil, the desire to enjoy still the sinful pleasures of mine 
 animal Soul is yet so strong in me that I would not exchange my 
 present lot for all the pure joys of Paradise, were it possible that 
 its gates would open to me now. I have not one desire in affinity 
 with the pure lives of the Saints of Paradise. The gulf between 
 us is impassable. Therefore think not that it was with the 
 thought of doing even one good action that I snatched that scroll 
 from thine hand lest thou should learn the secret it contained. 
 No! It was only that I desired not that the monstrous error 
 of supposing that to renew the poor earthly shell was to endow the 
 immortal Spirit with fresh life should be any longer associated 
 with ME or MY studies. For thee and for Jelal-ud-din I cared not. 
 The Dark Angel, who is my Master here, might have led you both 
 into the bottomless pit of destruction and I should not have raised 
 one finger to prevent him. But when he took that misguiding 
 scroll from the grave where I deemed it hidden for ever, and sent 
 it forth to propagate AN ERROR in MY name, then was my wrath 
 aroused, and I rested not till I had torn it from thy keeping. 
 
 " Let us go hence," he added after a pause. "Let us go hence, 
 for as yet thou canst do no good to Jelal-ud-din. Only time can 
 help him. If thou hast any other one thou dost desire to see, 
 think of them, and thine own desire will take us there." 
 
 Then I bethought me of Prince Ahmed, who had slain me, 
 and of the faithful friend Ben Al Zulid, who had come too late to 
 save me. And lastly I thought of Zuleika, and longed to know 
 her fate, and whether she had shed even one tear over mine 
 untimely end.
 
 174 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 I FIND ZULEIKA 
 
 As Mansur had said, my thoughts carried us to Agbatana, 
 where I beheld Ahmed in all the glory of his position as King. 
 Towards him my feelings were not particularly bitter. He had 
 ever been an open foe, and in my death did but carry out the policy 
 I had expected of him. We had each played our game to gain 
 a throne. He had won and I had lost that was all. I paused 
 not long with him. An unseen shadow I stood among his throng 
 of courtiers, and but for the recollection of myself which my 
 presence caused to some among the crowd, none felt any con 
 sciousness of my presence. 
 
 From the Palace my thoughts carried me far away to a small 
 fortress in the mountains. Here I found that Ben Al Zulid had 
 retired, and was spending the evening of his life in the calm 
 studies of a philosopher, and though my presence and touch could 
 not make him conscious that my Spirit stood beside him in very 
 fact, he nevertheless seemed to feel that I was somehow near him, 
 for he got up, and looking half uneasily over his shoulder to where 
 I stood, said in a low tone: 
 
 "Strange! Strange indeed is this feeling that comes over me! 
 I could almost have vowed that the Soul of my dead Master's 
 much loved son Ahrinziman had returned to Earth again. Me- 
 thought he was here but now. I had almost forgotten he was 
 dead, alas! like all whom I have loved." 
 
 He sighed deeply and turned again unto his books, while 
 I glided from the room, moved almost to tears by the sound of 
 affection in his voice. 
 
 The image of Zuleika rose before me now, and I soon found 
 that I was entering the Palace of Parsagherd, and floating toward.- 
 the haunted \vin<j. 
 
 As with the house of Jelal-ud-din, this part of the Palace wore, 
 to my Spiritual eyes, the stamp of more than mere mortal ruin 
 and decay. The hangings upon the walls were ragged and stained 
 with blood, and bore, as pictures engraved upon them the scenes
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 175 
 
 of treachery and murder enacted within the rooms. The floors of 
 polished marble were slippery with pools of blood, and deep holes 
 like pitfalls seemed to gape on every side. I crossed over to the 
 secret passage, and there within it beheld Zuleika sleeping, clothed 
 in the black mantle which had enshrouded her in my last vision in 
 Jelal-ud-din's mirror. For I knew now, alas! that it was she 
 whom I had seen imprisoned as in a narrow vault, tearing up the 
 ground with her finger nails, and beating on the hard walls in 
 her death agony. Alas ! And alas ! I read all the fearful story 
 as I looked at the grim walls wherein her terrible struggles for 
 liberty, her slow agony of starvation and dreadful death, were 
 all mirrored. None had guessed that she was imprisoned there. 
 Few had even missed her. And not till Ahmed, roused at last 
 from his conquests to the memory of the woman he had professed 
 to love, inquired for her, did it at last dawn upon anyone that she 
 and not some lost Spirit from the dark regions had uttered those 
 terrible shrieks which for days had rung through the deserted 
 wing and penetrated like faint echoes to the other part. Then 
 when Ahmed caused the place to be searched none knew the 
 secret of the hidden door. There were no cries now to guide 
 them, for the silence of the place was the silence of Death. Thus 
 even Zuleika's body was never found, and her fate remained a 
 mystery whose solution could only be guessed by the shuddering 
 seekers for her. 
 
 When I entered the passage I saw at the further end, next the 
 door which led to the rooms once occupied by King Selim, the 
 crumbling skeleton of a woman, robed in the ragged remnants 
 of a black mantle, the fleshless hands still clutching at the fatal 
 door which I had caused to be walled up, little dreaming whose 
 death trap it was to prove. Near this crumbling Earth-body 
 there lay the Spirit of Zuleika, attached to it by a fine thread of 
 magnetic ether. Like the Earthly body it was wrapped in a ragged 
 robe of black, of which it seemed the counterpart. A corner of 
 this robe was drawn over Zuleika's head and face, veiling it from 
 my eyes. 
 
 I drew near to her with feelings of the deepest emotion, for 
 though as I gazed at her crumbling form I knew that the passion 
 ate love with which I had once regarded her was dead, slain by 
 the knowledge of her falseness, it was not possible to feel towards 
 her as towards any other woman. The tie between us had been 
 too sacred, too tender. No man who has once truly felt the holy
 
 176 THE STORY OF AHRIMZMAN 
 
 emotion of a pure love can ever regard with indifference the 
 woman who has lain within his arms, and borne to him the most 
 sacred relationship of all. Yea, though that woman may prove 
 as false as sin. Though she may have trampled on his affection 
 as on a worthless rag, and trifled with his heart as a child toys 
 with a plaything. For the man who has once truly loved her 
 she will ever be surrounded with the halo of the infinite tender 
 ness of a love that has no counterpart save in the still purer, holier 
 love of a mother for her child. 
 
 In mine anger when I first knew of her falseness and my 
 dishonor, I could have killed Zuleika with mine own hand, but 
 even had I done so her death would have filled me with an infi 
 nite anguish of remorse so soon as ever the fatal deed had been 
 done. And now as I looked down upon her and knew that she, 
 too, was dead, and by what means she had died, my heart was 
 torn by the violent passion of anger and sorrow. I loved her no 
 longer as I once had done. Could she have risen before me in 
 all the pure beauty of her earthly days I should have still drawn 
 aloof from her, knowing her nature as I knew it now. But never 
 theless my heart was hot against her murderess, and I could have 
 cried aloud with anguish when I thought of her cruel sufferings 
 ere she died. If aught could have added fuel to the fire of my 
 anger against Artemisia the sight of Zuleika would have done so, 
 and I vowed a yet more fearful oath to sacrifice all other things 
 unto my purpose of Revenge. 
 
 Trembling with emotion I drew near to Zuleika, thinking to 
 raise gently one corner of the robe which hid her face, that I might 
 gaze but once again upon the features so dear to mine eyes in the 
 long past days on Earth. Ere I could touch her, however, the 
 veil that shrouded her face became transparent as gau/e, and 
 revealed to mine eyes, not the lovely features of my once wife, 
 but the shrunken, withered face of an old, old woman, stamped 
 with an expression of vice and shame such as one sees on some 
 wretched woman of the streets, who hath sold herself for gold. 
 
 "Ye Powers!" I cried in horror, "is this Zuleika 's Spirit after 
 all, or have I made some strange mistake?" 
 
 Then I looked again, more closely, and I saw that it was 
 indeed the Zuleika I had loved. The features were the same, but 
 the blighting hand of sin and treachery had rested on them, stamp 
 ing on them the true impress of the shallow, sensual Soul beneath 
 the once fair exterior. The expression was the same as she had
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 177 
 
 ever worn in Jelal-ud -din's mirror, only now there were no charms 
 of feature to redeem its hideousness. 
 
 I turned away, saddened at the sight, and filled with my pas 
 sion against the woman whose hand had helped to shed such ruin 
 around me. 
 
 I willed to see her next, that I might stand face to face with 
 her once more. 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE SEA OF PASSION; TEACHINGS ON THE SEPAR 
 ATION OF SPIRITUAL SPHERES; WE PLOT 
 AGAINST ARTEMISIA 
 
 I found myself standing at last beside a lone sea, whose dark 
 billows dashed furiously upon the mighty rocks which like a wall 
 of iron shut it in. Here and there were bleak patches of sandy 
 shore, like barren resting places amidst a wilderness of jagged 
 rocks and stormy waves. A furious hurricane, whose hot breath 
 was like the scorching blast of a sirocco, seemed to rage there 
 eternally, driving the mighty waters upon those towering rocks 
 with the re-echoing roar of thunder, and scattering great volumes 
 of spray far over the wild dark plains that lay beyond this troub 
 lous sea. Storm clouds hovered overhead, and the fiery magnetism 
 cast off from the stormy Souls of those who had created this scene 
 of passion rent the sky in all directions with their lightning flashes, 
 while the deep, reverberating roll of the giant waves and wind 
 fell on the ear unceasingly. 
 
 Great as is the range of the Spiritual sight compared to that 
 of mortal life, it was yet too limited to show me the extent of this 
 vast ocean that stretched away beyond the powers of even my 
 thoughts to follow. 
 
 I climbed to the highest point of a lofty rock and looking along 
 the far-extending shores beheld at last, at an immense distance, 
 a solitary woman's figure, that I felt, with a sudden rush of savage 
 joy, to be that of Queen Artemisia. 
 
 Quick as thought I sped towards her, but when I came near 
 I found that some invisible barrier through which I could by no 
 means pass separated me from her. In vain I sought to get nearer;
 
 178 THE STORY OF AHRINZ1MAN 
 
 ;i wall of iron kept me back, and no efforts of mine could break 
 through it. Furious with rage I at last gave up the useless attempt. 
 A mocking laugh at my side made me turn round, to behold 
 Mansur beside me. 
 
 "Waste not thy powers in useless efforts," said he, "for thou 
 art on the confines of two spheres, and thou canst not pass from 
 the one unto the other. Between thee and Artemisia there is a 
 barrier of antagonistic magnetism, which to thy Spirit body is 
 even more impassable than a wall of stone would have been to 
 thy mortal envelope. If thou wouldst attack thine enemy it must 
 be by other agency than thine own hands. To do so thou wilt 
 need the help of those Beings whom the Dark Angel hath given 
 thee as servitors, and such knowledge of their attributes and the 
 laws which govern them as I only can give thee. Thy Spiritual 
 magnetism and Artemisia's are as diametrically opposite as the 
 two poles; as antagonistic as two gases which can in no wise blend, 
 so violent is the force of their repulsion. Neither of you can by 
 any means come again into personal contact with the other, unless 
 you can indeed restore the conditions of Earth life. For in the 
 Earth Life all spheres are mingled, and the gross materiality of the 
 Earthly envelope enables those whose magnetisms are intensely 
 antagonistic to draw near unto each other, even as thou mayest 
 imprison the two opposing chemical gases in separate vessels and 
 thus bring them into a closeness of proximity impossible to them 
 when free. Dost thou imagine that were it possible for Artemisia 
 to meet thee she would not herself have long since sought thee 
 out? On the night when thou wert slain she also died, from 
 poison administered by the orders of Prince Ahmed. Unlike 
 thee her Spirit was fully ripe for the great change. She awoke 
 almost at once, as one wakes from slumber, and since that hour 
 she has not ceased to call upon thy name. She thirsts as much 
 or more than thou for the long deferred meeting with thee, her 
 great enemy, and she cannot understand wherefore thou hast not 
 obeyed her summons. She is ignorant of all laws pertaining unto 
 Spiritual conditions. Such studies have no attraction for her. 
 She thinks only of what the Priests have taught her, and cares 
 not to gain even the most elementary knowledge of that state of 
 existence in which she now finds herself. Behold her now, and 
 mark well what fruits her crimes have borne for her, and then 
 will I show thee how thou mayest add yet another drop unto the 
 full cup of her bitterness."
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 179 
 
 As he pointed to the restless figure of the Queen, Mansur 
 passed his hands slowly over my head, and then it was as though 
 a clearer measure of sight had been given to me, for I not only 
 saw Artemisia herself, but the multitude of Beings which thronged 
 around her every footstep. I heard moreover every word she 
 uttered. 
 
 "Look now," said Mansur, "see how those haunting shapes 
 dog her footsteps, each the embodiment of a past crime. She 
 does not know that they are things of air, mere creatures of her 
 thoughts, reflections thrown upon her own aura as an image is 
 thrown upon the surface of a mirror. She thinks each horrid 
 shape is real; a sentient being like herself, and knows not were 
 she to turn and face them calmly, to contemplate them steadily, 
 they would melt like mist. See how each angry vengeful thought 
 hath shaped itself into a giant phantom in her mind. See 
 yonder Shade dipping its gory hands again and yet again into 
 a deep pool of blood ! Behold, it is but the picture which memory 
 gives back of herself as she sat beside thee in thy dying hour. 
 See yon crowd of Hellish Imps that scream and shriek around 
 her; they are the curses she hath heaped on others' heads, and 
 which have now come back to her. Each one but repeats her 
 own words; each does but embody her own thoughts when she 
 uttered them. Again, see yonder that white floating figure. Dost 
 thou recognize it, with its stony Angel face as of a slumbering 
 child and its white robes dyed with the fast flowing blood from 
 the wounds in neck and shoulder? 'Tis the wraith of thy mur 
 dered Mother. Nay, start not. The pure Soul is not there; she 
 rests in Paradise. That floating phantom is but the last fading 
 remnant of the Astral shell cast off long since by the risen Soul, 
 and only retained thus long in its integrity by the constant thoughts 
 of Artemisia herself, who can in no wise free herself from the 
 memory of her victim. She thinks it is the Spirit that haunts her, 
 and hath haunted her through these many years. She doth not 
 know that between herself and the murdered Cynthia there exists 
 an antagonism as great as between herself and Cynthia's son, and 
 that it is therefore impossible that their Souls can ever meet in 
 the Spirit sphere. She can behold yon crumbling Astral shell 
 even as she might have beheld the poor Earth body she destroyed, 
 but unless Cynthia could re-clothe herself in an Earthly body Arte 
 misia can never again behold her Spirit. As for this haunting 
 shell, were only Artemisia to have courage enough to touch it it
 
 i8o THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 would crumble beneath her hand,_and turn to ashes for the first 
 breeze to scatter. 
 
 "Artemisia is alone by this wild sea. Naught haunts her but 
 her own foul thoughts, her own murderous deeds. Yet in the 
 vividness with which they are presented to her eyes doth thou 
 not perceive how one who hath the knowledge of how to create 
 such shapes may torment her yet more sorely? See now, she 
 calls upon her son, her only son, the one thing that can awaken 
 still the tender emotions of her Soul. Mark with what frantic 
 despair she calls on him, realizing that even Death hath not 
 bridged over the gulf created by Death between them. Canst 
 thou think of no means here to be revenged upon her, to make 
 her suffer even as she hath made thee? Hast thou not felt that 
 even the oblivion of Death, the mere dropping of its dark veil 
 between thee and the object of thine affections, were a mercy 
 compared to the worse than death which hath separated thee from 
 thy beloved? Doth it not then occur to thy mind that thou 
 couldst so torture Artemisia through these pictures that she would 
 almost pray in her anguish to be left rather to the present uncertain 
 knowledge of her son's fate, to the still cherished hope that he is 
 in Paradise? Thou canst do nothing to the Queen herself. Her 
 own state of misery is too deep for thee to add one feather's weight 
 unto the burden. But in her thoughts of her son she finds the 
 one faint hope that yet glimmers amidst the darkness of her 
 despair. On Earth she thought that she would fain he had gone 
 to Hell, so that she might see him again. Now that she herself 
 is here the Mother's Soul recoils from such a fate for her adored 
 child. She would rather dwell here herself for all eternity than 
 drag him down even for one hour, and though she calls thus 
 frantically upon his name, she does so only in the hope that a far- 
 off glimpse of him may at last be accorded to her, not with the 
 doire to bring him into the same condition as herself." 
 
 Mansur drew closer to my side, and clutching my arm as in a 
 vice, hissed into mine ears: 
 
 "Dost thou not understand me yet? Art thou so dull of 
 thought as not to see that thou canst slay even this one hope, this 
 one faint alleviation of Artemisia's lot by casting thy spells upon 
 her? I will even show thee how it may be done, and how thou 
 ma vest drive her to despair beside which her present state were 
 as Paradise." 
 
 The fierce cruelty of this Spirit's look and voice appalled me
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 181 
 
 as he whispered his suggestions in mine ears. Yet was mine 
 own anger against the Queen so deep that even while I shuddered 
 at the suggestions of the Dark Spirit I yet felt loth to refuse his aid. 
 
 As before, he must have read my thoughts, for with a bitter 
 sneer he said: 
 
 "Thou art a pretty one to vow vengeance against thine 
 enemy, and then when the way is shown to thee shrink like a 
 timid babe because its darkness appalls thee ! Wander through 
 these realms and see what pity they who reign here show to one 
 another, and then ask thyself if thou art fit to lord it over Hell's 
 Dark Spirits? He who would reign here must leave Remorse 
 behind, must part with the last lingering shadow of compunction, 
 or his weakness will cause him to be hurled under foot and tram 
 pled down like the wretched slaves whom thou shalt see thick as 
 leaves in Autumn, cumbering the ground on every side, and serv 
 ing like beasts of burden those whose stupendous wickedness hath 
 raised them above all lesser sinners! 
 
 "Come, return with me now unto the sphere in which thou 
 wert before, and I will show thee what manner of servants the 
 Dark Angel hath given thee." 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE VENGEANCE PACK OF INFERNO; HOW TO 
 DOMINATE THEM; INTELLIGENCE RULES IN 
 HELL AS WELL AS IN HEAVEN; HOW ASTRAL 
 SPRITES AFFECT HUMANITY; DISEASE POISONS 
 
 Under the guidance of Mansur I soon found myself again on 
 the spot where I had had my interview with the Dark Angel. At 
 the command of my fiendish guide the strange and fearful crea 
 tures who were to serve as instruments of my vengeance gathered 
 from all directions and clustered around us once more. 
 
 Some were like unto the dragons of fable, whose huge bodies 
 were like the combination of several monstrous reptiles. Others 
 were like wolves, and horrible mixtures of more than one species
 
 182 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 of ferocious beasts. Horrible vultures of gigantic size swooped 
 down to join the throng. All the most loathsome creatures known 
 on Earth were reproduced here, with still more repulsive blending 
 of the evil qualities of each. There were some creatures like unto 
 black cats in the shape of the bodies, yet with flat, wide heads and 
 two enormous teeth like tusks which projected from either jaw, 
 while the small teeth were sharp and jagged like the teeth of a saw, 
 and they had claws of extraordinary size and sharpness. I could 
 well fancy these creatures tearing their prey to pieces in the most 
 horrible manner with such teeth and claws. They attracted my 
 attention especially because there were so many of them, and 
 because they hung around me more closely than did any of the 
 other distorted representations of animal life on Earth. 
 
 These Astral animals and birds seemed a distinct and almost 
 material class in themselves. The semi-human impish looking 
 creatures which I have described as being the creations of the 
 passions of men's Animal Souls came next in order. Then there 
 were low, Earth-bound Spirits who were distinctly human, and 
 who had lived an Earth life of much evil and degradation, but 
 who, because of the fact that they possessed Souls, .were of a 
 degree of intelligence far beyond the other Soulless creatures. 
 Some of these unfortunate Earth-bound Spirits were, however, 
 of so very low a type of human life, so slightly developed in intel 
 lect, that it required a fine perception to distinguish between 
 them and those who were semi-human and Soulless. 
 
 Above this class of Earth-bound Spirits I saw others, far 
 superior in their intellectual development, far more unmistakably 
 responsible individuals, but who were of so repulsively evil a type 
 of wickedness that it was impossible not to shrink from all 
 approach to contact with them. Despite the savage, bestial expres 
 sion on their faces, despite the horrible resemblance they bore in 
 action, and even in some cases in feature, to the wild beasts 
 around me, I knew that these were indeed the Spirits of men and, 
 alas! of women, for there were among them some hideous 
 travesties of womanhood. That they were born as the offspring 
 of lives of the most revolting cruelty and wickedness on Earth, 
 and that the higher faculties of their Souls should be literally 
 still in the germ state, only made the sight of them the more 
 terrible, since immense periods of time must of necessity elapse 
 ere those undeveloped seeds of good within their Souls would 
 begin to grow.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 183 
 
 As Mansur pointed them out to me he said: "Behold those 
 Beings whose cowardly cruelty makes of them the most abject 
 and yet the most dangerous of thy slaves ! If thou wouldst domi 
 nate them thou must possess the most unceasing watchfulness, 
 the most relentless determination; and should they hesitate to 
 obey thee thou must at once consign them to the most cruel 
 punishments at the hands of their savage fellows. If thou dost 
 show to them one atom of pity they will cease to fear thee, and 
 will turn to rend thee in pieces at the first chance. Remember, 
 that in this sphere their strength of body is ever greater than 
 thine, because they possess a more dense degree of materiality 
 than thou. This is their sphere, and thou art in a manner an 
 intruder. If thou art to reign here it must be by the force of thy 
 will, the power of thine intellect, the degree of thy knowledge of 
 Spiritual laws, not by mere brute force, for the strength of such 
 Beings as those around thee is stupendous! Were they once 
 freed from the restraint that is ever exercised over them in Spirit 
 life by the higher intelligences, these Beings possess a strength 
 sufficient to destroy all the forms of life on Earth which are 
 higher than themselves. At present they may be said to be 
 imprisoned in the limits of this sphere, and amongst creatures 
 of their own kind. To enable them to act upon the inhabitants 
 of any other sphere, or to affect the material things of Earth life, 
 it is necessary that they be brought under the influence of the will 
 of some Spirit or Mortal strong enough and intelligent enough 
 to counteract the will force which now holds them in bondage. 
 Once they are fully dominated by some powerful Spirit, either 
 in or out of the flesh, they can be used like a mass of puppets, 
 and when they are brought into contact with certain magnetic 
 conditions in Earth life they possess a force sufficient to enable 
 them to move large obstructions as one would lift a feather. 
 
 "Their magnetism may be said to resemble a powerful explo 
 sive gas, whose expansive force can shatter the strongest masonry, 
 and the pressure they can bring to bear upon the mortal envelope 
 of man would be great enough to crush his Earthly body into a 
 shapeless mass, as though the chariot wheels of the great God of 
 Thunder had passed over it. 
 
 "With Jelal-ud-din thou didst see somewhat ol the powerful 
 nature of certain chemical fumes that he distilled, but thou canst 
 but faintly conceive as yet of the vastness of the hidden powers 
 in nature, and still less canst thou realize that, compared with the
 
 184 THE STORY OF AHRINZIM AN 
 
 powers possessed by Spiritual nature, those of the material Earth 
 are but as children's playthings. In all the wondrous tales told 
 of the miraculous things which have been wrought by the power 
 of Magic the basis of the power called into action was this influ 
 ence of the master mind of the magician upon these almost 
 material Astral Beings. Under the controlling will of their 
 Master they did mighty works, transporting objects to a ^rvat 
 distance, or acting as a destroying force upon some enemy. 
 Most often their aid has been invoked solely for purposes of evil, 
 for as a rule those who sought their aid did so in order to grasp 
 at boundless power, and minister totheir all-absorbing ambition. 
 Yet there is no reason why their services should not be made use 
 of for good as well as for evil, save that, drawing such a force as 
 this around a mortal brings up from the dark depths of the infer 
 nal regions a countless host of kindred Spirits, whose influence it 
 is difficult to shake off again. When I tell thee that these Beings 
 are dominated by the wills of the higher intelligences I mean not 
 alone that higher intelligence which is devoted to goodness and 
 purity. Evil is in all respects as powerful as Good. TheHioni.R 
 DEGREE of knowledge and intellectual power belongs to Evil as 
 much as to Good, and the mind can travel as far and as fast in 
 the one direction as in the other during its pursuit of knowledge. 
 Do I not know this only too well! But as the nature of these 
 particular classes of Astral Beings is essentially evil, it follows 
 that they are more often controlled by the evil intelligences with 
 whom they are in affinity than by the Good, to whom they are 
 antagonistic." 
 
 "What then," I asked, "protects man on Earth from these 
 Beings, since thou doth suggest they have the power to affect 
 material things?" 
 
 "I said unto thee that UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS they had 
 the power. That is to say, they have it when there is a mortal 
 brought into proximity to them in whose aura they find the highly 
 magnetic essence of which I told thee before, an essence which 
 supplies to them the link betweeen the materiality of man and 
 their own state, that subtle form of ether which, as I said unto thee, 
 serves to hold in combination the material atoms of the human 
 body, and which, when it surrounds these beings, gives to them 
 for the moment almost the density of mortals, so that they can 
 bring their extraordinary magnetic power to bear upon mortal 
 things. Thou thyself possessed this subtle essence in thine Earth
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 185 
 
 life, and in its spiritualised form it is in thine aura now. It is a 
 power whose use thou dost not dream of yet, but which can serve 
 thee in Spirit life even as it would have served thee on Earth 
 hadst thou but known how to use it. It was because the essence 
 was present with thee that thou didst see the hands and faces, 
 the figures even, of the strange creatures which hovered around 
 thee and Jelal-ud-din during thy studies, and it is those mortals 
 who possess this magnetic aura who have most to fear from the 
 proximity of these Astrals." 
 
 "But," said I, "doth not the fact that the aspirations of man 
 kind are towards Good rather than Evil, so that the preponder 
 ating influences around man tend to good, serve to protect him 
 in a measure from evil?" 
 
 "Yea, thou art right," replied Mansur, "yet Evil is still a 
 mighty power upon the Earth, and when thou hast steeped thy 
 Soul deep in its pleasures, how hard it is to shake it off! How 
 difficult to rise to higher things! How bald and tame seem the 
 joys of the pure and good ! " 
 
 He sighed, and I could not help thinking that perhaps after 
 all he was not so far as he imagined from all appreciation of those 
 purer joys. Then the softer mood passed, and he turned to me 
 again with the zest of a true teacher in expounding his views unto 
 an eager pupil, and continued his discourse. 
 
 "Now that thou hast seen these Beings thou wilt not wonder 
 that in calling such unto their aid the daring mortals who have 
 sought to subjugate them are so often themselves destroyed by 
 the very force they have called up. He whose will releases these 
 Spirits from their bondage to the higher intelligences, in order 
 that they may become the unseen tools with which he wreaks his 
 animosity upon a fellow mortal, is apt to forget that he hath 
 created a link between himself and these Astral Beings which he 
 may be afterwards powerless to sever. Do you see how the 
 restless throng are chafing already at the restraint put upon them? 
 How they long to be at some Hellish work again! Mark those 
 great bags, like huge black spiders' webs, that some of them carry. 
 See, I will suffer them to follow out the thought which hath come 
 unto their minds." 
 
 Mansur waved his hand, and instantly the dark throng of 
 human and semi-human Beings rushed upon the hideous animals 
 around them, and despite their teeth and claws thrust a number 
 of them into the great nets. Then, amidst much yelling and
 
 186 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 quarrelling they made a ring, and tumbling the savage creatures 
 out of the bags pell-mell on the top of each other, prodded and 
 buffeted them till the whole angry mass were tearing each other 
 to pieces like a lot of hungry rats and wolves. As the creatures 
 tore at one another the most frightful vapor arose, the most sicken 
 ing odour, the most poisonous stench possible to imagine. I felt 
 myself becoming stifled, and looked at Mansur to see whether 
 he was playing some diabolical trick upon me. But he drew 
 from his robe a long slender wand, and waving it slowly before 
 us created a wind which blew the poisonous stench away. 
 
 "It is as well that thou hast smelt that sweet savour," said he, 
 "because now thou canst judge how deadly unto the Spirit is the 
 magnetism thrown off from these creatures. Thou canst under 
 stand how a sensitive mortal exposed to their subtle influence 
 would sicken and die, none could tell wherefore, because no 
 mortal sense is keen enough to detect this poison. Thou hast 
 heard that poison can be dropped into the heart of a rose, so that 
 the scent of the flower shall hide the death-giving odour, and the 
 fair beauty of the flower tempt the victim to wear it. 
 
 "The most subtile poisons are the most deadly, and it is these 
 poisons which act directly on the Spirit. The Earthly envelope 
 is designed as a shield to the Spirit in the Earth life, even as the 
 more Spiritual bodies of the succeeding stages protect the Soul 
 in those more advanced conditions of its existence. If then the 
 Earthly envelope be so far penetrated by the Spirit that an 
 abnormal degree of sensitiveness is experienced, it stands to 
 reason that this thinner envelope leaves the Spirit exposed to the 
 action of these subtile influences, and liable to be injured by them 
 to an extent from which the more grossly enveloped Spirit is pro 
 tected. The poison of disease cannot be detected by the power 
 of sight, yet it is none the less present in the atmosphere, and as 
 with increasing knowledge upon Earth men will be able to detect 
 the approach of the destroying pestilence, so with a more univer 
 sal knowledge of magnetic laws men will become at last able to 
 detect the approach of those more subtle poisons which produce 
 the Spiritual pestilences by infusing their deadly vapors into the 
 atmosphere of Spiritual life."
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 187 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE PLOT UNFOLDED; WE VISIT SELIM; SUFFERING 
 FOR THE SINS OF A MOTHER 
 
 "And how dost thou intend to use these creatures for the 
 furtherance of thy plans against Artemisia?" said I to Mansur 
 at last, for in his delight at finding one who took an interest in 
 his discourse he seemed to have forgotten all but the scientific 
 aspect of the subject. 
 
 As my question recalled him to the original purpose of our 
 meeting the dark, fiendish expression passed again over his face, 
 and with a low chuckle of diabolical cunning he said : 
 
 "Artemisia hath escaped all knowledge of this sphere the 
 Astral circle of the Earth plane because she hath sunk to one 
 below it, as thou also wouldst have done had it not been that in 
 thine Earthly life thou didst form many links between this sphere 
 and thyself. We cannot take these companions around us to the 
 Queen, and thus cheer her solitary hours with their sportive 
 gambols! But Selim is yet within the confines of this sphere. 
 He hovers around the Earth plane, and we can visit him. Thou 
 hast much influence over him, for in thine Earth lives it was well 
 established. Moreover, ye are the offspring of one father, and 
 between you there is not so great a measure of antagonism as 
 between thee and Artemisia. She hath escaped our clutches, 
 but her son is here and we can visit him. He is in our power. 
 Thou canst surround him with all the horrors which the hellish 
 creatures beside us can wreak upon their victims. Thou canst 
 paralyse his will with the strong force of thine own, which could 
 ever dominate his. Thou canst give him over as a helpless cap 
 tive into the hands of these beings around us, and of a surety 'twill 
 be fine sport to see what they will do unto him ! Then through 
 him thou canst project unto Artemisia the knowledge of his con 
 dition; his thoughts will reach her though thine cannot. If thou 
 dost direct the thoughts of Selim unto his mother, and will that 
 he desires her to behold his state, then will the picture of Selim 
 be thrown upon the mirror-like atmosphere around her, and
 
 i88 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 appear as real to her eyes, as objective and as near as do her own 
 thoughts, which at present fill all her mental horizon. Through 
 Selim she will behold thee, and will learn that thou hast him in 
 thy clutches, while she herself is powerless to aid him in any way. 
 Dost thou not think it is a pretty scheme? Doth it not seem to 
 thee that thou wilt extract a far keener anguish from Artemisia 
 by torturing her son than if thou couldst touch herself? For her 
 self, she would defy thee! Her Spirit is as courageous and as 
 dauntless as thine own, woman though she be! But when thou 
 doth touch her son she will have no power to do aught; her Spirit 
 will be broken, and she will sue to thee for mercy like the veriest 
 slave. There will be no depths of humiliation to which thou 
 canst not reduce her, if only thou dost secure her son, her only 
 son!" 
 
 He spoke in such a tone of savage, exultant triumph that I 
 recoiled involuntarily from him, even while I ground my teeth in 
 rage and nodded my acquiescence in his plans, for I could not but 
 remember that Selim was the man who had dishonored me, and 
 repaid my services with the blackest treachery. 
 
 "Selim is but a poor creature," said Mansur, "a foe scarce 
 worthy of our spears, yet is the wrong he hath done thee a bitter 
 one indeed. The conditions of his Earth life made him a King, 
 yet in the Spirit World he is little more than a precocious child, 
 weak minded and of evil tendences. Between his parents there 
 was no real affinity, no Spiritual union. The attraction exercised 
 by each was merely that of their animal Souls; therefore in their 
 son thou dost behold only the transmission of the lower qualities 
 of the parents, while the lack of true affinity causes Selim to be 
 like an ill-constructed harp, not one of whose strings canst thou 
 bring into tuneful harmony with another. Thou canst not blend 
 his qualities so that they make a perfect whole. One contradicts 
 another continually, even as between the higher natures of the 
 parents there was continual friction, though the glamour which 
 was cast over both by the purely magnetic attraction of their 
 animal Souls prevented them at first from feeling this. I la 1 
 the inharmony of relation between the parents been but a few 
 degrees greater Selim would have been an idiot. As it is he had 
 enough sense to pass for an intelligent responsible Being in the 
 eyes of those whose interest it was to be indulgent to his failings. 
 Behold him now, stripped of all the false glitter of Royalty and 
 dependent upon himself for the surroundings he creates."
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 189 
 
 Mansur pointed to a flickering spark of light at an immense 
 distance from us, and by steadily watching it I saw at last that it 
 illuminated a minute picture of the Palace of Parsagherd and the 
 rooms occupied by Selim. Presently the picture grew clearer, as 
 though a strong glass reflected it to me, and I perceived that to 
 Selim's eyes it bore the same appearance as in his Earth life, save 
 that the furniture, the walls, and hangings, all looked cracked and 
 stained with muddy patches and torn. In the centre sat Selim 
 himself, on a throne he had built for himself from the fragments 
 of a larger one which lay scattered about as though by an earth 
 quake shock. The crown upon his head and the gold of his orna 
 ments were tarnished like his honor, and his robes were soiled 
 and draggled like the once purity of his Soul. He himself pre 
 sented a curious appearance, for in stature and face he was like a 
 child, though his body was bent and his countenance furrowed 
 like those of an aged man. The feeble yet vicious expression 
 of his mouth, with its full red lips half open and the weak chin 
 covered by a few thin, straggling hairs in place of his once luxuri 
 ant beard, added yet another touch to the general picture he 
 presented of weak minded vanity. 
 
 Behind him there lurked the hideous figure of the black slave 
 from whose obsessing Spirit I had sought to free him on Earth. 
 The expression of this Spirit was savage to the last degree, and 
 he appeared to spend his time crawling backwards and forwards 
 through the fatal secret passage, as though unable to withdraw 
 himself from its attraction. 
 
 Around Selim himself I saw a great many dark figures, whose 
 forms much resembled those of the Genii I had beheld in the 
 mystic valley; and mingling with them were certain Spirits of a low 
 type who seemed to have been slaves in Earth life, and who 
 were now attracted to the Court and waited upon Selim under 
 the confused impression that they were still in their Earthly 
 bodies. These last Spirits he seemed to see, but to the presence 
 of the others he was oblivious. 
 
 "Behold," said Mansur, "in Earth life Artemisia drew around 
 her by her angry, vengeful thoughts a whole host of dark Spirits 
 whose influence shadowed her son even from his cradle. They 
 gathered around him and sucked away his Spiritual life, so that 
 the Spirit body grew stunted and feeble, and even the Earthly 
 envelope suffered in sympathy and became feeble and ailing. 
 They instilled foul thoughts into his mind, and they used his
 
 i 9 o THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 body as a medium whereby they could enjoy over again those 
 material pleasures for which they still craved. Thus was the 
 private life of King Selim one of much degradation and shame 
 without the Spirit of Selim himself being conscious of it. 
 
 "To use the body thus it is needful to dispossess the rightful 
 Spirit, which is thus left in an unconscious state in close prox 
 imity to its envelope, as thou dost already know. Had Selim 
 been a conscious participator in the iniquities wrought by the agency 
 of his Earth body his state now would be akin to that of the dark 
 Spirits around us. As it was he suffered in the enfeebled con 
 dition of his body for the use thus made of it without knowing 
 to what agency it was due. In Spirit life he hath but the develop 
 ment of a child, yet is his Spirit body worn and aged by the vices 
 of the man. Time will equalize all things, and will give to him 
 the growth of his Spirit into manhood. Then will it be for him 
 to use his powers for his own elevation or degradation, as the 
 temper of his mind shall incline him. 
 
 "Call him unto thee now. Draw him unto this sphere that 
 thou mayest show him how richly thou canst recompense him 
 for all the favors he showered on thee, and on thy win. !" 
 
 Mansur laughed again and again as he said this, with a scorn 
 ful glee that so maddened me I could have struck him to the 
 earth had he not withdrawn from me even as he uttered his 
 sneer at the mention of my wife, and though my contempt for 
 Selim had well nigh extinguished my anger against him the words 
 of Mansur kindled my passion once more to fever heat, and I 
 called aloud upon the wretched Selim to come unto me with all 
 speed. 
 
 Thrice I called, and ere the summons was well repeated for 
 the third time I beheld Selim at my side. 
 
 Bewildered at thus suddenly finding himself in my presence, 
 and uneasy at the recollection of his own treachery towards me, 
 the wretched Selim addressed me in trembling querulous tones, 
 into which he tried in vain to infuse a little of his old royal dig 
 nity, and asked why I should have summoned him thus. 
 
 "Thou mayest well ask that, thou miserable semblance of a 
 man," replied I scornfully. "Thou mayest well wonder why I 
 should desire the presence of so poor a worm of Earth as thou, 
 thou false viper, who couldst even turn to sting the hand stretched 
 forth to rescue thee! It may be that thou hast even forgotten 
 that from so contemptible a dog it was possible I would demand
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 191 
 
 a reckoning when the day of our reckoning at last should come. 
 Dost thou imagine that I have forgotten one tittle of the wrongs 
 inflicted on me by thee, and yet more foully by thy mother 
 Artemisia?" 
 
 As I uttered the Queen's name I suddenly beheld her image 
 before me reflected in the air, even as one beholds a mirage in the 
 desert, though the scene reflected may be far away. I not only 
 saw this reflection of Artemisia but I saw pictured beside her 
 the reflections of myself and Selim. She had pushed back the 
 long wild black locks of her disheveled hair with one hand, and 
 with the other she shaded her eyes as she looked fixedly at my 
 reflection. That of Selim was as yet so faint and dim by reason 
 of his thoughts not being yet fully concentrated upon her that 
 she did not perceive him. Me she addressed in tones of savage 
 hate, saying "Is this indeed thou, Ahrinziman? Thou illicit 
 spawn of a miserable Greek slave, who didst deem, forsooth, 
 that thou wert fit to be a King ! Art thou come at last in answer 
 to my calls for thee?" 
 
 "Yea, Oh Woman! I am come at last to settle the great 
 debt between us. Let not thy foul lips utter the name of mine 
 Angel Mother, slain by thee, lest thou shouldst add another drop 
 unto the cup of my wrath, too full already, and of whose bitter 
 ness thou shalt drink even to the last dregs in a fashion thou 
 dost little dream of yet. Hath it not been said of old that thou 
 shalt demand an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth? But I say 
 to thee that thou shalt repay me with thy sufferings an hundred 
 fold for all that thou hast made me and mine suffer. Think of 
 my tender Mother and her cruel death! Think of Zuleika, 
 sacrificed to thy malice, and to the passion of thy son! Think 
 of the slow agony of her death as hour by hour hope died within 
 her heart, and the fierce pangs of hunger and despair destroyed 
 inch by inch her mortal life! Think of the horror of such a 
 death, and marvel not that since thou art beyond my powers of 
 vengeance I should take it from thy son. Behold he is here. 
 I have summoned his Spirit unto me, and I show him to thee 
 now that thou mayest see his sufferings, while thou art as pow 
 erless to save him one pang as I was to save one of thy victims. 
 Behold, thus do I let loose the powers of this dark sphere upon 
 thy son." 
 
 I waved my hand towards the wretched Selim, and like a 
 pack of wild beasts the whole savage multitude rushed upon
 
 i 9 2 THE STORY OF AHRINRIMAN 
 
 him and attacked him with teeth and claws and hands, human 
 and inhuman monsters alike eager to tear him to pieces. 
 
 But it was not my purpose to so quickly end the scene. I 
 desired to prolong the agony of Artemisia and her son, and ere 
 they had done more than wound Selim's Spirit I forced the 
 savage creatures to retire again, bidding the low cruel Spirits 
 that were human once to approach him one by one and amuse 
 themselves with him, even as a cat plays with a mouse. As for 
 Selim, he lay upon the ground in a helpless agony of fear, uttering 
 cries unto his mother, whom he now thought he saw beside him, 
 to save him. 
 
 Then I saw Artemisia striving to break through the wall 
 between us, even as I had once striven to break through to 
 her, and when at last she realized that she was powerless to 
 reach us she gave utterance to a cry of such supreme anguish, 
 such intense despair, that I wavered in my fell purpose, and 
 almost involuntarily arrested the advance of those who were 
 torturing Selim. 
 
 The sacred ness of the Mother's love, the sufferings through 
 which a woman gives birth unto her child, the Divinity of that 
 holy tie, all rose up before my mental vision and forbade me to 
 torture a Mother through the tenderest, holiest, emotion of her 
 Soul. Yea, even though she had sinned against me as deeply as 
 had Artemisia. 
 
 At this very moment when revenge was within my power, 
 when I might have drugged myself to satiety with the sight of 
 my enemies' sufferings, I gave up the contest, and allowed the 
 opportunity to slip from my grasp. My hand, stretched out to 
 destroy, fell powerless at my side, paralysed by the agony of the 
 Mother's cry for mercy for her child. 
 
 It required all my power to drag off the savage dark Spirits 
 I had so nearly let loose in all their malice upon Selim. All the 
 force of my strong will was scarce adequate for the task, but at 
 last I saw them gather like an evil crowd of vultures and sink 
 slowly down from sight. Then I waved my hands over the 
 wretched Selim and bade him be free from me forever, where 
 upon he too vanished. 
 
 As he disappeared a tremendous flash of lightning rent the 
 sky, a mighty clap of thunder shook the ground, and I beheld 
 the furious countenance of the Dark Angel as he towered above 
 me in his wrath.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 193 
 
 "Behold," said he in a deep voice of intense wrath, "Behold, 
 I have done my part, I have given thee the boon that thou didst 
 crave, and like a capricious child thou hast flung it from thee 
 because thy mood has changed ! Thou art a mighty one to think 
 to rule in Hell! Thou, who canst not keep thy fell purpose for 
 one hour! Behold, I have fulfilled my share of our bargain, now 
 must thou fulfill thine!" 
 
 For one brief moment I beheld the fearful fiend, then a great 
 chasm opened beneath my feet and engulfed me. Down and 
 down I sank in the awful darkness. It seemed to me that I was 
 sinking down forever! 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 THE KINGDOM OF THE DARK ANGEL; DOOMED TO 
 
 THE BLACK PIT; HOW WILL POWER SAVED ME; 
 
 THE SPORT OF THE ANGELS OF INFERNO; 
 
 THE ORIGIN OF DARK ANGELS; WHY 
 
 THEY ARE BEYOND MORTAL KEN 
 
 At last my downward journey was suddenly arrested, and I 
 found myself in what appeared to be a vast black pit. Walls of 
 jagged rock rose up on all sides, and through the darkness I could 
 dimly perceive that they extended to a great distance all 
 around me. 
 
 As I tried to rise and stand upon my feet, I found that my limbs 
 were loaded with ponderous chains, and it was only with great 
 difficulty and after many efforts that I was at last able to raise 
 myself to an upright position. To walk seemed impossible, so 
 heavy were my fetters. 
 
 As I became accustomed to the darkness I began to see that 
 I was not alone. Huge phantoms hovered near me with out 
 spread wings, and as my sight grew clearer I saw that upon the 
 forehead of each there glowed a single spark of crimson fire, while 
 their faces were instinct with the strong life and power with which 
 the force of my own passions had endowed them. As I looked 
 again and again upon these hovering shapes that loomed through
 
 i 9 4 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 the darkness like avenging spectres, and approached ever nearer 
 and nearer to me with threatening gestures, I recognized them to 
 be the Genii of Revenge and Hatred, of Cruelty and Murder, 
 which I had seen in the phantom valley of the Genii. Now 
 these strange beings had grown to twice their former size, and 
 possessed a degree of intelligence and a power of action more 
 than double that which they had possessed before. 
 
 They gathered around me like destroying angels, and hemmed 
 me in on every side, while yet fresh and ever fresh phantoms 
 floated down to swell the throng. The glittering, scale-like robes 
 they wore seemed to wrap me round and crush me, as the 
 Anaconda crushes the body of its victims. The dull sparks of 
 fire that shot from their fierce eyes seemed to pierce my 1 train as 
 with a hundred knife stabs. Their hot breaths were like the 
 fumes from a furnace upon my cheeks, and their talon-like claws 
 were extended to tear my flesh. Suddenly I bethought me of the 
 words of Abubatha when he had spoken to me in the last dream 
 I had on Earth: "None can have dominion over thy Soul unless 
 thou thyself give them the power." And I said unto myself ".shall 
 I, who am immortal, suffer these Soulless beings of the Astral 
 World to assault me and tamper with my freedom? Is it not I 
 who should dominate them, and hold them as mere servants of 
 my will?" 
 
 I stamped my fettered foot upon the ground and stretched 
 forth my manacled hands towards these hideous shapes, crying 
 unto them, "Avaunt! Ye foul fiends of evil passions! Avaunt 
 yel Get ye gone unto thine own habitations, for I will yield 
 my Soul unto such influences no more!" 
 
 As I uttered these words the chains which I had thought had 
 bound me fell asunder and left me free, while the dark shapes 
 rolled like a foul mist away, leaving me standing alone in the dark 
 pit. 
 
 How long I remained in the darkness I know not, but it 
 seemed a long time, for my thoughts travelled over and over again 
 through all the events of my Earth life and my experiences in the 
 Spirit World. My memory gave me back picture after picture, 
 till I could bear the recollections no longer, and I arose to wander 
 through the darkness and find whether there was no outlet to my 
 prison.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 195 
 
 Round and round the black, rocky walls I wandered, but there 
 was no possible means of escape that I could find. It appeared 
 to me that I thus wandered in the darkness for what must have 
 been weeks of earthly time. Nothing could I see but myself and 
 the black rocks around me; no sound broke the stillness but the 
 sound of my own voice as I called from time to time, in hopes that 
 some other voice would answer me, yea, even though it might be 
 the voice of the Dark Angel himself. 
 
 At last, in despair, I sat down upon the hard ground, and the 
 oblivion of sleep fell upon my senses, rendering me for a time 
 unconscious of my terrible position. 
 
 After a long sleep I awoke to hear a voice calling me, which I 
 recognized to be that of Mansur. It appeared to come from 
 above me, and said: 
 
 "Aha! Ho, Ahrinziman! Art thou indeed enjoying thy 
 slumbers in this fair Kingdom which our great Master hath given 
 thee? Dost thou enjoy thy sovereignty over the only things in 
 this land which thou art fit to control? Or doth thy curiosity 
 prompt thee to see a little more of the wondrous sphere of which 
 thou hast become an inhabitant? Behold, the Dark Angel 
 summons thee unto his presence, that he may gauge the value 
 of the service thou didst offer him." 
 
 Mansur laughed, as though my condition afforded him much 
 amusement, and then in answer to my inquiries as to how I was 
 to obey the Dark Angel's summons, he let down a rope, up which 
 I climbed till I found myself standing beside him on an extensive 
 plateau of hard soil, plentifully bestrewn with ashes. 
 
 The thick, heavy atmosphere above us, the dark night sky 
 and heavy clouds, prevented me from seeing far in any direction, 
 but as I followed my conductor I observed the towers and buildings 
 of a vast city looming through the blackness before us. Here and 
 there great tongues of lurid flame shot upward from the earth, 
 but their light only served to illuminate the space immediately 
 around , showing numberless dark figures of Spirits which danced 
 around the flames and hurried to and fro as though intent upon 
 some business. 
 
 As we drew near the city I saw that it resembled closely a great 
 capital of the Eastern Empire. The mighty domes of the Palaces 
 glowed with the dull crimson of monster fires within, and from 
 the lofty towers flaring beacons of blood red light flung their 
 rays across the dark plains. At every step the feet sank deep
 
 196 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 into the thick ashes of burnt out passions which strewed the 
 ground, and the close stifling sulphurous smoke that rolled 
 upwards in great clouds continually was scorching as the breath 
 of a colossal furnace. 
 
 Myriads of Spirits of every shade of color and every race of 
 people passed us, engaged in every variety of task, and in every 
 condition of abject misery it was possible to conceive. Some 
 served as beasts of burden to their more powerful fellows, and 
 were driven on with savage blows and imprecations. Others 
 were tormented by those around them, that their contortions of 
 agony might amuse the spectators. 
 
 Everywhere and on all the buildings there was the same stamp 
 of foulness and ruin and decay. The stones of the street seemed 
 to ooze with blood, and the walls to drip with it. The whole 
 fearful scene was lit up by the flaring beacons on the lofty towers, 
 as they flashed their red light through the all pervading darkness. 
 
 Before the inner courtyard of the largest Palace I beheld an 
 immense square, wherein an enormous multitude of Spirits congre 
 gated, as though awaiting the arrival of some powerful personage. 
 The interior of the square was arranged like a vast amphitheatre. 
 At one side there was a throne, which glowed like burnished cop 
 per. It was supported by black marble pillars, and approached 
 by a flight of fifty marble steps. At the sides of each step there 
 knelt the headless figure of a Spirit; the heads, which had evi 
 dently been struck from the bodies with a scimitar, were placed 
 between the knees of the figures. Impassive and motionless they 
 knelt, and but for the eyes which moved at times, as though watch 
 ing those around them, I should have imagined that they were 
 mere images of stone. To my inquiring glance Mansur replied : 
 
 "These Spirits represent a pleasing pastime indulged in by 
 our Master, the Dark Angel, during his Earthly existence. These 
 Spirits were all captives in war, and at a festival such as this we 
 are about to attend, the Dark Angel, then Emperor of an Eastern 
 Kingdom, of great power, caused these men to be bound in a 
 kneeling position such as you see them in now, and directed that 
 the most skillful swordsmen of his army should ride towards them 
 at full speed and with their scimitars sever the head from the body 
 at a single stroke, and any swordsman who failed to cut off the 
 head at the first blow was at once decapitated himself as a clumsy 
 bungler, unfit for his master's sen-ice. These figures you see 
 here are but the remaining few of the many thus killed. They
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 197 
 
 were once numbered by hundreds, but gradually, as the thirst for 
 vengeance upon their conqueror died out of their hearts, they passed 
 out of these dominions, and the mere Astral shells they left behind 
 became, as you will see, a decoration of our Master's Palace." 
 
 He pointed to the Palace behind, and looking intently at it I 
 saw with a shudder that the whole front was garnished at a dis 
 tance of a few feet apart, with decaying Spirit bodies of men, all 
 headless and all kneeling like those upon the steps, the horrible 
 appearance they presented in their mouldering, repulsive condi 
 tion being indescribably revolting. I wondered it did not make 
 the Dark Angel shudder every time he entered his Palace to see 
 these gruesome sentinels lining his walls. And yet the rest of the 
 building was after all in keeping with this fantastically horrible 
 decoration. Queer ghastly shapes were outlined on it every 
 where, and silhouetted in shades of grey and crimson upon the 
 black stones. 
 
 I was still examining the fearful Palace when a heavy black 
 curtain that hung before the principal door was drawn aside by 
 invisible hands, and as the glare of fiery light within the Palace 
 lit up the entrance, I saw a strange procession come out. 
 
 First there came a motley mass of Spirits who seemed mere 
 slaves attending on the Emperor. These flung down what looked 
 like the skins of wild beasts torn reeking from the living animal, 
 to serve as a carpet for the Emperor and his suite. Next there 
 came a band of minstrels with cymbals and harps in their hands, 
 but as every instrument was out of tune, every string either twisted 
 or broken, and every cymbal cracked, the noise they extracted 
 was a torture to the ear. Nevertheless they played on to the 
 delight of the Emperor, who seemed to enjoy the annoyance this 
 ear-splitting symphony inflicted upon the more sensitive nerves 
 of those around him. A great many Spirits, whose dignity of 
 bearing proclaimed them personages of importance, accompanied 
 the Emperor, who towered over all around him, not only in the 
 magnificance of his stature and the proportions of his figure, but 
 also in his intellectual powers. His robes were of a deep purple, 
 almost black, and with a crimson border that looked as though 
 it had been dyed in human blood. Upon his head he wore a 
 Crown of Flame, that flickered or grew bright as the softer or 
 fiercer emotions stirred his Soul. In the front of the Crown there 
 gleamed a blood-red Star, like a gigantic ruby, whose rays shot 
 out like spears dipped in blood.
 
 198 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 By the side of this Spirit whom I at once recognized as the 
 Dark Angel, there walki-d another Spirit, almost as tall and 
 almost as powerful, whose dress resembled the other's in all 
 respects save that his crown glittered like a Crown of Steel, and 
 his star was green as an emerald, and the bordering of his robe 
 had a green shimmer like the scales of a serpent's body. 
 
 From the shoulders of each of these two Spirits there rose 
 what seemed to my eyes like folded wings of dark gossamer. At 
 first I thought they grew to the shoulders, but on a closer examina 
 tion I saw that they were but a part of the drapery. 
 
 How can I describe the faces of these two powerful dark 
 Spirits? How find mere words to express at once the all pervad 
 ing wickedness, the stamp of sensuality, of cruelty, of hatred to all 
 things on Earth, or in Heaven and Hell, that was impressed upon 
 their countenances? Or how describe the subtle charm they 
 seemed to exercise over all around them? How can I show to 
 mortal eyes the strange perfection of form and feature, that was 
 yet so indefinably marred by the hideousness of the Souls 
 within? The language of man seems poor and expressionless 
 when one seeks to show by its aid the ethereality and yet the tangi 
 bility of the Spirit body, the strange likeness and yet unlikeness 
 to the mortal form, the powerfulness of the personality and yet 
 the aerial nature of its envelope. Only those who have once seen 
 a glimpse of these angels of the Dark Spheres can fully realize 
 how subtle and how great is at once the attraction and repulsion 
 which they exercise over all those who behold them. 
 
 Beside these powerful beings, whose evil natures were so 
 colossal as to raise them above all around them, the other dark 
 Spirits seemed mere insignificant impersonations of wickedness, 
 and I realized at last what a King in Hell must mean ! To my 
 eyes the Angel of the Blood Red Star seemed so much above even 
 his companion angel that I took him to be none other than Ahriman 
 himself, the great Prince of Evil, and I said so to Mansur. 
 
 "Nay, Ahrinziman, thou art wrong. Those who would 
 endow the great PRINCIPLE of Evil with a personality are wrong. 
 He hath no more a form or shape which can be discerned by 
 mortal mind, or personified in the image of a man, than hath the 
 great principle of Good, whom men designate the Supreme God. 
 No eye, be it of mortal or of Spirit, hath ever seen them, and of 
 their ultimate nature none can tell, since all alike are ignorant of 
 it. The Angels of Paradise worship the Divine Idea of Goodness
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 199 
 
 under the name and symbol of 'ORMUZD,' even as we in these 
 dark spheres bow ourselves and yield up our wills to the great 
 principle of Evil whom we call 'AHRIMAN.' And in doing so 
 is it not enough for us with our limited powers to know that we 
 choose thereby the Upward or the Downward path? Can we 
 hope that to our strivings after Truth all Knowledge can at once 
 be revealed? Man rushes too often to hasty conclusions, formed 
 from the imperfect glimpses he hath seen of these Angels of Light 
 and Darkness, and those whom we have thought to be the All 
 Powerful Supreme God, or the great Embodiment of Evil, were 
 but Angels of either the Light or Dark Spheres, such beings, in 
 fact, as are before us now, whose mighty force of will when exer 
 cised either for Good or Evil compels all lesser wills to bend before 
 their decrees. 
 
 "The Angels of Light mine eyes have not beheld since the 
 days of mine own youth on Earth, when I was vouchsafed dim 
 glimpses of their glorious forms. For thou mayest know that I 
 was dedicated unto the Priesthood. Temptation assailed me, 
 and I fell, transgressing my vows and fleeing at last from the 
 Temple where I served. Then did the love of occult knowledge 
 appeal to mine ambitions, and led me yet further astray, till the 
 serpent of Evil as men call their own base desires in the hope 
 that they thus transfer a share of their responsibility to the per 
 sonification of the Evil principle extinguished the good, and only 
 the charms of the senses now allure me. The only Angels I can 
 see are such as these; yet do I know that in the bright spheres 
 there are Angels the glory of whose Kingdoms no words of man 
 can paint." 
 
 "Are these angels, then, a separate creation from man?" I 
 asked. "It hath been taught that the Angels in Heaven rebelled 
 against 'ORMUZD' and were cast forth. Are these Beings 
 before us some of those fallen Angels?" 
 
 "Thou mayest call them fallen Angels if thou dost desire, for 
 if a man sin doth not the Angel that is within him fall into sub 
 jection to his lower nature? But if thou dost mean that these 
 were ever angels dwelling in the Heaven of the Bright Spheres, 
 then I tell thee No. For no conquest is possible there. The very 
 harmony by which they exist, and which is the very essence of the 
 difference between them and us, forbids aught of contest in their 
 Spheres. These Angels of Darkness, like Kindred Angels of 
 Light, are alike the offspring of mortality. All have once known
 
 200 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 material life upon some planrt, hut in ages so re-mote that there 
 are no rcvonls U-ft to man of their historic-. 
 
 "It hath been told to me, but I know not whether it be true, 
 since I know only what the experiences of the Dark Spheres can 
 teach, that the Dark Angels do in time cast off the scales of Dark 
 ness and arise from sin, and through paths whose ways are ex 
 tended beyond our power to follow they ascend at last to the state 
 of the Bright Angels, and reign in the glorious realms of the 
 Golden Star. But inasmuch as the evil they have wrought hath 
 been colossal, even so must the path of their repentance be colos 
 sal in its difficulties, and the sum of their atonement almost 
 beyond the power of our thoughts to conceive. Even for such 
 as I am the path of Repentance seems so long and hard, stretching 
 as it does through all the many centuries in which I have lived and 
 sinned, that though there are times when I turn my longing eyes 
 towards it, in weariness of the scenes around me here, I hesitate 
 and shrink back from its difficulties and its infinite toil and suffer 
 ing. The gross pleasures of my senses still enthrall me, and even 
 my thirst for the higher knowledge of the Spheres of Light cannot 
 draw me to the path by which alone I can hope to win it. If at 
 times my Divine Soul is awakened by the thought of the unex 
 plored wonders that the Light Spheres must contain, and which 
 my intellect ever tells me would repay me for all my sufferings, 
 my animal Soul drowns the pure whisperings with its fierce clamor- 
 ings for those gross pleasures which only the Earth can afford to 
 it, and again and yet again I return to Earth and seek the control 
 of an Earthly body as a means of gratifying the all potent 
 demands of that baser self which is too strong for the higher 
 aspirations of my better nature. Thus do I chain myself within 
 these spheres. Thus have I sunk to where I dwell now, and if I 
 seek to rise it can only be by drawing up with me step 
 by step all those whom I have drawn down. Their num 
 ber is legion, and each one is as a great load of iron that I must 
 raise even as I raise myself. NOT ONE can I neglect or leave 
 behind. 
 
 "Wonder not, then, that I stand as one stands shivering on 
 the banks of an icy stream, hesitating to plunge into that cleans 
 ing flood which flows over difficulties and through lands of suffer 
 ing which it appalls me to contemplate. And if it must be thus 
 with me, such as I am, who though, as ye may think, have sinned 
 almost past redemption, what must be the task of Repentance to
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 201 
 
 these mighty Rulers? What the periods of time through which 
 they will have to labor?" 
 
 "And yet it hath been taught by certain of our Prophets that 
 there was ultimate redemption even for the fallen Angels. The 
 Prophet Zerdusht, whom some have deemed to be the re-in 
 carnation of the great Zoroaster himself, taught even that it 
 was so." 
 
 "Yea, and of a truth he was a wondrous teacher and a mighty 
 Prophet. I wonder not that men thought him the ancient 
 founder of the Persian Religion come to Earth again, for in my 
 wanderings o'er the Earth Plane I have many a time and oft 
 stayed my flight to listen to his teachings, and when I did so I 
 ever beheld the Spirit of the mighty Zoroaster himself enveloping 
 Zerdusht as with a mantle, and inspiring him with the thoughts 
 to which he gave utterance. And yet even Zerdusht could scarce 
 conceive how stupendous a task Redemption must prove unto 
 these Dark Angels. The mortal sight ever dimmed the perfection 
 of the Spiritual vision, and though he grasped much of the truths 
 imparted unto him, yet a certain measure of their most subtle 
 essence was of necessity lost. Moreover Zerdusht, like all 
 Prophets, started with certain beliefs founded upon the Earth; 
 recorded teachings of the great Zoroaster which of necessity par 
 took of the imperfections of those Earthly conditions under 
 which they were given. For, great as was the Founder of the 
 Religion of thine own Father's country, oh Ahrinziman, neither 
 he nor any Prophet of any race could entirely rise above that 
 cloud of materiality which ever obscures in a greater or less degree 
 the vision of those on Earth who seek to penetrate the mysteries 
 of the Higher Spheres. So long as Man the Spirit preserves any 
 ties to the Earthly body he has inhabited, so long will its Earthly 
 nature obscure the clearness of his Spiritual sight, and those 
 seekers after knowledge who have thought to wander through 
 the Spirit World and view its wonders and its mysteries with their 
 Spiritual eyes while they yet remained in the Earthly envelope in 
 its integrity, have fallen into yet greater errors than any others, 
 because the dual nature of the sight they thus exercised served 
 to confuse their vision of both sides of life. Like a couple of 
 weights hung at either end of a floating stick these two forms of 
 sight weigh down both faculties of the mind at once, and even as 
 it would be impossible for either end of the stick to rise into the 
 air or float on the surface of the water while thus weighted, so
 
 202 THE STORY OI AHRINZIMAN 
 
 the mind, embarrassed by the two forms of sight, sinks beneath 
 waves of error and confusion." 
 
 "But," said I in astonishment, "doth not a clairvoyant in the 
 flesh, whose Spiritual sight is for the time unveiled, behold Spirit 
 ual things while yet attached unto his Earthly body? Have not 
 I myself wandered through the spheres while thus attached to 
 my body by a magnetic thread?" 
 
 Mansur laughed a low, soft laugh as he replied: "Thou 
 mayest have wandered through the Earth Plane, and even have 
 caught a glimpse of the second Spheres that lie above and below 
 the Earth Plane, but thou didst not pass higher or lower than its 
 first circles. Thou didst imagine without doubt that thou didst 
 visit Spheres of wondrous exaltation when thou didst behold thy 
 visions in the Temple, but in very truth till all ties between Man 
 and Earth be severed the Soul of man cannot penetrate beyond 
 this second Sphere, which like a twin belt of light and dark en 
 circles the great Earth Plane. What the clairvoyant beholds are 
 the scenes of the higher or lower Spheres projected upon his 
 mental sight like pictures from the MINDS of SPIRITS who dwell 
 in those Spheres. For the time being these Spirits so dominate 
 thy mental vision that the sense of thine own individuality is lost, 
 and thou dost imagine that it is THOU who seest with thine own 
 eyes the scenes these Spirits looked upon. Thou mayest say that 
 thou art taken in spirit into these scenes, and in one sense it would 
 be true, but thy Spirit doth not travel from earth to them. When 
 thou wert in the Temple this controlling mind was either that 
 of the Priest who stood by thy side while thou wert in the trance 
 condition, or that of some Spirit in close accord with him. It 
 mi^ht even be that the minds of both Priest and Spirit influenced 
 thee at once, if they were both in accord with each other and with 
 thee. With Jelal-dd-din it was I who projected the images upon 
 thy mind, for I so dominated Jelal-ud-din that in his studies he 
 had learned to sink his own will altogether and keep his mind in 
 abeyance while thou wert in thy trance. He knew enough to 
 know how great is the need for such pa>si\ity in those who sur 
 round the Earthly clairvoyant. Thus his mind became for the 
 time as colorless as a globe of clear water, and had it not been 
 thatdeath intervened between us I should, through thine aid, have 
 been able to give him the teachings he sought, and shown through 
 pictures which I would have projected upon thy mind, the true con 
 ditions of Spirit life in those spheres which I have myself beheld.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 203 
 
 "As for thee, Ahrinziman, thou shalt behold the Spirit World 
 for thyself, and shall wander in spheres where I, alas! may not 
 enter. I have consulted the stars on thy behalf, and lo ! I perceive 
 that thy Star is already in the ascendant. As for Jelal-tid-din 
 and myself, our paths lie yet through darkened ways. In my 
 control of him I dragged his moral nature down for the satisfac 
 tion of mine animal passions, even while I elevated his intellect 
 ual powers, and Jelal-ud-din I must raise ere I can take one 
 upward step myself. We are alike wallowing in the mire of 
 our own corrupt desires, and I question whether either of us will 
 ever have a sincere wish to rise to better things." 
 
 He spoke as though he was uttering his own thoughts aloud 
 rather than addressing me, and I could see that he had almost 
 forgotten my presence. 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 MANSUR'S SACRIFICE TO SAVE ME 
 
 Our further conversation was interrupted by a burst of the 
 ear-splitting music, which announced that the sport was about 
 to begin. The two Angels having ascended the marble steps, 
 and seated themselves upon two bronze seats in the form of 
 winged beasts, an immense canopy of black and crimson was held 
 above their heads by a number of slaves. At a signal from the 
 Angel of the Red Star the arena became filled with savage animals, 
 or rather the spiritual counterparts of what had been such animals 
 in Earth life. 
 
 They appeared to rise from the ground as though they had 
 been imprisoned in it, and at once, and with great ferocity, 
 attacked each other, while the dark, degraded spirits who formed 
 the spectators began excitedly to wager themselves and such 
 possessions as they had upon the chances of the different brutes 
 they had selected. 
 
 This part of the entertainment was, however, of short dura 
 tion; the real interest of the show was yet to come. 
 
 As soon as victory had declared itself in favor of one of the 
 animals, it was at once caught in a big net and drawn to one
 
 204 'I'U'; STORY OF AHRINZINAN 
 
 >i<le of the enclosure, and when the last contest between brute 
 and brute wa> over a number of human spirits were driven like 
 cattle into the enclosure, the nets \vere withdrawn from the savage 
 spirit animals, and a fierce conte.st between them and the spirit 
 men took place, closely resembling similar contests on Earth, 
 only that as one brute after another was killed fresh ones were 
 brought from the caverns below and let loose upon the unhappy 
 men till the arena looked like one vast shamble-. 
 
 Here no quarter was given, nor expected , and both sides fought 
 till their antagonists were a mere mass of bloody fragments, even 
 as I had seen on the occasion of the conflict between the animals 
 of the Astral Plane. 
 
 I was still watching with feelings of mingled aversion and 
 surprise, when Mansur touched my arm, and drawing me aside 
 from the rest of the throng, led me to a small cavern which seemed 
 hollowed out of the black earth beneath the crowded arena. 
 
 My conductor's manner had undergone a considerable change 
 since he had discoursed so philosophically with me a short time 
 before. He was visibly agitated, and seemed torn by two con 
 flicting emotions, one of which caused him to wish to do me a 
 friendly turn, and the other to fear the possible consequences to 
 himself. 
 
 "See, Ahrinziman," said he, "the Dark Angel is in much 
 wrath with thee, for he looked to draw Artemisia here with thee, 
 and now he thinks she will escape him. Thou wilt be called 
 upon shortly to take thy place with others in yonder scene of 
 sivagery. Thou wilt have to depend upon thine own powers 
 for victory. But seek not to fight them with the weapon of thy 
 brutish strength, for, lo! in mere brute force the lower animal is 
 superior, right them with the weapons of thy intellect and thy 
 will. Subjugate them by the force of thy higher nature, thy 
 stronger Soul!" 
 
 He paused and looked around with an expression of furtive 
 cunning ere he continued hurriedly, drawing as he spoke a small 
 slender black wand, not two feet long, from his sleeve and putting 
 it in my hand: "Behold I will even give thee this, the greatest 
 gift anyone could give thee here. See, it is the sceptre that was 
 used by a great Spirit who once dwelt within this sphere, and 
 ruled with a power that transcended even that of our Ma>ter the 
 Dark Angel, before whom thou must appear. Long hath the 
 owner of this wand departed from this sphere into higher regions;
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 205 
 
 he is one of those who hath elected to climb the upward path, 
 despite its toils, but this wand bears yet the influence of his per 
 sonality, and carries with it the power of his stupendous will 
 If thou dost hold the point of it in thine hand and suffer the wand 
 itself to rest upon thine arm, under the powerful spell that it doth 
 exercise even these savage brutes must tremble before thee, and 
 even the Dark Angel himself will scarce prevail against thy will. 
 
 "I may not say more, for already they come to fetch thee, and 
 I may not be found with thee lest I draw upon myself the anger 
 of our Master." 
 
 He thrust his gift into my hand and was gone before I could 
 thank him, and while I was examining the slender wand the 
 little cavern was suddenly invaded by a number of dark spirits 
 of the most revolting type, who came to drag me before the Dark 
 Angel. 
 
 Instead of allowing them to seize me, however, I signed to 
 them to stand back, and said that I would follow them if they 
 preceded me. 
 
 A savage laugh greeted my suggestion, but when they found 
 that they could not touch me, after making several attacks, they 
 drew back snarling like a pack of wolves, and signed to me to 
 follow them through an opening into the Arena, which brought 
 us out in front of the Dark Angel's throne. 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 HOW DEATH IS POSSIBLE EVEN IN HELL; MANSUR'S 
 
 FATE 
 
 Strange indeed was the scene upon which mine eyes rested 
 as I stepped into the Arena. The great masses of dark smoke 
 which rose continually from the ground in clouds like steam, 
 hung overhead, and were tinged with the red reflections from 
 the blood-stained ground, and the fiery light from many beacons 
 and flaring torches which blazed on all sides, and were fed, not 
 with material fuel, but with the burning passions of the spirits 
 around me. 
 
 What had become of the Souls, the immortal parts of those
 
 206 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 who had contended in the battles I had witnessed I knew not, 
 but the mangled remains of their spirit bodies strewed the Arena 
 in all directions. For Mortals must know, that while the Soul 
 is the truly immortal and indestructible part of man (or animal 
 or plant), the mere body in which it is clothed for the time being, 
 whether it be the body of the Earthly stage of life, or the mi in- 
 ethereal envelope that enfolds it during the so-called spiritual 
 stages of existence, is in no sense lasting. The body can be 
 destroyed in Spirit life as in Earth life, and its entire destruc 
 tion is in truth its Death, for it and the Soul can never be united 
 again once they are separated, and a body deprived of its vivi 
 fying Soul must disintegrate and be resolved again into the 
 atoms of which it was formed. If the body of a, Spirit be so 
 battered and bruised, so rent in pieces that it can no longer serve 
 to shelter the Soul, then by a violent severance between the two 
 the Soul is freed from the Spirit body, just as it would be freed 
 from the Earth body, and passes into yet another stage of its 
 existence, there to re-clothe itself in a fresh body taken from the 
 elements that compose the new sphere in which it finds itself. 
 
 The natural life of the Earth body is by far the shortest in 
 duration, and a Spirit body of any sphere may often continue 
 for centuries to serve as the envelope of its Soul, that is, if the 
 Soul remains in a state of development suitable only for that 
 particular sphere. As soon, however, as the Soul is ready for 
 a higher stage of life it must cast off its envelope, be it of the 
 Earth or Spirit spheres, even as a nut casts off its outer husk 
 that the kernel within may be free to expand and grow. 
 
 With some Souls these processes of deaths, from that of the 
 Earth body onward, are gentle and gradual, and only like pass 
 ing through a quiet sleep, to arise in a new sphere clothed in 
 the new body of the Soul. With others, the body is shattered 
 by violence, and torn from the Soul amidst suffering and strug 
 gle. Yet in all cases the result to the mere body is the same: 
 it goes to its decay and death, while the Soul it hath released 
 passes onward to a new stage of its immortality. 
 
 Thus it will be seen that Death reigns in the Spirit World 
 over the Spiritual envelope of the Soul, even as he reigns on 
 Earth over the Earthly body. And as the Earthly Ixxly is des 
 tined to return to the elements of the Earth in the form of dust, 
 so does the spiritual envelope return to the elements of each 
 sphere from which it was taken.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 207 
 
 Let not those who may read this story of my life and wan 
 derings in the Spirit world wonder that I should describe the 
 Deaths of Spirits. I describe but the deaths of their 
 bodies, as I might describe the death of a mortal body 
 on Earth. Death hath no dominion over the Soul in Earth 
 or Spirit life, but because the sight of one clothed in the gar 
 ments of Mortality, or of some particular sphere, cannot follow 
 the flight of the Soul as it leaves the envelope which Death hath 
 just claimed for its own, it hath been imagined by some that 
 the Soul exists not, and that all there was of the friend we loved, 
 or the foe we hated, lies in the poor rigid form which Death 
 hath touched and turned into decay. 
 
 I knew the body to be a mere shell. My studies had taught 
 me that it was in all respects distinct from my true self. I had 
 parted with one body already. I cared not to linger in so fearful 
 a sphere as this in which I now found myself, and yet, so strong 
 is the attachment between the Soul and its envelope, so great 
 the tenacity with which the two cling together, that as I faced 
 that bloody scene of carnage and thought I also was doomed 
 to such a death as that of those whose remains I saw before 
 me, I grasped yet more firmly the means of escape which Man- 
 sur had given me, and turned to face the Prince of Darkness, 
 strong in my determination not to yield to him one inch, until 
 I should be literally overborne by his superior power. 
 
 As I raised my eyes to look upon the Dark Angel I saw that 
 the pillars which upheld the canopy above his head were formed 
 of men's bodies, round which huge serpents had twisted their 
 supple forms, and as they met my gaze each serpent opened 
 its jaws and shot out at me its forked tongue, charged with deadly 
 poison, while their green eyes glittered with the reflection of 
 their Master's hatred. 
 
 As for the King of Evil himself, he rose to his feet, and point 
 ing at me said in a voice of scornful anger: 
 
 "Behold, now, I have prepared a fresh diversion for ye all, 
 for this man is no common knave, like unto those wretched 
 beings whom my beasts have torn to pieces. This is one whose 
 thoughts soar to Heaven and fall back into Hell. This is a 
 man who thought himself fit to be a King, yea, even a King in 
 Hell! Oh, Ye Powers of Darkness, think of it! Imagine this 
 man thinking to reign over aught that lives in these vile lands, 
 when already his heart sickens at the sight of yonder fair scene
 
 208 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 before us! When he hath not strength of purpose strong enough 
 to resist a woman's scream of anguish! He asked to reign, 
 and, behold, I gave him yonder ('ark solitary pit for his King 
 dom! the only spot here over which he was fit to reign. He 
 offered me his sen-ice, his faithful M-rvice, if I would grant him 
 his revenge, and, behold, already he repents him of his bargain, 
 and thinks how he may escape from me. What value, think ye, 
 hath the sen-ice of such a man? He vowed to fight for me as 
 a soldier serves his general, but what use could I make of so 
 craven a Soul? With whom can I set him to contend, save 
 these lower brutes, to which his carcass may serve as a play 
 thing and a m< 
 
 He stamped his foot, and instantly six savage tigers rose 
 through the ground and rushed at me. But I pointed at them 
 my finger, whereon there rested the point of the little wand, 
 and they crouched down before me, growling but submissive, 
 watching me as a cat watches a bird, yet not daring to advance 
 one step. In vain did the dark spirits crowd round and goad 
 them on. In vain did they strive to reach me themselves. A 
 wall seemed to surround me like a ring, and while I kept my 
 determination, and held fast by the wand, none could pass. 
 They hurled themselves at me; they flung spears; they tried to 
 float above me and drop huge stones and masses of burning 
 metal. The demoniacal spectators literally yelled with joy and 
 excitement at the unexpected sport. Multitude after multitude 
 of the Dark Angel's followers gathered round me, and above 
 me, and sought to break through the mystic ring and tear me to 
 pieces. Hordes of wild beasts, and men as savage, gathered 
 from all sides, and it required all the power of my will to hold 
 them at bay and retain my grasp of the wonderful wand. Hut 
 the taunting words of the Dark Angel had aroused the spirit of 
 the warrior within me, and I felt that I hurled defiance at his 
 head every time he sought to beat down my determination with 
 his own. 
 
 In a voice hoarse with passion, he called for legion upon 
 legion of his dark hosts, and against them all the invisible ring 
 around me remained impregnable. 
 
 Suddenly a thought struck the Dark Angel, and with a fear 
 ful cry of rage he called for the unfortunate Mansur to be brought 
 before him. 
 
 "Vile Caitiff!" he cried, "this is thy doing! Thou hast
 
 THE STORY OF AHRNIZIMAN 209 
 
 given unto this man some secret power that enables him to defy 
 me thus. I cannot discern what it is, for a light like unto a 
 diamond Star cometh ever between us, but I know that from 
 thine hand the gift has come. It is thou, traitor, who hath 
 dealt me this blow, and thus do I reward thee: let thy body be 
 torn limb from limb by these creatures that thy pupil yonder 
 doth defy, and may thy wretched carcass be strewn as dust over 
 this dark plain, for thou art no longer fit to serve me." 
 
 The unfortunate Mansur, who had been whirled into the 
 presence of his Master by the violence of the will that summoned 
 him, cast one despairing glance at me, and uttered one sharp 
 cry of horror. The next instant he was engulfed in the awful 
 sea of diabolical beings, and ere I could collect my thoughts, 
 or make one effort to save him, he was literally torn into a thou 
 sand pieces before mine eyes, the horrible creatures who had 
 slain him fighting with each other over every fragment. I tried 
 to rush to his rescue, and I held out the potent wand before me 
 to try to clear a passage, but it was all over in a moment before 
 I could advance more than a step, and the only effect of my 
 agitated effort was to break the spell around myself, and leave 
 me for the moment defenceless. 
 
 Before the dreadful devils who had destroyed Mansur could 
 take advantage of this, however, the Dark Angel with the Green 
 Star interposed on my behalf, and proposed to his companion 
 that they should try their skill at chess, in order to decjde who 
 was to dispose of me. 
 
 "Behold, this man hath made a good fight," said he. "He 
 hath qualities not unworthy of a foe's steel. I will play thee 
 for his Soul, and if I win thou shalt hand him over to serve me." 
 
 "Nay, he shall be my slave; he shall labor in the depths of 
 this earth sphere till that haughty spirit which defied even my 
 power be broken, and he owns me as Master. I will not play 
 thee for him," replied the still furious Angel of the Red Star. 
 
 The other fixed his steely eyes upon his companion's face, 
 and said: "Thou dost forget. His vow was to serve thee as a 
 soldier, not as a slave. I pray thee re-consider thy determina 
 tion not to play for him, for thou canst not enslave him, thou 
 canst only make him serve thee as a soldier serves. He belongs 
 not to thy Kingdom, save in as much as he voluntarily sold him 
 self to thee: thou canst but claim the measure of thy bargain 
 from him."
 
 210 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 The Angel of the Red Star rose from his seat once more, 
 and casting down what looked to me like his javelin at the feet 
 of the Angel of the Green Star, he cried out: 
 
 "Be it so! Since thou hast thought fit to question the limits 
 of my power we will even play our game for this man's body; 
 for his Soul thou thyself doth say we cannot play, but for the 
 possession of his body, and for the right to such service as he 
 can be forced to give, we will even play. Let the one who wins 
 take him, and then let us fight, not with these paltry toys in mere 
 sport, but in deadly earnest, that we may test whether thou or 
 I are the stronger Angel here; whether I shall take instruction 
 from thee as to what I can do, or whether thou shall learn to 
 keep silence when I have issued my decrees." 
 
 The other Spirit frowned angrily, as he stooped to pick up 
 the gage, then thrusting his own javelin into the head of the 
 bronze figure of a winged beast which supported the throne of 
 the Angel of the fiery Star, he said : 
 
 "Let my weapon rest there till I come as a Conqueror over 
 thee, to pluck thee from thy seat, and teach thee that thou dost 
 not reign as the sole King of Hell." 
 
 The fiery Crown of the Angel addressed seemed to glow like 
 a circlet of white-hot steel, and dart out its flames like arrows to 
 stab the other while he spoke, but he himself said nothing, but 
 only signed with the old haughty majesty of manner to his foe 
 to seat himself again to begin their game. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 THE BATTLE AND MY FATE; THE SECOND DEATH 
 
 I shall not enter into all the details of the game the two Dark 
 Angels played, as each contended with almost equal skill. At 
 last a slight chance decided the contest in favor of the Angel 
 of the Green Star. 
 
 While the game was in progress I had remained unmolested 
 at the foot of the steps leading up to the throne, while the enor-
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 211 
 
 mous mass of horrible spirits who had torn my poor friend Man- 
 sur to pieces, hung like a cloud of evil vultures around me. 
 
 The moment the contest was decided a yell of disappoint 
 ment and rage rent the air, and the Arena was invaded from all 
 sides by dark spirits, eager to take part in the approaching battle. 
 
 With a gesture of haughty contempt the defeated Angel signed 
 to me to take my place under the banner of my new commander, 
 who was already summoning around him his own army of fol 
 lowers. They were easily distinguished from the followers of 
 the Dark Angel of the Red Star, for each spirit bore a spark of 
 green light like the Star worn by their King, while those who 
 followed the Angel of the Blood Red Star carried little sparks 
 of crimson light. 
 
 As the Angels parted with looks of hatred and defiance, I 
 saw two magnificent winged horses appear for them to ride, the 
 size of the wings symbolising the all-soaring ambition of their 
 riders. 
 
 When the two leaders had mounted these singular steeds a 
 troop of horses, also winged but with much smaller wings, were 
 led out, and upon them were mounted the different generals of 
 both sides. Only one horse had no rider, and to my surprise 
 it was led up to me, and I was directed by my new Master to 
 mount upon its back. 
 
 "Thou hast an ambition to be a leader as great as are any 
 of us," said he. "Take then this winged steed and see that 
 thou fight for me in a fashion worthy of the gift." 
 
 I bowed to him in reply, and as I vaulted onto the horse's 
 back the pleasure of finding myself once more in possession of 
 one of those noble animals almost made me for the moment 
 forget the horrors of my position and surroundings. 
 
 At a signal from the leader, the army of Dark Spirits to which 
 I was now attached drew off from the city which they had en 
 tered as invited guests, and took up a position upon the vast 
 black plains beyond. As we rode out under the ponderous 
 dark gateways I saw that the citizen spirits were engaged in all 
 the preparations for withstanding a siege at our hands. If mere 
 hatred could have killed, the glances of furious malignity which 
 they cast upon us, and which our side gave back to them, would 
 have brought the contest to a speedy issue. The spirit in which 
 men on Earth enter upon such a conflict is amity itself compared 
 to that which is aroused in those dark spheres, where the passions
 
 212 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 that lead to warfare and bloodshed rage with the fury of mad 
 ness, and kindle around them the fierce flames of an almost 
 universal conflagration which spreads on all sides with the rapid 
 ity of a forest fire, and stays not its destroying march till con 
 querors and conquered alike are consumed in its fiery clutches, 
 and the vast confines of that mighty sphere are strewn from end 
 to end with the dry ashes of the lives these fires of passion have 
 consumed, and those who survive the conflict reign over an almost 
 depopulated territory, till the constant influx of evil Spirits from 
 the Earthly life peoples their Kingdoms once more. 
 
 The constant ebb and flow of life into and out of these dark 
 spheres which is thus caused serves to release many of the un 
 happy beings, and suffers them to pass into a state where their 
 repentance may bear its fruits, and where, taught by their own 
 sufferings, they may learn pity towards those of others, and 
 mercy for those who are in their power. 
 
 I should but sicken and disgust all who may read this story 
 were I to attempt to give any picture of the horrors of the fight 
 which I now witnessed. Let men imagine to themselves what all 
 the horrors of war on Earth really mean, and then add ten-fold 
 to their atrocity and their frightful cruelty, and still their visions 
 will fall far short of the awful realities of the sights I beheld. 
 Passions that were totally unbridled; hatred that was as deep 
 as Hell itself; a savage bestial brutality that was even below 
 that of the brute creation; a thirst for each other's blood which 
 was appalling; a destructive force of magnetic wrath that shat 
 tered all around with a violence greater than that of the most 
 powerful explosive known on Earth in these latter days; a heat 
 of anger that literally kindled into flame the very atmosphere, 
 and a strength of determination to conquer that bore down all 
 before it. These marked the struggle, and were almost equally 
 balanced between the two evil Angels, and kept the tide of battle 
 swaying first in favor of one and then of the other. 
 
 Not as men fight on Earth, with spears and javelins, with 
 swords and daggers, did these combatants and their soldiers 
 fight. I found that the weapons they wore were merely orna 
 ments, and counterparts worn because they had been used on 
 F.urth. As soon as the battle began in earnest the weapons were 
 flung aside, and they assailed each other with tooth and claw, 
 the lower animals, so great was their hunger to come into personal 
 touch with their enemy, and rend them as a tiger rends his prey.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 213 
 
 As for me, such warfare utterly revolted me. I was borne 
 forward in the first charge upon our enemies, and then, as the 
 rival armies of dark spirits grappled with each other, uttering 
 wild cries of ferocious hate that made the very canopy of Hell 
 resound with the blasphemous imprecations, as the tongues of 
 magnetic flame, like spears of fire, darted around the struggling 
 mass of combatants, and scorched and burnt like red hot knives, 
 I was swept from my winged steed like a force like a perfect 
 tornado of savage hate. I saw the Dark Angel standing up in 
 his stirrups, and hurling upon me the lightning of his wrath, 
 the thunder bolts of his destroying power, and then the great 
 mass of spirits closed around me and trampled over my body, 
 fighting and wrestling with each other and stamping on my 
 prostrate form, till oblivion fell upon my senses and I knew 
 no more. 
 
 Thus for the second time did Death the Great Deliverer 
 unlock for me the portals of a new life. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 MY WHITE ANGEL 
 
 When I awakened to consciousness again I was lying in the 
 middle of a barren plain, and in the far horizon there was a 
 faint light like the first streak of dawn in the night sky. Around 
 me the ground presented the appearance of the crater of a vol 
 cano, whose fires have died out but whose cinders are yet warm 
 with the fire that once kindled them into life. No living being 
 was near me. I was absolutely alone, and as I arose, and 
 shading my eyes with my hand looked towards the dawning 
 light, I became conscious that some strange change had passed 
 over myself. 
 
 My form was bent like that of an old man; I could not 
 straighten myself up, and my hands, as I examined them, were 
 shrunken and wrinkled as by extreme old age. I passed my 
 hands over my head, and lo! I was as bald as an infant. My 
 luxuriant black beard was gone; also my features felt sharp, and 
 my cheeks like hollow caves.
 
 214 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 Startled and uneasy, I turned to look for some sream in 
 which to behold myself, and saw near my feet a deep dark pool, 
 whose black waters reflected like a mirror my face and form. 
 
 Alas! Yes, it was even as I feared. All trace of youth had 
 left me; my wasted, almost fleshless, form was that of an old 
 man; my hollow eyes were dim and sunken, my hands feeble and 
 shaking as though palsied, and my body bent and my steps slow 
 and faltering. 
 
 In my surprise and horror I cried aloud to know the meaning 
 of this change, and like a distant echo a woman's soft voice 
 replied to me: 
 
 "Oh, my Son! My Son! thou didst live in thy short life of 
 Earth and in the Dark sphere through an amount of passion 
 and experience which comes to most men only with age. Thou 
 didst consume thy youth with fierce desires, and thy manhood 
 with thy hunger for revenge, and the flames of thy passions 
 have burnt up the youth of thy Soul and withered up the beauty 
 of thy Spirit form, so that there is naught left but the dry husk 
 of an old man's form. Yet, Oh, My Son, my beloved Son! If 
 upon the scorched plain which the fierce fires of Earth have 
 devastated there springs up anew a fresher tenderer foliage, a 
 finer, purer vegetation, shall not the wilderness of thy Soul 
 blossom into fresh life, and the dry ashes of thy dead past be 
 hid by the fair flowers whose seeds thou mayest yet sow even 
 in the sad earth of this, the Sphere of Remorse and Repentance? 
 Thy tears of sorrow shall water this dry soil. Thy hands shall 
 labor in its fields until yonder streak of palest dawn shall change 
 to glorious day, and the bare land around shall blossom with the 
 sweet roses of tenderness and love. 
 
 "I cannot come to thee, my son, but thou shall climb the 
 rugged path which leads to me, and in a fair land of golden 
 Hope thou and I shall enjoy the tender joys of the love thou hast 
 never known. Fare thee well, yet think not that I leave thee 
 save only for a time. Fare thee well." 
 
 The sweet voice died away, and as it faded I called and 
 called to my White Angel to show me but one glimpse of her 
 dear form. Then upon the dark background of the sky I saw 
 a faint flickering reflection, so pale, so shadowy it was like a 
 figure traced in mist, yet I knew it to be my sweet Mother's 
 lovely form, and as with joy I saluted it it faded gradually away, 
 and I stood upon the dark plain once more alone.
 
 THE STORY' OF AHRINZIMAN 215 
 
 Wearily and sadly did I wander on and . on through that 
 barren land. No fair flowers gladdened my eyes; no green tree 
 afforded me the sense of shelter; no fresh stream of living water 
 sparkled forth to slake my thirst, no sweet fruits to stay my 
 hunger. All was desolate, blossomless, fruitless, and lonely. 
 
 At last I reached the foot of a low range of hills, and as, after 
 many a stumble and many a slip I dragged my feeble limbs by 
 rugged rock-strewn pathways to the top of them, I saw far below 
 me on the further side a still grey sea, whose quiet waves lapped 
 gently on the sandy shores with a faint murmur that was sooth 
 ing to my weary heart. The grey streak of dawn was still be 
 fore me on the horizon of that strange sea, and clouds of pale 
 grey mist like wandering shadows chased each other slowly 
 across the darkened sky. 
 
 As I sat resting upon the hilltop faint pictures began to appear 
 between me and the grey floating clouds, even as in the far-off 
 days of my boyhood the fair visions of my youth had done when 
 I had lain upon some grassy hill and watched the evening sky. 
 
 Dim at first, the pictures grew gradually clearer, and I recog 
 nized that they showed to me the drama of my life. 
 
 I saw not alone the events of my Earth existence, but the 
 subtle influences of the Spirit world that were at work to mould 
 each thought and shape each action. I saw my Father and my 
 Mother as they met at first: he surrounded by all the influences 
 of the ambitious Conqueror, the Angel of the Blood Red Star 
 and his cohort of fierce followers who had hovered around the 
 battlefields of Earth, and shared in the excitement of each contest. 
 
 Then I saw my Mother, as one enveloped in a veil of silver 
 gossamer, the pure spirits of the Silver Star surrounding her 
 like a cloud of white Angels, with outspread protecting wings. 
 I saw her drawn within the influence of my Father's surround 
 ings, and shadowed by the dark wings of the destroying Angel, 
 while with bowed heads and drooping pinions the White Angels 
 seemed to hover sadly near her. 
 
 I saw Queen Artemisia, and I read in her heart all the pas 
 sionate sense of injustice, of slighted love, of wounded pride, 
 that raged like a tempest, and I beheld the Dark Angel as he 
 bent and whispered in her ear. 
 
 I saw my Father, beset by his love and his anxiety, building 
 the fatal secret passage, and cementing its secrecy with the 
 blood of the poor slave he had caused to be murdered. I saw
 
 2i6 THF STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 the exultant face of the Dark Spirit as he welcomed this miser 
 able victim of the Kind's suspicious fears to his dominion, to 
 use him as a tool to help on the drama with which he was amusing 
 himself. I saw it progress step by step as the ill-concealed 
 devotion to my Mother . fanned the flame of Artemisia's wrath 
 to a yet fiercer glow. 
 
 I saw my Mother's death and my own birth, and noted that 
 while her pure Soul was borne away by the White Angels to 
 their sphere, the shadow of the Dark Angel's wings rested upon 
 the child that was half her's and half El Jazid's son. 
 
 I saw that as I grew to manhood the restless desires, the 
 selfishly ambitious hopes, the instinct to rule over my fellows 
 and force them to give me the lion's share of everything, sprang 
 up like giant weeds and twined around the delicate shoots of 
 pure and holy thoughts which the Angels of the snow white 
 Silver Star had sown ere I was born, side by side with the seeds 
 of evil sown by the Dark Angels. I saw the pure Spirits striving 
 through the medium of the good Priest Abubatha to turn my 
 thoughts from earthly joys, and I saw that as men play a game 
 of chess with the lit^ht and dark pieces to represent the forces 
 they control, so did the light and dark Angels strive for possession 
 of my Soul, each limited in every act and every move they made 
 by the unalterable laws of the Spirit World, in accordance with 
 which all the Universe is upheld. 
 
 I saw the inducements of the one set of Spirits presenter! to 
 my mind, and then the counter-attractions of the other, and 
 noted how the inherited tendencies of my nature inclined the 
 balance to the one side or the other; and because I was the son 
 of El Jazid the Warrior, rather than the son of Cynthia the 
 dreamy enthusiast, I saw the scale of my desires weigh down 
 towards the Dark Angel and the jjifts he held in his hand. 
 
 Every little incident of my life was reproduced, and when I 
 came to the scene wherein I had stood beneath the date tree> in 
 the Desert at the parting of the ways, I saw that the fair Spirit 
 of my Mother had stood at the end of the shining path, and 
 pointed out to me the Palace of Parsagherd, and the Father 
 who mourned ever for me as one dead and lost to him; but before 
 I could see that tender Mother's Spirit the Dark Angel had 
 drawn his mantle between mine eyes and the fair vision, and 
 had turned my thoughts to him and to the dark mysteries he 
 offered to unveil.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 217 
 
 I beheld that the scales of Good and Evil weighed down 
 and down on the side of darkness, till I sank down into a dark 
 gulf. And for a time I could see no more. 
 
 But methought that the White Angels bowed their heads 
 and veiled their faces as though they wept for the Soul that had 
 sunk down, and I bowed mine own head and wept bitter tears 
 of shame as I thought on the deep degradation of the life I had 
 led with Jelal-ud-din, and the gross desires of my animal Soul 
 to which I had yielded when I had followed the darkened path 
 way by his side. 
 
 How long I mourned over my sins I know not, but when at 
 last I uncovered my head and looked up I saw that the pictures 
 of my life were visible once more. 
 
 I now observed the figure of Mansur hovering around Jelal- 
 ud-din and myself, inspiring our thoughts and controlling our 
 actions, and at times taking possession of Jelal-ud-din's body 
 and using it as though it was the mortal envelope of his own 
 Spirit. Thus he seemed to enjoy again and again all the sen 
 sual pleasures of the Earth life, and this I knew to be his meaning 
 when he had told me in the Dark Sphere that for the gratification 
 of his base desires he had dragged down the Soul of Jelal-ud-din 
 to his own level. 
 
 Me I saw that he could not thus control. My body he could 
 not enter, even when he had withdrawn the Spirit from it, but 
 as again and again I yielded to the temptations to degrade my 
 self, I saw with a shudder that the barrier that kept him back 
 from my body grew thinner and thinner. Terrible as I had 
 thought the stamp of evil which the countenance of Mansur 
 wore when I beheld him in the Spirit World, it appeared even 
 more terrible to my thoughts now when I perceived that it had 
 been his influence which was dragging Jelal-ud-din and myself 
 down and down to the dark Kingdoms. 
 
 I thought of the strange contradictions of the man's character 
 and the curious things he had told me, and I wondered whether 
 they had been true or false. 
 
 As if in answer to my thoughts, a voice within me replied 
 that in all which he had told me he had spoken the truth, for 
 while the animal Soul of the man had grown so strong with over 
 indulgence that it acted as an almost hopeless clog upon all the
 
 2i8 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 efforts of the higher Soul to rise into the pure atmosphere of 
 truth, yet the innate love for truth which dominated him in all 
 those things which pertained to this animal Soul enabled him to 
 recognise a scientific truth when it was presented to his mind, 
 and to sift from it all those husks of error which it had gathered 
 in the Earth and lower spheres. Thus on the pathways of knowl 
 edge he was truly an efficient guide, while on those of morality 
 his controlling influence led only to destruction. 
 
 I then asked where was Mansur? What was the fate of his 
 Soul? 
 
 A dark shadow, black as a cloud of night, appeared on the 
 grey background of the sky, and showed the bent form of a man 
 whose head was bowed unto the earth, while his clasped hands 
 were held aloft in supplication unto Heaven. 
 
 Page by page, picture by picture did my life's story unroll 
 itself before mine eyes, showing me how mine own actions had 
 influenced the lives around me, and been influenced in turn by 
 them, and how that ceaseless contest between the light and dark 
 Angels caused first the one side of man's nature and then the other 
 to be influenced and developed, and how the indulgence of man's 
 passions caused the scales of good or evil to rise or fall. 
 
 The passionate Artemisia, dominated entirely by her desire 
 for revenge, flitted across the pictures like a restless accursed Fury, 
 her absorption in the one idea stunting all the other faculties of 
 her mind till its balance was destroyed, and that inharmony of 
 thought was produced which men term insanity. I saw with a 
 keen pang of remorse how my hatred had fed hers, and heaped fresh 
 fuel upon the furnace of her angry passions, till the death of her 
 son at my hands had snapped the last link between her and the 
 power of sober reasoning, and she had in veritable truth not been 
 responsible for her actions when she had shut Zuleika into the 
 secret passage and sat dabbling her hands in my life's blood. 
 
 I realized through what an awful agony of suffering Artemisia 
 had passed ere she reached that last stage, and I saw how dark 
 and evil had been my own thirst for revenge upon the unhappy 
 mother. When the picture appeared in which I had gathered 
 around the unfortunate Sclim the tormenting demons of the dark 
 spheres, I saw a ray of light as from a star dart down to me, and 
 the form of my own Mother appear as though she stood afar off 
 and with clasped hands and eyes full of tears plead to me to think 
 of her, and of what motherhood meant to woman, and bidding
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 219 
 
 me, by the sacred ness of my own mother's sufferings, to spare 
 this poor mother whose son was in my power one further pang 
 of suffering at my hands. 
 
 The full, deep meaning of the picture was clear to my senses 
 now, and I saw not alone one woman pleading unto man for 
 mercy unto woman, one mother speaking in the sacred name of 
 motherhood, but the Spirit of the murdered Cynthia pleading for 
 mercy upon her murderess, and atoning for the unconscious wrong 
 which she had done her when she had seemed to rob Artemisia of a 
 heart that never could .have been wholly hers. I saw the little 
 seed of compassion and forgiveness sown by my mother's gentle 
 hands, and beheld its first green tender blade shoot into life as I 
 turned away and abandoned my long nursed desire for vengeance. 
 
 The pictures then showed me myself wandering in the dark 
 kingdom of the Evil Angel, that I might learn for myself to what 
 extreme ends the unchecked indulgence in passions such as mine 
 lead men, and what would be the state of society where each 
 one exacted the full measure of his revenge for wrongs suffered 
 at the hands of his neighbor. 
 
 They showed me Mansur struggling between his awakening 
 desire for Good and his enjoyment of things that were evil; drawn 
 to myself by his pleasure in finding a mind that could understand 
 and appreciate the intellectual hunger of his Soul, yet unable to 
 resist the temptation to draw me down into the same gulf in which 
 he was. They showed him to me as he watched the stars in 
 the Spiritual Heavens and noted how the path of my Soul's star 
 tended ever in an upward direction till it hung above that of the 
 dark King of Evil himself. 
 
 And to the cunning mind of Mansur came the thought that 
 were he to aid me I might perchance help to draw him also up 
 with me out of the power of the Dark Angel, of whose service he 
 had grown weary. Then had come the moment of my danger, 
 and the sudden impulse in Mansur to give me that strange wand, 
 whose virtues were valueless to all in the darkest sphere, since 
 their low state made it impossible for any of the dark dwellers 
 there to retain their hold upon it. I was not so low as those 
 around me, and Mansur believed that it would be possible for me 
 to handle it, and had given it to me while the good impulse was 
 yet strong upon him. His own subsequent fate, terrible as it 
 seemed, was nevertheless the opening of a door through which his 
 Soul had found the release it craved, and already his foot was on
 
 220 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 the lowest step of that long and difficult ladder by which he would 
 yet mount to the higher life of the Soul, though even as he him-rlf 
 had said, the distance he would have to climb, and the multitudes 
 he must raise step by step with himself, might well daunt the 
 courage of the stoutest heart. 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 ARTEMISIA VISITED AGAIN; FORGIVEN; WE VISIT 
 SELIM; I VISIT ZULEIKA AND BAMBA 
 
 From Mansur my thoughts travelled to my father, and then 
 my pictures showed him to me in the grey robes of a penitent. 
 His kingly dress was gone; his haughty pride humbled, and lie 
 seemed slowly and sadly striving to undo the mistakes of his 
 earthly life. Near him I saw the figure of the poor slave whom 
 he had ordered to be killed. El Jazid appeared to be stooping 
 over this figure as though to raise him up, and in so doing the 
 vision faded from my sight. 
 
 Again did the picture of Artemisia rise before my sight, and 
 as I gazed upon it in sorrow and remorse a voice spoke to me, 
 saying: 
 
 "Arise and go unto this woman, thy once enemy. Her heart 
 like thine hath softened, and she will hear thee now. Behold, 
 thou didst rob her of her son; restore him to her sight. Thou 
 canst do this, for thou canst draw him to thee on the Earth Plane, 
 and there thou and Artemisia and her son shall meet yet once 
 again." 
 
 I looked upon the vision of the Queen, and I saw that she sat 
 yet by the stormy sea of passion; but its waves rolled unheeded 
 to her feet, the wild wind was hushed, and the dark clouds hung 
 motionless overhead, unnoticed by her, for her head was bmvol 
 upon her breast, her face was hidden by her clasped hands, and 
 she was softly, sadly weeping. 
 
 As I thought, with a new born feeling of compassion, of her 
 misery, the image of myself was again projected upon the mirror- 
 like atmosphere around her, and my voice seemed to reach her
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 221 
 
 ears, for she started up and gazed with trembling, half affrighted 
 looks upon my reflection. 
 
 "Oh, Queen Artemisia!" said I slowly, "great hath been the 
 sin between us both. I, as well as thou, have done evil, and I 
 am come to ask thy forgiveness for my share; and inasmuch as 
 my hand did rob thee of thy son I seek now to restore him unto 
 thee. Behold, if thou wilt meet me upon the great Earth Plane 
 I will draw thy son unto thee, that thou and he may meet once 
 more." 
 
 Even as I spoke I felt myself rise from the hill-top whereon 
 I stood and float towards the distant globe of the Earth, which 
 hovered like a Star far away on the horizon. 
 
 As I alighted upon it I knew that I was in the Palace of Par- 
 sagherd, and saw that I had entered the haunted rooms. 
 
 My half-brother Selim was seated upon the same queer-look 
 ing attempt at a throne which I had seen before, and in no respect 
 was his own appearance changed from the strange mixture of age 
 and childishness. I read in his thoughts that he regarded his 
 hurried visit to me in the Astral Plane, when I had so nearly con - 
 signed him to the tender mercies of its horrible inhabitants, as a 
 disagreeable dream, a nightmare vision, nothing more; and that 
 he felt pleased to know that he was still surrounded by scenes 
 with which he was familiar. To his eyes the Palace presented 
 much the same appearance as in his earth life; the change and 
 decay I saw were not visible to him. 
 
 Artemisia had arrived before me, and now stood before her 
 son, a dark figure with outstretched hands and pleading eyes. 
 The wildness had gone from her expression though the face was 
 still scarred and wrinkled with the force of ti\.- passions that had 
 raged in her heart. Round her figure I saw a faint shimmer of 
 steel grey light, that enveloped her as with a veil, and changed the 
 intense blackness of despair that had enwrapped her before, into 
 the faint semblance of a garment of hope. 
 
 She stood beside her son, so close in fact that I thought he 
 must have felt the wild beating of her heart, and yet I saw that 
 she was quite invisible to him. He could no more see the spirit 
 Mother who stood beside him than could a mortal have seen 
 himself. He was in his Astral body, that first garment of the 
 Spirit which is almost mortal in its materiality, and she was a 
 Spirit from the lower sphere, and, as such, two degrees further 
 removed from materiality than her son. For whether a Spirit
 
 222 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 ascends or descends as he leaves the encircling belt of the Earth 
 Plane, he leaves behind him more and more of the Earth's materi 
 ality, and becomes less and less easily visible to the eyes of mortals 
 or of Earth-bound Spirits. To become visible it is necessary 
 that he should clothe himself in the degree of materiality belong 
 ing to each sphere which intervenes between him and the Earth. 
 
 As I saw the look of disappointment and hopelessness that 
 passed over Artemisia's face when she discovered that her son 
 could not see her, could not even feel that she was near him, I 
 understood all at once what my part was to be, and how I could 
 restore her to her son if only for a short time. 
 
 The magnetic aura which had enabled the Dark Angel to 
 show himself to Jelal-ud-din during my Earth life was not alone 
 a property of the Earthly body. It belonged to the spiritual 
 organism; it was a characteristic of myself. Only the grossest 
 part of that magnetic essence had been cast off with the Earth 
 body, and though I could no longer have served as the medium 
 through whom a Spirit could manifest his presence to a mortal, 
 my aura enabled spirits of a degree above or below myself to 
 become visible to those who were in an Earth-bound condition 
 such as Selim's. Moreover, in the atmosphere of the Earth 
 Plane the antagonism between my magnetic sphere and that of 
 Artemisia was not so acutely felt as in the more etherealized 
 spheres to which we really belonged, and therefore Artemisia was 
 no longer shut away from me by so impassable a barrier. I could 
 approach her, and as I did so, and the magnetic aura of my 
 Spirit enveloped her as a cloud, she became suddenly visible to 
 her son, appearing before him much as an apparition appears to 
 mortals who have imagined there was no one present but them 
 selves. And like a mortal under similar circumstances Selim was at 
 first startled, almost alarmed, then joy at the sight of the beloved 
 Mother overcame all other feelings, and as Artemisia, overcome 
 with a mixture of shame and pleasure, sank at her son's feet, be 
 too knelt down and clasped her in his arms, while I bowed my 
 head and turned away my eyes, that I might not intrude upon 
 the sacredness of their meeting. 
 
 When Artemisia had returned to the sphere in which she 
 dwelt I resolved to go and see whether Zuleika was still sleeping 
 where I had left her. When I approached the secret passage I
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 223 
 
 perceived that she was no longer either asleep or alone. The 
 Spirit of the faithful Bamba was sitting where Zuleika had lain, 
 and in the arms of this poor, faithful slave lay Zuleika, as she had 
 lain cradled in them when a helpless infant. Bamba knew all 
 the petty weaknesses, the selfish frivolity, the heartless vanity of 
 Zuleika's nature. She saw with the clear eyes of the Spirit all 
 the bitter change that had passed over the once lovely face and 
 form, and she knew it to be but the outward stamp of the degra 
 dation of the Soul. Yet Zuleika was ever to her the child whom 
 she had nursed, the laughing girl whom she had tended and 
 loved, and the fair woman whom she had served, and for whose 
 life she had laid down her own in the burning desert. Bamba's 
 love had never changed; her faith in Zuleika had never swerved, 
 and she was even dearer to her now in the hour of her misery and 
 degradation than when the one had been almost a Queen and 
 the other a poor slave. 
 
 I read all the nobility of Bamba's thoughts and recognized 
 the purity of her Soul, and involuntarily I bowed to the poor 
 slave as I would not have bowed before one of Earth's proudest 
 Queens. And as I looked up lo ! a golden star shone over Bamba's 
 head, and a thin circlet like a crown of gold hovered for one 
 moment in the air. 
 
 As for Zuleika, she was weeping like a child in Bamba's arms. 
 But I approached not to her, nor sought to make my presence 
 known, for I saw that she wept, not over the ruin and the sin she 
 had helped to sow around her, but only over the loss of that 
 beauty she had so highly prized. Not yet would I speak to her, 
 for not yet was she able to understand how dead was my love 
 for her, and yet how keen my pity.
 
 224 '''HE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 DAWN AT LAST ; I AM VISITED BY A SPIRIT OF THE 
 
 GOLDEN STAR; MY GUIDE TEACHES ME THE 
 
 FOLLY OF AGGRANDIZEMENT; FALSE KINGS 
 
 AND TRUE KINGS; FALSE RELIGIONS 
 
 AND TRUE RELIGIONS 
 
 When I returned to the mountain top which I had left I saw- 
 that the first rays of the rising sun were beginning to light up the 
 dark Earth around me, and to touch with a golden glory the tips 
 of the wavelets on the grey sea, while on the spot where I had sat 
 a long ray of golden light rested, like a messenger of Hope from 
 the Arigels of the Golden Star. 
 
 As I reached the hill once more I saw that a majestic Spirit 
 in a long robe of grey spangled with little golden stars a waited 
 me, and as he rose from his seat to greet me I noticed that to his 
 drapery there were attached a pair of golden and grey wings of 
 the most ethereal, transparent beauty, while on his forehead there 
 gleamed a Golden Star. The countenance was majestic and 
 beautiful in the extreme, and the figure tall and commanding. 
 The type of feature was that of an Eastern; the complexion a 
 pale olive, the eyes dark and soft in their velvety darkness, 
 expressing at once power and tenderness. In his hand he held 
 out to me what looked like the \rry wand which Mansur had 
 given me in the Dark Angel's Kingdom, and which had vanished 
 mysteriously. 
 
 "Behold," said he with a grave smile, "I am that Spirit of 
 whom Mansur spoke unto thee when he gave thee this wand. 
 Wonder not that it disappeared when it had served its purj 
 for it existed not save in thine own magnetic aura. I projected 
 to thee this, its spiritual counterpart, and the materiality of thine 
 own Spirit clothed it for a time with a form visible to thine eyes 
 and to those of Mansur alone. To the dwellers of that sphere 
 it was invisible because it had not a degree of density akin to 
 their condition, and it vanished from thee when the agitation of
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 225 
 
 thy mind snapped the slender thread of magnetic communication 
 between us. Yet at the time it served as a focus upon which I 
 could concentrate my will in support of thine. 
 
 "Thou hast desired to gain the knowledge of spiritual things: 
 Behold ! I will give unto thee such knowledge. I will teach thee 
 the laws by which these spheres exist, and show thee what are 
 the means of passing between each. That the Spirits who have 
 arisen in the past to answer thy desire for knowledge should have 
 come from the dark rather than from the light spheres, is due to 
 the fact that thine aspirations after knowledge were inspired by 
 selfish motives, rather than from a wish to use the wisdom gained 
 for the service of thy fellow men. Moreover, thou hast desired to 
 be a King, as men on Earth regard the Kingly state, and lo! in 
 yonder Dark Sphere thou hast beheld what the most perfect 
 development of that selfish thirst for aggrandisement doth mean. 
 In the Dark Angel thou hast beheld one who was in Earth life 
 the greatest Emperor the East hath known, in those ancient days 
 when a despot was indeed an irresponsible power within his own 
 domains. Thou hast beheld in him the ultimate development 
 of those baser qualities that make a King great, and a conqueror 
 invincible. No man can desire to aggrandise himself at the 
 expense of his weaker brethren who is not selfish. None can 
 wish to grasp for himself an abnormal share of wealth, while 
 those around him go in rags that he may be clothed in purple and 
 fine linen, who is not greedy. To desire that others shall bow 
 the knee before thee and pay thee homage, as though thou wert 
 the Divine Being personified, shows that pride and vanity alike 
 rule in thine heart. To hunger for the territory of other nations 
 that thou mayest swell the extent of thine own; to engage in war 
 and bloodshed that thou mayest conquer those who are weaker 
 than thyself, and chain them as slaves to thy chariot wheels, is 
 surely to trample upon the just rights of those more feeble than 
 thyself, but who are nevertheless entitled to enjoy such good 
 things as the Lord of all hath given to them as well as unto thee. 
 And yet, is it not by ignoring the rights of those who have not 
 strength to defend themselves against him that the Earthly con 
 queror prevails? Is it not by wresting from his fellow men that 
 which he is not powerful enough to keep that the successful 
 warrior swells the number of his own possessions? Doth not 
 ruin and devastation, death and suffering, follow in the track of 
 the mighty Conqueror of nations? Is it not true that the greater
 
 226 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 the conquests are the more wide >j>read is the misery that foil 
 Doth not the march of the triumphant army leave in its wake 
 scenes of death and horror more terrible than those of a destroy 
 ing pestilence? Think of thine own Earth life, of the hard wrung 
 tribute ground out of the forced labors of the helpless nations 
 the Persians had enslaved. Of the bitter sense of bondage thai 
 burns in the breasts of the conquered race, until the smouldering 
 fire breaks forth in what the conquerors term 'revolt' againM 
 their usurped power. Think of the stern repression, the cruel 
 measures by which such a revolt is met. Think of the feelings 
 that are born in the breasts of conqueror and conquered alike, 
 and then ask if it is any wonder that Hell should be peopled with 
 the great enslavers of their fellow men, or that those who, like the 
 Dark Angel thou hast seen, have devoted all their abilities on 
 Earth to the amassing of treasures, the acquisition of territory, 
 the grasping of power, the subjugation of all others' wills to their 
 will, the humbling of all pride but their own, should be Kings, 
 not alone on Earth, but in those dark spheres where the selfish 
 and brutal qualities of man reign supreme. Ask thyself who 
 have been the greatest Kings on Earth in the past, and who are 
 likely to be the great Emperors of the future, and what are the 
 qualities that most distinguish them above their fellows? Is not 
 the answer ever the same? Can any one be truly a great con 
 queror who hath not left behind him all pity for the sufferings 
 of his fellow man; all sense of his brother's equal right to the 
 earth that God hath given, not to one man, but to all? Call the 
 love of conquest by what fine name you please, it is still the greedy 
 desire to possess what belongs unto another. If thou dost ni 
 seek to take another country for thine own personal use, but for 
 thy country, it is still an act of pillage, for the grandeur of thine 
 own country hath no more reason to be increased at the expense 
 of thy neighbor than has thy larder to be enriched from his hen 
 roost. Yet in the one case men would call thee a great conqueror, 
 and in the other a petty thief. 
 
 "There have been Kings, true Kings, on Earth, but they came 
 not in the pomp of Royalty; their deeds were not those of the 
 mighty slayers of their brother man; they came to teach, and to 
 uplift the down-trodden and the weary; they used their strength 
 to support those weaker than themselves, not to crush them; 
 they used their superior gifts, their power to soar above their 
 fellows, as a strong climber might use his strength to mount upon
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 227 
 
 a rock when he beheld the floods sweeping towards him, not in 
 order to save himself, but that from his vantage place he might 
 reach down and draw up the struggling multitude below him into 
 that place of safety which he alone had been strong enough to 
 reach. 
 
 "Such Kings have come upon the stage of Planetary life from 
 time to time, and men have called them Messiahs of the Earth, and 
 upon their teachings have founded systems of Religion. Pure in 
 themselves, and bearing in the early days of their foundation 
 the stamp of their great founder's pure doctrines, these systems 
 of Religion have one after the other become encrusted with the 
 meretricious glitter of those Earthly baubles of sovereignty with 
 which the succeeding generations of the Priesthood sought to 
 heighten their own power and glorify the virtues of their original 
 Founder. And as surely as these ambitious priests, half-blinded 
 by their Earthly natures, sought to add to their influence by 
 these means, so surely did the hour of their deterioration from the 
 pure teachings of the Spirit World begin. Each paltry bauble 
 with which they decorated themselves, each piece of gold that 
 they laid up as treasure, each mark of Earthly pomp and pride 
 which they exacted from the populace as homage to their order, 
 became as a mill-stone to drag them and their teachings from 
 Heaven to Earth, yea, and even to below the Earth. Men sought 
 the service of the Temples for the power it gave, not as a means 
 of Holy Life. The treasures that had been amassed for the glory 
 of God were squandered to gratify the lusts of man. The lives 
 of self-denial and holy meditation that were to raise their votaries 
 above the sordid thoughts of Earth, gave place to shameless scenes 
 of debauchery and fierce struggles for the possession of temporal 
 power, till the Temples became a by-word and a reproach, and 
 their Priests a mere set of commonplace men, no longer endowed 
 with a single spiritual gift, a single abnormal power of discerning 
 spiritual things. 
 
 "Every shadow of Earthly pomp which a religion borrows 
 from the insignia of Earthly Kings is but another link to connect 
 it with Earth, not Heaven, and so soon as the pure Heaven-sent 
 truths of Immortality come to be loaded with multitudinous doc 
 trines and dogmas that have had their source only in the narrow 
 minds of Earthly Priests, and the simple form of worshipping the 
 Great Father comes to be surrounded with elaborate ceremonies 
 and observances, and its priests decked out in all the gaudy frip-
 
 228 THE STORY OF AHRINZ1MAN 
 
 pery of jewels and tinsel in imitation of the selfish grandeur of 
 Earthly Monarchs, so soon may that system of Religion he likened 
 unto those hideous idols which half-civilized nations make in 
 the fancied image of their Gods and load with paint and je\vel> 
 tin all semblance to the thing that they were meant to symbolize 
 is lost. 
 
 "Then, indeed, may the. decrepitude of that system of Religion 
 be said to have begun. Exactly how long it will last in this state 
 is a matter of uncertainty, but its doom is none the less sealed. It 
 is tottering to its fall, and may be likened to a bedizened corpse 
 from which the Soul hath fled, but which those around seek still 
 to galvanize into a ghastly semblance of its former life. 
 
 "So hath it been with the Religions of the past, and so will it 
 be with those of the future. They shall have the pure dawn of 
 their birth, the glorious glitter of their noonday, and the decrepi 
 tude of their failing night; and on the ashes of the old Faith that 
 no longer satisfies the Spiritual aspirations of the human Soul. 
 there shall arise a new and purer Faith, a truer broader Relig 
 ion, giving unto mankind a wider view of the Great Mysteries of 
 Spiritual Existence. 
 
 "Thus shall all the Faiths of the Earth arise and wane, till 
 Earth itself is old, and the World and its inhabitants pass from 
 the material stage of being to exist eternally in the Spirit Spheres. 
 
 "Wouldst thou desire to visit Earth and see for thy>rlf a 
 Temple and observe how it doth appear as seen from this side 
 of life, and what value there is in the guidance of its Priests 
 who have arrogated unto themselves the position of Spiritual 
 Kings? Wouldst thou behold how they appear to us?" 
 
 As I gladly assented to this proposal the Angel seemed to me 
 to put his hand on mine, although I felt no touch, and immediately, 
 with the swiftness of thought, I found that we were hovering 
 over a Temple.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 229 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 WE VISIT A TEMPLE; WHY IT HAD DETERIORATED 
 AND BECOME UNCLEAN- 
 
 After a few minutes of rapid flight we stopped, and began to 
 descend to the material globe, till we hovered over a far larger 
 Temple than the one which I have called the Temple of Amurath. 
 I shall not say to what religion this last Temple belonged, nor in 
 what country it was situated, for I do not desire that it should be 
 supposed that the state of matters which existed there was spec 
 ially typical of any Religion or any country; for I hold that Truth 
 and Error, Good and Evil, are to be found everywhere and in all 
 Religions and amongst all peoples, and no matter how pure the 
 original doctrines of any form of Faith may be, it is impossible to 
 prevent the ambitions and the lusts, the greed and the cruelty, 
 that are inherent in the undeveloped Human Soul from perverting 
 the original purity of the teachings and turning them to the 
 basest purposes, and overlaying them with the grossest errors. 
 
 In the Temple above which we now hovered I saw that there 
 was an immense mass of treasure hoarded up, and the wealth it 
 represented must have been enormous. It was stored in great 
 natural caverns which penetrated far into the rocky hillside upon 
 which the Temple was built, and honey-combed the foundations 
 below it. I saw that this treasure had been gradually amassed 
 during many centuries, and gathered from every quarter of the 
 globe. No use was being made of it, and it was simply stored 
 up in these mighty caverns as the valuable possession of the 
 Temple, a monument to the greed of its Priests^ 
 
 Far above these vaults, in the Temple itself, there were costly 
 vessels of gold and silver, splendid gems and wonderful carvings 
 on ivory, and precious stones. The plunder of the Temple above, 
 without any of the wealth concealed beneath in its vaults, would 
 have made the ransom of a King. The building was of magnifi 
 cent proportions, and of very beautiful workmanship. Every 
 pillar was elaborately carved, and every foot of the roof inlaid 
 with beautiful polished wood and precious stones, while the varie-
 
 230 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 1 marble of the pavement was a marvel of beauty in design 
 and colour. There were (lowers laid as tributary offerings by the 
 ignorant worshippers of these coarse symbols of their Gods. 
 Sueet scented woods and fragrant roots were burning continually 
 on the altars, and the smoke which hung like a misty veil about 
 the altars and the worshippers gave an air of religious mystery 
 to the scene. 
 
 Thus would the Temple itself have appeared to mortal sight. 
 But to the eyes of a Spirit it was very different. The beauty of 
 the building was marred by unsightly rents and fissures in the 
 spiritual counterpart of the walls. The marble pavement was 
 stained and blackened by the foul deeds that had been done by 
 those who made the Temple their dwelling place. The gold was 
 cankered, and the lustre of the jewels was dimmed by the violence 
 of the means through which they had been wrested from their 
 owners and seized for the enrichment of the Temple. The walls 
 seemed hung with filmy draperies, whereon were depicted the 
 shameless lives of many of those who called themselves the Pro 
 phets and teachers, the Priests and mediums, who stood as media 
 tors between the simple populace and the Gods they sought to 
 hip. 
 
 The groves of sacred trees, designed to protect the Sensitives 
 from the approach of the wandering hill tribes that dwelt around, 
 might serve that purpose, but they no longer served any other, 
 for in them there lurked a host of unclean creatures, the creations 
 of the evil lives of those who had made Temple and Sensitives 
 alike their prey. Around the Temple itself there hung a cloud 
 iritual darkness that resembled the thunder clouds of night 
 when the heavy atmosphere threatens at any moment to break 
 forth into a violent storm. The thought emanations from the 
 Temple of Amurath had resembled muddy water, those from 
 this Temple were like a sea of mud and slime, and I did not 
 de>ire to penetrate it, even had it been possible for me to do so. 
 
 Here and there I saw a faint gleam of light, like a feeble candle 
 striving to shine through a screen of smoked glass, and I knew 
 that where these lights shone there was still to be found some 
 mortal whose spiritual condition had not been contaminated by 
 the foulness of his surroundings, and whose Soul struggled still 
 to keep alight the lamp of purity and truth. 
 
 A mutilated and perverted semblance of the old religious faith 
 was practiced here. The Oracles were still invoked, and the
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 231 
 
 Gods besought to communicate with men. But the results that 
 were obtained bore as much resemblance to the inspirations of 
 the Higher Spirits as did the hideous images in the Temple to the 
 Gods they were thought to represent; man-made and earth- 
 suggested images, even as the inspirations were those of the hor 
 rible denizens of the Earth and Astral Planes. 
 
 The absurd ordinances, the horrible sacrifices, the revolting 
 practices, the grotesque beliefs, the fantastic theories, that had 
 crept into the teaching of this religion were all excrescences fas 
 tened one by one upon the simple purity of the teachings of its 
 founder, and were suggested by the imperfect visions of those 
 Sensitives who could only behold the Astral Plane or the Earth- 
 bound Spirits around them. And as the horrible beings which 
 appeared under the conditions of spiritual communication exist 
 ing in this Temple were mistaken for the Gods and Devils of the 
 Spirit World, so the distorted glimpses and the twisted teachings 
 which arose from the same cause were mistaken for the revela 
 tions of the Almighty. Things which were intended for mere 
 symbols of certain teachings were mistaken for the personifica 
 tions of the Deities, and endowed with a sacred character never 
 intended to be ascribed to them. The wild utterances of Sensi 
 tives obsessed by one or other of the unhappy Spirits that haunted 
 the Temple were received as answers from the Gods, and Divine 
 commands to be acted upon with unquestioning faith, till the con 
 fusion and error, the horrible teachings and cruel practices of 
 which that Temple became the centre were so great that only the 
 total destruction, the leveling with the dust of such a focus of 
 iniquity, could free the poor, simple, ignorant people who wor 
 shipped at so false a shrine from the further prolongation of such 
 a state of moral and intellectual darkness. 
 
 Those who gaze regretfully upon the ruins of some of these 
 mighty monuments of the Past, and wonder why so fair a thing 
 was given over to destruction and decay, can scarce realize the 
 stupendous forces that were at work in the Spiritual World ere 
 the final downfall of the fallacious system which it embodied was 
 accomplished, and the Earth freed from the contamination of the 
 poison it had disseminated on every side. Let not any man yield 
 too readily the glamour with which time enshrouds the memory of 
 the past. Let it not be imagined that the early ages of the World 
 were the ages of unmixed innocence, simplicity and purity. For the 
 less the intellect of man is developed the less can he perceive the
 
 THE STORY OF AIIRIX/IMAN 
 
 grossness of the errors and the spiritual darkness that surround 
 him. In those early ages which some people admire, the abuses 
 and the tyrannies were unchecked by the restraining influence 
 which education exercises over the unbridled passions of mankind, 
 and the mistakes and fallacies of the various theories were unde- 
 uvtal because man's knowledge of the true nature of himself and 
 his surroundings was limited by the conditions under which he 
 lived. It is true that the errors of the present day are numerous 
 and great enough, but they are as pigeons' eggs beside the nu>' 
 eggs of the Past. 
 
 I first noticed that the Sensitives in this Temple were with one 
 exception all of very tender years. The age of the oldest did not 
 exceed twenty summers, while the majority were from fourteen 
 to fifteen. In the Temple of Amurath, on the contrary, some of 
 the seers attained to a fairly advanced period of life ere the change 
 called Death overtook their mortal frames. For although the 
 development of the highest forms of mediumship does tend t,> 
 shorten the mortal life, by rendering the hold of the Sensitive upon 
 materiality less secure, the lower forms (or degrees) of this j>< 
 may be developed and exercised with very little danger or diffi 
 culty, beyond the inconveniences which arise from the extreme 
 sensitiveness to all unsuitable or antagonistic influences which i 
 the result of unveiling these abnormal powers. This, however, only 
 applies to mediums of any class and every degree of power while 
 these gifts are exercised amidst pure surroundings. For the 
 mediums of the lower degrees are exposed to very great danger 
 indeed if they have developed or use their gifts amidst impure 
 surroundings, as the description I am about to give of this Temple 
 will show. As mediums of the highest class are very rare, and 
 still fewer who possess these gifts are ready to resign all share 
 in the pleasures and excitements of Earth life in order to develop 
 and exercise their gifts, the number of persons who would be 
 withdrawn from active life, were all those who are both willing 
 and able to develope these high degrees of mediumship to do so, 
 ---would still be very inconsiderable, and would make very little 
 difference to the progress of the busy life of the world of mortal 
 men. But that all those who do develop the highest degrees of 
 power must entirely withdraw from active life is a doctrine which 
 I most emphatically maintain. And for this reason: that the 
 development of such powers can only be accomplished by render 
 ing the mortal envelope so entirely penetrable by the Spirit
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 233 
 
 within that it ceases to be any longer an adequate protection 
 against the miasmic exhalations from the life of that Astral Plane 
 which, as I have shown, completely enwraps the Earth with a 
 mantle of semi-material beings, whose influence over mortals is 
 in exact proportion to the closeness with which they can come 
 en rapport with them, and to the thickness or thinness of the pro 
 tecting envelope of the mortal body. 
 
 If, then, the Spiritual powers be so highly developed as to put 
 the Sensitive into harmony with the conditions of the higher 
 spheres, it follows that the exceeding thinness of the material 
 veil which interposes between the Spirit and all forms of Astral 
 life must expose it to dangers from which a more thickly shielded 
 Spirit is protected. What these dangers are will best be shown 
 in this narrative, and it was because these dangers were in part 
 recognized by the older religions which practiced divination and 
 kindred methods of Spirit communion, that the idea of secluding 
 the mediums and protecting them from all contact with the out 
 side world arose. Not as a means of mortifying the flesh, but as a 
 protection to the over sensitive Spirit, was this system of seclusion 
 first enjoined and the groves of sacred trees planted, in order 
 that they might become an impassable barrier against the near 
 approach of mortals who brought in their train many strange 
 Astral Beings who were attached to them by reason of the con 
 geniality of their temperament. A magnet will attract and retain 
 hold of an object just as long as its attractive force is the most 
 powerful within that circle of attraction; but if a stronger magnet 
 be brought close to the first the objects adhering to it will be 
 drawn away and attach themselves to the stronger one. 
 
 Now, as a developed medium hath a stronger power of attrac 
 tion for all things that pertain to Astral life than an undeveloped 
 medium, it follows that any Astrals that are following the unde 
 veloped medium will be attracted at once to the developed one 
 the moment they are brought into close enough proximity to feel 
 this superior attraction. Furthermore, as the development of a 
 medium means the drawing away of a portion of that material 
 element which imprisoned the magnetic aura, it follows that the 
 aura of a developed medium will radiate its attractive force over 
 a greater area than it would have done in an undeveloped con 
 dition, and thus it becomes necessary to interpose a wider and 
 ever wider space between a medium and all doubtful surround 
 ings the higher and higher you push the degree of his develop-
 
 234 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 ment. If this is not done then the dangers \\lmh ari-e irom the 
 neglect of such a precaution must be in exact ratio to the increased 
 sensibility of the uncovered Spirit. For though to a mortal eye 
 no change in the mortal envelope has taken place, yet it is a fait 
 that in a very highly developed Sensitive the Spirit so thoroughly 
 penetrates to the outer verge of every atom of its material \n\\ 
 that it is really covered by the scantiest amount of materiality 
 compatible with a continuance of its mortal existence. 
 
 To draw the Spirit so completely through, as one may exprt -- 
 it, the mortal envelope is a work of extreme delicacy and difficulty, 
 and the process is one few mortals have the patience to submit to. 
 Once it has been done it becomes IMPOSSIBLE to restore the 
 medium to his former condition of insensibility, except for a brief 
 space of time; even as it is impossible for a Spirit who has so com 
 pletely penetrated through his mortal envelope as to cast it off 
 altogether and sever all ties to it, to again clothe himself in a 
 replica of his Earthly body for any long period, and the more 
 advanced a Spirit becomes the more difficult it is for him to resume 
 an Earthly vestment. 
 
 In watching the mediums of this Temple I noticed that around 
 each of them there were clustered not only various repulsive forms 
 of Astral life, but many Spirits of a low type, whose evil visages 
 and coarse sensual expressions told plainly what their Earthly 
 habits of life had been. I saw that the Astral beings seemed to 
 float in the auras of these degraded Spirits, and feed upon the 
 foul magnetism that surrounded them, while the gross Spirit. - 
 themselves fastened like vampires upon the unlucky Sensitive-, 
 and sucked their vitality away till they became languid and weak, 
 and finally faded away and died without any specific ailment 
 being discernible. 
 
 The vampire Spirits were actuated solely by a fierce anxiety 
 to renew the Astral envelope which kept their spirits in an Earth- 
 bound condition, hovering about the Earth Plane, even as 
 Jelal-ud-din had kept renewing his mortal envelope in order that 
 he might continue his Earth life. They did this because they 
 felt that were they once to lose their hold of this means of remain 
 ing on the Earth Plane they must sink into a lower and darker 
 sphere of unknown tribulation. By feeding on the vitality of the 
 unfortunate Sensitives and on all upon whom they could fasten, 
 these low Spirits were able to prolong their Earth-bound state of 
 existence to an indefinite period, even as Jelal-ud-din had pro-
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 235 
 
 longed his Earth life by absorbing the life of first one and then 
 another mortal. 
 
 As I studied these Astral Spirits and these low Earth-bound 
 vampires in whose auras they lived, I understood one mystery 
 that had long perplexed me, and comprehended the cause of that 
 strange lassitude which had crept over me more and more strongly 
 the longer I lived with Jelal-ud-din. For I observed that while the 
 Sorcerer kept absorbing from me and from others our vitality, he 
 in his turn was being drained of life by such vampire Spirits as 
 were now before me, and who, owing to his own grossness of life, 
 could more easily come into contact with him than with me, 
 though as time passed on I also became their prey. 
 
 I saw that the poor mediums in this ill-omened Temple of 
 corruption and infamy were literally defenceless against the 
 attacks of these horrible ghouls, because the safeguards which 
 purity might have erected around them were entirely absent, 
 while the protection which the mortal envelope in a great measure 
 affords was also withdrawn by the process of development to 
 which they had been subjected. The poor mediums faded out 
 of life in a very few years, and the ignorant, half-taught priests 
 calmly concluded that mediumship inevitably acted injuriously 
 upon the mortal frame, and that after all, since the Gods had 
 taken their servants to a better world it was not only foolish but 
 wrong to regret their death. 
 
 "See," said the Angel unto me, "see how that intercourse 
 between mortals and immortals which should be the greatest 
 solace and the greatest means of knowledge unto man has become 
 not a blessing but a curse; not a means of life, but of death and 
 premature decay. In seeking to enjoy all the pleasures, all the 
 excitements, all the power and wealth of the material world, and 
 at the same time to hold on to that intercourse with the Spirit 
 World upon which they depend for their influence over man's 
 superstitious fears, these priests have created around them a 
 state of confusion that resembles some Pandemonium rather than 
 a Temple of the pure and good. They have taken away the 
 protection that nature gave the mediums and have nothing to 
 substitute in its place, and then they ascribe to the will of the 
 Gods a state of affairs created solely by the blind ignorance and 
 the avaricious vanity of man. Thou hast seen how confusion 
 arose in the Temple of Amurath by reason of the neglect and 
 disregard of the simple laws of Spirit intercourse enjoined by
 
 236 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 the prophets; see now how worse than confusion hath arisen 
 from the same cause." 
 
 The Angel pointed to one chamber of the Temple and I saw 
 that there were a large number of priests assembled around an 
 unconscious medium who lay entranced upon the floor. A heavy 
 vapor from the burning of scented powders filled the room, while 
 the low, monotonous chanting of the priests served yet further 
 to lull the Sensitive to slumber. 
 
 A far denser cloud than any produced by the incense however 
 hung over the room to my spiritual sight, and as the aura of the 
 medium spread its magnetic attraction yet further and further 
 around I saw all sorts of strange Astral shapes gathering and 
 gathering to it, like flies around a honeycomb. There were also 
 Karth-bound Spirits of mortals that clustered most closely round 
 the circle, and showed themselves from time to time amidst the 
 strangely vanishing and re-appearing phantoms of the Astral 
 Plane. 
 
 To have sought for anything like a coherent response to any 
 question under such conditions would have been idle in the last 
 degree, and the priests did not seem to seek for it, but contented 
 themselves by putting their own interpretations on all the phe 
 nomena that appeared. Confusion reigned supreme. Here a 
 Spirit of the Earth Plane would seize upon as much materiality 
 as he could and show himself, speaking or gesticulating, or even 
 playing some mischievous prank if he felt inclined, till a stronger 
 Spirit came and wrested his hastily made form of materiality 
 from him, as he might have dragged off his cloak. Some clashed 
 the great brass cymbals together in a furious manner; others beat 
 gongs, or twanged discordantly upon a harp; others carried 
 various objects from different parts of the Temple and heaped 
 them upon the floor. Some danced, and made wild, savage cries 
 of joy or rage. Then the priests said the Gods were angry, or 
 that they were pleased. Some launched forth into the most 
 fearful denunciation of certain persons still in the flesh, and com 
 manded that they should be offered up as sacrifices to appease 
 the Gods. Others gave the most horrible accounts of their 
 occupations, and declared such were the practices these Gods 
 desired man to imitate. Others howled and prayed, while in 
 and out there flitted continually those multitudinous hosts of 
 Astral Beings whose curious bodies became visible while they 
 floated in the magnetic cloud around the medium, even as insects
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 237 
 
 may be seen on a dark night flitting in the light of a lamp. Now 
 and again the very emanations cast off by the bodies and minds 
 of the circle of priests would even take shape, and show them 
 selves for a brief moment in this densely material atmosphere 
 of vital magnetism. 
 
 And this wild, incoherent jumble of everything earthly and 
 unearthly was called "seeking inspiration from the Gods." 
 
 At last the power thrown off by the medium became exhausted. 
 The strange throng of Spirits became invisible, and the medium, 
 more dead than alive, was left to recover as best he could, while 
 the priests dispersed to engage in some fresh pursuit. 
 
 "Is not such a gathering as that worse than a mockery?" 
 said the Angel in a low, stern voice. "Can men dare to think 
 that they can come into the presence of the Supreme by methods 
 such as these? The minds of these priests are full, each of his 
 own petty ambitions, his own greedy cares. They come fresh 
 from the interests and excitements of their earthly lives, intent 
 upon all that can minister to their own creature comforts, en 
 grossed by the thoughts of their petty triumphs over one another, 
 or over some rival priesthood, and they regard such a meeting as 
 this rather as a change of excitement or a means of obtaining the 
 sanction of the Gods for some meditated scheme, than as the 
 solemn and sacred means of communion between the strugglers of 
 the mortal life and those whose trials and probations, whose sacrifi 
 ces and noble aspirations, have raised them into the glorious realms 
 of Immortality. As ye sow, so shall ye reap, and if thou dost sow 
 the seeds of hypocrisy and frivolity, of deceit and immorality, in 
 thy daily life of Earth, verily the harvest of Spiritual results which 
 thou shalt reap shall be the blossoming into life of all thine own 
 evil, deceitful thoughts. Men may take these mediums and 
 place them\vhere all temptations may be shut away from them, but 
 if ye surround them with the evil or the frivolous or the dishonest 
 amongst mortal men, there will be no method by which ye can 
 prevent untrue or foolish responses being given through the 
 medium's powers. Like attracts like in the Spirit World as on 
 Earth, and if those around a medium be impure or deceitful the 
 magnetic aura of the Sensitive will only serve as a vehicle for the 
 impure or deceitful of the Spirit World to show themselves and 
 give their responses. The purity of the medium may for a time 
 prevent the free use of his power by such Spirits, but the oftener 
 he is subjected to the influence of the impure magnetism of deceit-
 
 238 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 ful or evil mortals the more contaminated will even the purity 
 of his aura become, and the more easily will the low and evil in 
 Spirit life be able to make use of his j>owers, till at last they 
 will even fasten upon him as ye see these vampire Spirits have 
 done here, and if the life of the medium be prolonged for a 
 sufficient time they will gradually cause him to experience all 
 their own evil desires, and at last so control his body that he 
 becomes a mere tool in their hands, an instrument for the gratifi 
 cation of their passions. 
 
 / "The power of communion with the Spirits of the mighty 
 Dead is a great and wondrous privilege, a boon granted by a 
 loving Father to his suffering and struggling children in the flesh. 
 But if this privilege be abused, if it be regarded as a pastime, a 
 curious species of phenomena, a sort of jugglery by whose aid 
 the ignorant and] superstitious are to be over-awed, and those who 
 can exercise this power enriched, then it becomes a danger, not 
 a benefit, a curse, not a blessing, and it were better to close again 
 the door of communication between the two worlds rather than 
 
 jsuffer it to become a pitfall to the ignorant and unwary. \(W& 
 The early deaths of these poor Sensitives is in truth a mercy 
 for them, for since escape from this Temple is impossible in any 
 other way, and though while their power remains, a certain super 
 stitious feeling preserves them from actual moral or physical 
 injury at the hands of these priests, yet were they once to lose 
 this power, as they inevitably must do under a prolongation of 
 such conditions, their fate would be one of such degradation 
 physically and spiritually that any death however horrible would 
 be a mercy in comparison. 
 
 "But see, in yonder chamber there is a young maid who is 
 menaced by a fate worse than any death, for since she hath not 
 yet been formally dedicated unto the Gods she hath not even 
 that shadowy mantle of sanctity to protect her. Her beauty 
 hath awakened the voluptuous admiration of one of these priests, 
 and he hath persuaded her family to place her within these walls, 
 under the pretext that the Gods have specially desired her service. 
 The circumstance that she hath unquestionably certain spiritual 
 i^ifts hath given color to this idea, and this evening she hath been 
 brought into this Temple." 
 
 He pointed to a small chamber in a different part of the 
 Temple from that which I had been studying, and I saw a young 
 and very lovely maid, scarce fifteen years of age, lying slumber-
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINIZMAN 239 
 
 ing on a pile of very soft cushions. She had evidently wept her 
 self to sleep, for the tears trembled still upon the long, dark 
 lashes which veiled the lustrous dark eyes. Her long, dark hair 
 hung about her slender, childish form like a veil of night. Her 
 delicate features were beautiful in the extreme, and her skin white 
 as snow and tinged on either cheek with a color as faint as the 
 most delicate tint of a blush rose, while her slightly parted lips 
 were red as the beautiful sea coral. 
 
 As I gazed upon her as one spell-bound I had a vague feeling 
 that she was strangely familiar to my eyes, and then I remembered 
 the vague half-seen visions of my boyhood, when I had dreamed 
 of what the realization of my ideal of love was like, and I knew 
 that this girl, this lovely, innocent child, was the embodiment 
 of those dreams, her face the one which had haunted all my 
 dreams of love, till the actual vision of Zuleika had put the child 
 like one to flight and supplanted it with the more material allure 
 ments of her attraction; an attraction which had never sufficed 
 to satisfy the vague longing of my heart for my unseen Ideal. 
 Zuleika had awakened the love of my passions; this child stirred 
 to its depths the emotion of my Soul. I forgot all things as I 
 gazed upon her. I forgot that I was a Spirit and she a mortal, 
 and that between us there rose the barrier of her earthly state. 
 I forgot also mine own aged form in the young ardour of my 
 heart. I forgot even her peril. I was lost to all thoughts but 
 the one thought of her innocent loveliness, her helpless youth. 
 
 The voice of the Angel recalled me to the realities of the 
 moment. 
 
 "Yea," said he, "she is indeed thy twin Soul, born into life 
 in the Heavenly Spheres in the same moment as thine own, and 
 travelling thence to find again her reunion with thee. The twin 
 Souls are as two halves of a golden circlet, each broken and 
 incomplete without the other, yet united they form the perfect 
 whole, the magic circle of love, whose existence hath no longer 
 either beginning or ending. The golden ring that men place 
 upon the finger of their brides is the symbol of this perfect reunion. 
 
 "It shall be thy task to guard this maid, and ward off from 
 her the dangers of the Earthly life. But see that thou forget not 
 to hold thine own passions well in check. See that thou art not 
 betrayed into any loss of thine own self-control, or thine own 
 calmness of judgment; else will thy power to aid her vanish, and 
 thy weapons of defence become as broken reeds."
 
 2 4 o THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 At this moment I saw the door of the room open softly, and 
 the evil face of one of the priests appeared. He looked cautiously 
 around, then stealthily glided in, shading with his hand a small 
 lamp that he carried, and crept noiselessly and slowly forward 
 lest he should awake his victim before he had reached her, and 
 her cries should arouse others in the Temple. 
 
 At this sight a perfect tempest of rage filled my Soul, and 
 without a moment's thought I plunged down towards the Temple 
 as a diver plunges into the sea, but the moment my Spirit body 
 touched the semi-material cloud that hung around the building 
 my passage was arrested, and instead of penetrating into it I 
 floated on its surface, its density being as great compared to the 
 lightness of my Spirit body as water is to a piece of cork, and I 
 was as unable to sink down through it as the cork is to sink under 
 water. Half frantic in my anxiety I called upon the Angel for 
 help, and as I did so I saw that he was rapidly gathering from 
 the atmosphere of this cloud I found so impenetrable long threads 
 of parti-colored vapor, for they were as immaterial as streams of 
 gas, and as fine as the strands of a spider's web. 
 
 As I turned to look at him he suddenly threw over me the 
 mass of vapory material he had been weaving, and as it fell 
 around me like a robe I found that I was clad in a complete 
 body of the Astral Plane; a body so heavy in comparison with 
 my own Spirit that it felt like a suit of heavy armour, while 
 my grey robes changed to the color of black. No longer did the 
 cloud of Astral vapor resist my passage. I sank down like a 
 stone sinking through water, and ere the vile priest could touch 
 my beloved I stood between them. 
 
 In the anger of the moment the instinct of my earthly life 
 came back to me, and involuntarily I felt in my girdle for my 
 dagger that I might stab the treacherous hound where he stood. 
 But weapon I had none save my hands, and I tried to grip him 
 and fling him to the ground. And even as I had found 
 when in my Spirit body I had sought to attack Selim, the earthly 
 body of the priest acted like a case of slippery armour of which 
 my Spirit hands could gain no grip, and the man crept steadily 
 on. Trembling with rage and apprehension I looked around 
 to see if there were no means at hand to aid me, nothing whereby 
 I could arrest his progress. And at that moment a fearful temp 
 tation assailed me, for I saw that, following the priest like a flock 
 of evil birds, there came a troop of those horrible semi-human
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 241 
 
 Astrals who had killed Selim at my bidding, and for one brief 
 instant I was tempted to bid them aid me by killing this vile man. 
 Only for one brief instant, I thank God. The next I remembered 
 the warning of the Angel to keep control of my own passions, 
 and with a cry to him for aid I stepped back and stood between 
 the furtively gliding priest and the still sleeping girl. 
 
 As I did so a sudden light streamed down into the room and 
 lit up the corner where I stood, and in that moment I knew that 
 I had become visible to the startled priest, for he dropped the 
 lamp with a crash upon the floor and sank involuntarily upon 
 his knees in the extremity of his surprise and alarm. 
 
 "Get thee gone, thou shameless coward, thou vile unholy 
 priest," cried I, in a voice that trembled with rage in spite of all 
 my efforts to steady it. "Get thee gone, and pollute not the 
 sacredness of this chamber of holy innocence with thy presence. 
 Hast thou no fear of those Gods whom thou dost profess to 
 worship, since thou wouldst lay thy sacrilegious hands on one 
 whom thou didst say was to be dedicated to their service? Art 
 thou not afraid that thou wilt call down the lightning of the 
 offended Deity upon thine evil head?" and I advanced menacingly 
 towards the now abjectly cowering priest. But ere I had taken 
 two steps towards him he sprang up and rushed in wild terror 
 from the room. Had I possessed the material bodies of half a 
 dozen mortal men I could not so effectually have routed him, or 
 set up so strong a barrier against his return as my sudden appear 
 ance in the Spirit had done.
 
 242 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 A SECOND DANGER TO IANTHE; I AM TEMPTED 
 AND AGAIN FALL 
 
 As the priest vanished the light also died out, and I turned to 
 speak to the child, who had sprung up in the first moment of her 
 alarm, but who, with a self-control rare in one of her sex and 
 age, had forborne to cry out. I had once more become invisible, 
 but I could still make my voice audible, and I answered her 
 that she had nothing to fear, as I was there to protect her. 
 
 "Who art thou?" said she softly. "Art thou an Angel, or 
 one of the Patriarchs whom God hath sent because I prayed to 
 him last night?" 
 
 Her words gave me a strange pang, for they reminded me 
 that though my heart was young yet my own acts had given me 
 the body of an old man, while she was but a child. And I 
 answered sadly: 
 
 "I am no Angel, neither am I a Patriarch. I was not old 
 when I left the life of Earth. I am only a poor Spirit who loves 
 thee, and would guard thee from all harm." 
 
 "And if thou art a Spirit why doth thy voice sound so sad?" 
 replied she tenderly. "Are not all the good Spirits happy in 
 Heaven?" 
 
 "Yea, but I am not in Heaven," said I, "I am not fit for 
 Heaven yet, oh fair child. To be near thee and to help thee is 
 as Paradise to me, for I long for some one to love me, and 
 methinks thou wilt do that surely, my sweet maid." 
 
 "I will love thee if that will make thee less sad," said she 
 simply. "I have left all I love behind me, and I too am sad. 
 Ah! why was I brought here?" she wailed suddenly in a burst 
 of childish grief. "Why did the Gods wish for me? I was so 
 happy with those I loved, why should the Gods, who have all 
 the world to worship them, seek to make me also come to serve 
 them? I prayed to them in our little valley every day, but I 
 feel as though I could not pray to them in this place; its air 
 stifles me, and these grim walls only make me weep."
 
 243 
 
 Then I drew very near to her, and kneeling down beside her 
 put my arms around the gentle child as tenderly as her mother 
 might have done, and I drew the pretty head unto my bosom, 
 and pressed my kisses softly upon her cheeks and trembling lips, 
 and stroked with my hand the long, flowing hair, till I soothed 
 her grief. I whispered to her that she should not stay there 
 long. I would help her to go away, for the Gods sought not to 
 imprison any one between four gloomy walls; that it was only 
 men, ignorant men, who did that, and that God would send his 
 good Angels to guard her and help her. 
 
 And so at last she fell asleep with one arm around my neck, 
 and her fair head resting on my shoulder. 
 
 My strange Astral body still clothed me, but its material form 
 had faded away again, while the room, as I have said, was in 
 darkness once more. 
 
 I think I must have passed an hour or so of earth time while 
 I thus held my beloved in my arms, when again the door opened 
 softly, and this time a woman entered. Such a woman! Such 
 an unhappy, degraded specimen of her sex! With haggard, 
 sunken eyes, wild hair, and half-clothed figure. She 
 was still young in years, but old in shame and misery. In this 
 poor creature I recognized another victim of the evil men within 
 this Temple of evil. I saw that she had once been as fair and 
 innocent as the child beside me, and had been dragged down 
 step by step to her present level of degradation. I saw that, 
 strange as it may appear, she cherished a wild, mad love for the 
 man to whom before all others she owed her ruin, and that with 
 the instinct of jealousy she had divined his passion for the fair 
 girl in my arms and had watched him enter and leave the chamber, 
 though she little guessed why he had fled so hastily, and thought 
 that it was because he had heard some noise in the Temple. 
 
 In a half-crazed fashion the unfortunate woman had con 
 ceived a violent hatred for the innocent girl who had last attracted 
 the notice of the man to whom she still clung, and she had re 
 solved to poison the object of her dislike. As she approached I 
 observed that she carried in her hand a small phial, one drop 
 of which was certain death to those who inhaled its odour. She 
 also carried a rose, and as she drew near to the girl she put down 
 her little lamp and dropped two drops from the phial into the 
 heart of the rose, and then drew near the sleeper. 
 
 For the second time that night a terrible temptation assailed
 
 244 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 me. This time it was my love that made me weak, for as I 
 looked at that poor degraded woman and thought that the gentle 
 child in my arms might be menaced by a similar fate, while I 
 might be powerless to save her, the thought came to me of how 
 sweet it would be were she to die now, so young, so pure, so 
 unsullied by the contamination of the earthly life, and thus place 
 the barrier of Death between her and all danger, while Death 
 would also withdraw that barrier of mortality that interpu-c! 
 so cruelly between my Soul and hers. How sweet to let her 
 earthly body die, and then take her fair Spirit to dwell with 
 me in the Spirit Land forever. 
 
 Some voice of warning whispered to me that to do so would 
 be no less a murder than if my own hands administered the poison, 
 but I put the thought aside, and argued with myself that I had 
 nothing to do with it; I had only to stand aside for one moment 
 and the deed was done, and my beloved would waken no more 
 on Earth, but in my arms she would wake in the Spirit World. 
 Was she not my twin Soul? Had I not found her at last, and 
 who then could part us? 
 
 And like an avenging Spirit Death answered me. For as I 
 argued with myself the woman had drawn near enough to drop 
 her poisoned flower upon my darling's breast, and in one instant 
 before I had well realized what had been done, a faint tremor 
 passed over the slender frame, then another and another more 
 violent, and then the sleeping earthly form I held lay still, asleep 
 for ever. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 MY PUNISHMENT 
 
 At first a wild joy possessed me. I kissed and kissed again 
 the still warm body that lay in my arms; and then a chill fear 
 crept over me, for the Spirit within stirred not at my touch; it 
 lay still, as if Soul and body alike were dead. 
 
 I looked around me for some one to aid me, or explain why 
 the Soul released not itself from that form of clay, and came to 
 nestle in my breast, and I saw floating down from the far Heavens
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 245 
 
 a group of White Angels. They seemed to come from a far off 
 Silver Star which I could dimly see, and they floated down and 
 down to where I knelt beside my love. They were twelve in number 
 and their silver wings shone with a brightness that well nigh 
 blinded mine eyes. They had brought with them a car, shaped 
 like a wild white swan and lined, I thought, with softest down. 
 They spoke not to me, but motioned to me to stand aside. I 
 pressed one last kiss upon the unconscious lips of my dead love, 
 and then, like one who moves in a strange dream, I drew back, 
 and let them form a circle round my darling. I saw them making 
 passes over the silent form with their white hands as they hovered 
 around the bier, and then at last I saw the Spirit rise through 
 the body as though it had been a covering of vapor, and the 
 White Angels bow their heads as though in prayer, while their 
 extended arms received the new born Spirit. Then they laid it 
 in the couch of snowy down and gathered with outspread wings 
 around it. 
 
 I tried to go near to look at my beloved, to touch her, to 
 follow her, for the vague fear of some great catastrophe was 
 clutching at my heart and turning its warm blood to ice with 
 the anguish of a growing despair. And the Angels waved me 
 back, and one who seemed like a man with a shining helmet of 
 silver turned to me and said : 
 
 "Thou canst not follow her now for she belongs to the Spheres 
 of the Silver Star, and within those Spheres only those Souls which 
 are pure and unsullied by all the evils of Earth can enter. Thou 
 canst not touch her now, for thy hands are soiled with the things 
 of Earth, and thy garments are dyed with the crimson stain of its 
 passions." 
 
 His voice fell upon mine ear with the clear, cold ring of a 
 silver bell, unrelieved by a single touch of pity or compassion. 
 His calm, pure, lofty expression changed not as he pronounced 
 my doom, for mighty in their perfect purity as are these Angels 
 of the Silver Star, their Souls beat not in response to human 
 woe, for they have never gauged the depth of human suffering. 
 
 And as the Angels spread their glittering silver wings and 
 floated away with my beloved I sank upon the dull earth in utter 
 despair, for now I knew what I had done in the madness of my 
 passion, now I realised the full, deep measure of Death's bitter 
 ness, and that in this hour I had both found and lost my love, 
 my Twin-Soul.
 
 246 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 MY GUIDE SHOWS ME MY ERROR; THE 
 DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE 
 
 I was aroused at last from my despair by the voice of the 
 Angel of the Golden Star calling unto me, and as I rejoined him 
 he said somewhat sadly: 
 
 "Thou hast failed in the task set before thee, yet I marvel 
 not, for well do I know how strong are the more selfish emotions 
 of our Souls, and that only after long and patient efforts can we 
 learn to hold our love and our hate alike in subjection. Grieve not 
 too hopelessly for lanthe, thy lost love, for though thou canst not 
 follow her, thy love will draw her to thee again hereafter, and 
 thou canst weave a ladder of good deeds and earnest efforts to 
 purify thy Soul, by which thou shall climb up to meet her in the 
 realms of the glorious Golden Star. It is true that hadst thou 
 but resisted this temptation thou wouldst have reaped joy where 
 now thou hast gleaned sorrow, for thou could st have drawn her 
 away from yonder Temple of iniquity, and thou mightest have 
 known many happy hours as the guide of her earthly steps, till 
 she had gathered the knowledge which the Earth life was intended 
 to give her, and then might she indeed have joined thee in the 
 Spirit Lands. As it is, she will have to gain her experience by 
 other means, and thou wilt have to labor upon this Earth Plane 
 for many years ere thou shalt wipe away the stain upon thy Soul 
 which thine acquiescence in her murder hath put upon it. Nay, 
 start not; the motive that inspired thee was different from that 
 of the actual doer of that deed, but thou wert none the less a 
 partaker in it, for thy hand might have stayed hers, and thou 
 mightest have saved that wretched woman from staining her 
 Soul with yet another sin hadst thou made one effort to do so. 
 I reproach thee not. Rather do I grieve for thee, because thine 
 own conscience will be thy severest judge, and thine own empty 
 heart thy hardest punishment." 
 
 I bowed my head at the Angel's words, for in very truth my 
 punishment seemed greater than I could bear.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 247 
 
 Again the Angel aroused me from my bitter thoughts by 
 saying: 
 
 " Look yonder. See the means of deliverence that were draw 
 ing near unto thy beloved, and observe how the warriors of the air 
 have enlisted a great host of Earthly warriors to help them pull 
 down the Temple." 
 
 As he spoke he pointed to the crest of the hills whereon the 
 Temple stood, and I saw the mighty army of a rival nation come 
 pouring like a living flood down upon the Temple and its defend 
 ers, attacking them on all sides, and overwhelming them with their 
 superior numbers. 
 
 I saw the two armies of the Light and Dark Spirits contend 
 ing in the air and urging on those on Earth to the conflict, the 
 Dark Spirits seeking desperately to inspire the failing courage 
 of the defenders of the Temple, while the Light Spirits forced on 
 their assailants in such a determined fashion that one point of 
 vantage after another was gained, till the very inner doors of the 
 sanctuary were reached. Here the priests, rendered desperate 
 by the death that threatened them from every side, made a most 
 courageous resistance, contending for every foot of the sacred 
 ground. 
 
 Then I saw the woman who had killed my beloved rushing 
 like an incarnate fury from place to place with a burning torch 
 in her hand and setting fire to one thing after another till the 
 thick smoke rose in clouds, and the fierce flames drove victors 
 and vanquished alike to seek what safety they could find in flight, 
 the glittering treasures of the Temple that had attracted the 
 cupidity of the assailants having to be abandoned to the all engulf 
 ing flames. 
 
 As the fire was at its height, I looked down again to see if the 
 earthly body of my lost love yet lay upon its bier, and as I did 
 so I shuddered in horror, for the mad woman who had set the 
 Temple on fire was standing beside it amidst the fierce flames and 
 the suffocating smoke, screaming out in wild joy as first the bier 
 and then the still form upon it were caught by the curling wreaths 
 of flame. Then the roof fell in with a crash, and the body of the 
 murderess and her victim were alike consumed in one funeral pyre.
 
 248 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 ASTRAL SHELLS OF EARTHLY BODIES; THEIR 
 NATURE AND FUNCTIONS IN LIFE AND THEIR 
 APPEARANCE AFTER DEATH; THE THREE FLUIDS 
 OR AURAS OF PHYSICAL LIFE; THE PERFECT AND 
 PSYCHIC NATURES; THE DIFFERENCE OF MEDIUM- 
 ISTIC QUALITIES EXPLAINED; VAMPIRE ASTRALS; 
 HOW TO DISTINGUISH ASTRAL BODIES FROM 
 SPIRIT BODIES; THE THREE BODIES, MATERIAL, 
 ASTRAL, SPIRITUAL, FOUND IN EVERY PLANE, 
 SOLID, FLUIDIC, LUMINOUS 
 
 "Shudder not," said the Angel, "it were better so, for the 
 purifying fire will quickest release the Souls of the poor child and 
 the sin-stained woman from all earthly chains, and in the dark 
 realms of the lower spheres thou must seek out this woman's 
 Spirit and help it to find repentance and purification. In so 
 doing thou shall atone for thine own share in her sin. Thou 
 canst do nothing now because her Soul must find rest for a time 
 ere it wakes in the dark regions whither it has gone. Do thou 
 then come with me^ow, and I shall show thee why it is best that 
 the mortal envelope be consumed with fire rather than laid in the 
 tomb to decay." 
 
 The Angel touched me and together we floated away from 
 the scene of horror till we reached a large burying place on a hill 
 side. The graves were hollowed out of the rocks, and the bodies 
 were in many cases carefully embalmed and wrapped in mummy 
 clothes, that they might resist decay as long as possible. 
 
 "See," said the Angel, "a class of Astral life thou hast not 
 studied yet." 
 
 He pointed as he spoke to the crumbling mortal bodies, and 
 I saw that over each there hung a horrible and more or less decayed 
 replica of the living form, a wax-like copy of the body's appear 
 ance at the moment of death. In the case of those who had
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 249 
 
 been dead for long years the Astral shells were far gone in decay, 
 but with those only a few years dead the forms were very 
 complete. 
 
 "Thou wilt observe," said the Angel," that the Astral shell of one 
 just dead is slightly larger and slightly coarser in appearance than 
 the mortal body was in life. It wears the impress of death in its 
 expression because that was the last change the living Soul im 
 printed on it at departure, but in life the Astral shell, like the 
 mortal envelope, reflected the thoughts of the Soul it covered. It 
 is larger than the mortal envelope because it was the outer cover 
 ing of it. It was, in fact, that cover which interposed between 
 the material body and the atmosphere of the Astral Plane, and 
 it was the means by which the Soul drew from the Astral Plane 
 those subtle elements of life upon which the Spirit body subsisted 
 while imprisoned in the material husk. Observe that the Astral 
 shell is like a spongy covering to all the organs of the body; it 
 permeates through every part, enclosing within its slightly larger 
 bulk every atom of materiality with an atom of this Astral sub 
 stance. Its nature is like that of a sponge, for it draws to itself 
 and absorbs the vital magnetism in the atmosphere as a sponge 
 sucks up water. Thou dost know how by attraction a piece of 
 cloth will suck up all the fluid contained in a jar of water, though 
 only one corner of the cloth be dipped in it. It is then by such 
 an unconscious mechanical action that the Astral shell sucks up 
 the life magnetism of any living body with which it may come in 
 contact, as well as what is contained in the life waves that circu 
 late through the Universe. During its attachment to the mortal 
 body to which it belongs it keeps up the equilibrium between the 
 Astral and material life principles by this means, and it remains 
 attached to the dead body as long as there is any of the material 
 magnetism left in it, and while so attached it serves to keep it 
 from that rapid decay which would ensue were all connection 
 between them to cease." 
 
 "Dost thou mean that this Astral shell supplies the dead 
 body with a degree of vitality?" I asked. 
 
 "Yes. But in so infinitesimal a degree that it is not percep 
 tible to mortal senses. The function of the Astral shell in life 
 was to thus supply the mortal body, and so long as it remains 
 attached to it it continues to mechanically perform this function, 
 and so long as it thus supplies a measure of life to the mortal 
 body so long will that body act as a clog tied to the Spirit, and
 
 2 5 o THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 preventing it from separating from the Earth Plane, for the 
 attachment between Ixxly and Spirit must be severed entirely 
 before the Soul can rise into the second sphere. Fire, which is an 
 clement at once material and Astral in its nature acts upon the 
 atoms of the Astral shell as well as upon the material atoms, and 
 disintegrates at one operation the two envelopes, thus freeing the 
 Soul from both. Now you will observe that as the capillary 
 attraction which the Astral shell exercises on all the vital fluid 
 within the range of its attractive powers is a purely involuntary 
 action on its part, it requires no intellectual life in the Astral shell 
 in order to cause it to thus draw life out of living things, and you 
 will see how after the death of a person his Astral shell, if left still 
 integrate, can suck up the life of mortals and become a source of 
 danger to them, so that a constant course of visits to a cemetery 
 where an immense number of such Astral bodies in a fresh state 
 are congregated, results in a gradual loss of vitality, so constant 
 and so great that the mortal fades away and dies, literally because 
 the Astral life fluid has been sucked out of his body faster than 
 he could, with his own Astral body, absorb it again in sufficient 
 quantity to sustain that equilibrium between the ASTRAL and 
 MATERIAL vital fluids upon which, as we have said, the vitality of 
 the mortal form is sustained. 
 
 "Now there is yet another circumstance that I would have 
 thee notice. It is this, that the Astral shell, while it sucks up and 
 attracts vitality to itself, is also subject to the force of attraction 
 exercised over it by a form of magnetism which is at once stronger 
 and more subtile than the quality of magnetism on which it sub 
 sists. This finer form of magnetism we call the 'Astral magne- 
 ti>m' of the SOUL, and it is only found where the Soul is present, 
 since it is an attribute of the SOUL itself, and departs with it at 
 its severance from any of the many bodies that successively 
 clothe the Soul. In some mortals this magnetism is so covered over 
 with the thick layers of materiality that very little indeed escapes 
 during mortal life; the material envelope being a non-conductor 
 serves as a solid case to keep it in. Such mortals will, therefore, 
 not attract these Astral shells left by their departed fellow mortals, 
 and may therefore visit burying places of the dead without any 
 harm, and they are of all others the persons best fitted to perform 
 the necessary offices for the dead, or to act as attendants in >irk- 
 
 . f-r they will neither ab>orb infection nor attract to them 
 selves the Astral bodies of those whom they attend.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 251 
 
 "There are, however, others so thinly veiled in materiality 
 that their Spirits permeate through all the fibres of their mortal 
 bodies, and their Astral magnetism radiates from them in a circle 
 extending often to a considerable distance, and drawing to them 
 all forms of Astral life and Astral parasites so that life is gradu 
 ally absorbed from them, and they pass into Spirit life to 
 lie in a state of unconsciousness for years. Mortals cannot dis 
 cern why they have declined, drooped and died, and say that the 
 Gods have taken them because they loved them, whereas they 
 have simply fallen victims to the prevailing ignorance of mankind 
 on the subtile subject of Astral influences. 
 
 "Thou hast been accustomed to think of fire as the most 
 natural means for promoting the disintegration of the body 
 because thou didst belong to a faith which looked not for a resurrec 
 tion of that actual body of mortality with which thou didst part at 
 death, but it is nations such as this nation whose mortal envel 
 opes we are now surveying, who, teaching that the mortal body 
 would rise again, sought to facilitate its resurrection by retaining 
 it in as perfect a state of preservation as they could. They clung to 
 the envelope that they could see because they were unable to 
 comprehend truly the idea of the Soul's existence in a conscious 
 state apart from matter, and they had not grasped the fact that 
 matter may pass through conditions which sublimate it as well 
 as the Soul, till it becomes a fit covering for the immortal Soul, 
 although no longer visible to the coarse degree of mortal sight. 
 The only body they can conceive of as rising again is the mortal 
 one, and hence their desire to prevent the disintegration of its 
 particles. 
 
 "Thou wilt now observe that on closely regarding the freshest 
 of these Astral shells before us thou canst perceive an infinite 
 number of minute suckers projecting from the whole surface of 
 the Astral body. These suckers are like the antennae of the fly, 
 but much more minute even than they are, and by the magnify 
 ing powers of Spiritual sight we can see that the surface of the 
 Astral body resembles that of a fine sponge, the minute suckers 
 being like the tiny points of the spongy surface. When an Astral 
 body attaches itself to a living mortal it is by means of these 
 suckers that it holds on, while it draws the vitality of its victim 
 away like some parasitic plant that has fastened on a tree. To 
 remove one of these Astrals it is necessary to apply a strong dose 
 of ether saturated with vitriolic acid. This substance when in
 
 252 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 a vaporised condition acts most powerfully upon all forms of 
 Astral life, and causes the Astral shell to shrivel up as though 
 vitriolic acid had been thrown upon a mortal body. But as the 
 mortal has also his Astral envelope covering his mortal body, and 
 as it is upon that the Astral parasite has fastened, it requires 
 great care to use this means of freeing the mortal without also 
 injuring him. Moreover, when thou hast destroyed the adhesive 
 power of the Astral parasite's own suckers thou mayest find that 
 thou hast also injured those of thy charge, since the chemical 
 has acted upon both. It is therefore safer to remove the parasite 
 by other and slower means, although by so doing thou wouldst 
 have to allow it to go on absorbing for a longer time the vitality 
 of the mortal. To draw it away suddenly would be like tearing 
 away leeches that had fastened on the skin, and would be both 
 painful and dangerous. Thou must therefore withdraw the 
 parasite gradually, detaching one portion of its suckers after 
 another by an application of the chemicals sufficient to partially 
 paralyse them without destroying them. At the worst the mortal 
 will only suffer a temporary loss of his own powers, and thou 
 canst gradually give him back the vitality he has lost. 
 
 "If, however, a great many Astrals cluster upon one unfortu 
 nate mortal, it becomes most difficult, if not well nigh impossible, 
 to keep him free from them, since the means of affecting them 
 mi^ht injure him also. This will show thee why certain people 
 with very magnetic auras must be guarded from all chance of 
 such accidents, and why they would never thrive in cities, where 
 on all hands are encountered the Astral shells that hang around 
 the dwellings in which they have lived. For it is a curious cir 
 cumstance that the magnetism thrown off in Earth life hangs 
 about the house and belongings of a mortal, and attracts his 
 Spirit to it after death. And as it attracts his Spirit so also it 
 attracts that Astral envelope which is in no sense to be confounded 
 with the Spirit. As the body decays the Astral decays also, but 
 if it have absorbed an extra amount of vitality after the death of 
 the body by feeding on the life of mortals, the Astral will become 
 endued with so much independent vitality of its own that it will 
 simply drift away from the decayed body and enjoy for a time 
 an almost independent existence. A Soulless, unintelligent 
 existence, it is true, yet nevertheless an existence, for it will go on 
 absorbing life so long as it can find any one to fasten upon, and 
 as the dwelling place of its mortal owner's Earth life possesses
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 253 
 
 a certain magnetic attraction for it, it will drift back there as a 
 rule in the first instance, and hang about the mortals who are 
 in it a senseless, purposeless wraith of its former inhabitant, 
 whose appearance to the eyes of a clairvoyant will suggest a 
 horrible idea of what the ghost of a mortal may be like. 
 
 "Would it not therefore be well to prevent any chance of this 
 happening by destroying at first the dead body and the undesir 
 able Astral appendage. 
 
 "If a mortal would know how to distinguish between the 
 true Spiritual appearance of his dead friend and that of his mere 
 Astral shell, let him observe that whereas the SPIRIT is ever intel 
 ligent looking, and slightly smaller in features and form than he 
 was in life (for the simple reason that the mortal body was like a 
 second and slightly larger covering of the Spirit, while the Astral 
 body was the third envelope and the larger covering of the 
 Earthly body), the Astral is like the SWOLLEN image of the dead 
 friend, with the ghastly, death-like look of death, and the dull, 
 expressionless inanimation of a Soulless, senseless, waxen image, 
 capable of nothing but floating like a noisome weed upon the 
 current of life around it. 
 
 " Such is the Astral body after Death has robbed it of a Soul. In 
 life its powers are very different. Like the Spirit it can be de 
 tached from the mortal body, and can be projected to great dis 
 tances from it. But while it will reflect like an image of soft 
 wax every expression of its mortal owner's thoughts, it is incap 
 able of any independent thoughts of its own, or any action not 
 dictated to it by the mind that has projected it. This duplicate 
 of a man's personality would be visible to a clairvoyant of a very 
 low degree of power, since it is almost material in its nature, and 
 can be seen where the true Spirit would be invisible. Hence the 
 numerous instances in which such apparitions have shown them 
 selves, sometimes at the actual moment of the death of the body, 
 but most commonly just before dissolution has taken place, and 
 while the Spirit has still a conscious thought projected to the 
 friend to whom his apparition appears. 
 
 "When death has actually taken place the Astral may appear, 
 but it will be with the stamp of death upon its waxen features. 
 The reason that the Astral body most often appears at the time 
 of death or in serious illness of the body, is because under such 
 circumstances the ties between the Soul and its envelopes are 
 greatly weakened, and any strong attraction can draw the Astral
 
 254 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 body away. Ii is therefore in cases of illness that the Ast: 
 occasionally found following a highly magnetic pi-r.-on in the 
 flesh and leaving for the moment its own proper Karthly envelope. 
 Where this takes place it greatly diminishes the chances of the 
 sick person's recovery, and it is better that highly magnetic 
 people who possess Astral rather than physical magnetism. 
 should neither officiate as attendants upon the sick nor go to 
 vi>it them, as however kindly the impulse prompting them to 
 do so may be, it does not prevent them from exerci-ing this 
 magnetic attraction over the ASTRAL body of their sick friend. 
 If they add a constant anxious thought of the friend to the mag 
 netic attraction they will be almost certain to draw the Spirit as 
 well as the Astral of that friend to them, in which case his chance 
 of recovery will be very precarious, for though in cases of serious 
 illness the withdrawal of the Spirit alone often allows a more 
 complete rest to the body (as in sleep where the Soul is often 
 absent from the mortal body with no injurious consequences) 
 the withdrawal of both the Astral envelope and the Soul itself 
 at the same moment makes the merely earthly envelope in great 
 danger of becoming so drained of the vital fluid (by means of 
 evaporation) before their return, that it is practically dead, and 
 becomes incapable of serving again as a covering to the Spirit. 
 The ties between it and the Spirit are so weakened that while it 
 serves as a leaden clog to the Soul that would leave it behind, 
 its rigidity has become so great that the Soul cannot again enter 
 it. If the Spirit only be withdrawn from the earthly body the 
 1 will go on absorbing life with which to recruit it as it lies 
 in deepest trance, but it is indeed precarious for both Soul and 
 A>tral to quit the body of the flesh at once. Therefore let the 
 >iik be ever attended by friends, but by such friends as are not 
 too highly magnetic, or rather whose magnetism is not of the 
 Astral degree, then they will give out vitality which the sick can 
 absorb, but will not at the same time attract the Astral body to 
 themselves. 
 
 "Some will scoff at these ideas and say they are chimerical; 
 but can these wise scoffers say in what the life of a mortal con 
 or of what nature that Soul is composed of which they speak 
 so glibly as explaining all the wonders of Immortality? Can 
 they say what life is, and whence it comes and whither it goes 
 at the death of a mortal body? 
 
 "The projections of the Astral body without the knowledge
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 255 
 
 of the Spirit may be termed 'Involuntary' projections, but thou 
 knowest that a mortal may also acquire the power of sending his 
 Astral body to any place or person he may desire to visit while 
 his Spirit is present in the mortal body, and in a perfectly con 
 scious state, in quite another place. It is, however, only when 
 the body is in a state of trance and the Spirit quiescent that the 
 Astral can remain absent for any length of time, otherwise the 
 waste of vital power that takes place when all the functions of the 
 body are in active operation will cause the body to die, as we 
 have shown, for lack of that vital fluid with which the Astral 
 body is destined to feed it. 
 
 "There is a prevalent idea to the effect that the Astral body 
 belongs only to the Earth Plane of life; but this is an error, be 
 cause Astral matter is a distinct element in itself; it is found in 
 every sphere in a more and more sublimated quality as it recedes . 
 from the earthly centre, where alone it is found in any degree of 
 density. It is the intermediate substance between matter and 
 pure Spirit, and in the Spirit spheres the Spiritual Astral per 
 forms the same function of nourishing the Spirit body of those 
 spheres as the earthly Astral performs for the earthly body, and 
 Astral Spirit bodies are cast off along with the Spiritual envelope 
 when the Soul departs for a higher sphere, just as earthly Astral 
 and earth body are cast off together when the Soul leaves the 
 Earth. 
 
 "The true Soul is therefore always clad in a triple garment, 
 consisting of first the Spiritual Envelope that enwraps the Soul 
 itself and which is always of that higher degree of spirituality 
 which belongs to the sphere immediately above the one in which 
 the Soul is enjoying its conscious existence. Secondly, there is 
 the Envelope belonging to the sphere of the Soul's present con 
 scious life: i.e., either of the Earth when on Earth or of some 
 of the spheres above or below, according to the Soul's condition 
 of progression. And thirdly, there is the Astral Envelope of 
 each sphere, which serves, as we have said, to nourish the invis 
 ible Spirit body, and to link it with the second and visible one. 
 
 "In casting off its dual envelope, therefore, the Soul never 
 alters any essential constituents of its individuality, it only passes 
 into a more sublimated form of them, retaining the most Spiritual 
 portions of its former state in each succeeding one, and passing 
 always into higher and ever higher forms of sublimated matter. 
 
 "From certain classes of vampires the protecting Spirits
 
 256 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 can guard man in a certain decree, but from such as Jel-alud-dm 
 it is well nigh impossible to do so once he has established a com 
 plete rapport with his victim. 
 
 "Men see the things of the Spirit World so imperfectly as a 
 rule that it is not to be wondered at that they have confounded 
 the three classes of Astral Vampires. There be some mortals 
 who even in life are unconscious vampires in a modified sense, 
 because from the strong absorbent powers of their Astral bodies 
 and their own natural tendency to retain rather than give out 
 again a corresponding amount of their own magnetic vitality, 
 they draw from those with whom they mingle an undue pro 
 portion of their life, and with very sensitive delicate persons 
 they draw so much away, that while they flourish exceedingly 
 themselves, the poor person whose vitality they have thus sucked 
 out fades and often dies, without either the victim or the unin 
 tentional unconscious mortal vampire being aware of the cause. 
 More especially is this often the case where the vampire mortal 
 is old, and in need of a constant supply of vital fluid, while the 
 victim is young and full of fresh vitality. This idea may seem 
 a horrible one to many people, yet the fact exists, and the remedy 
 in such cases is very simple. Let the too easily drained mortal 
 separate from the other, and let some other mortal who possesses 
 a superabundance of vitality (as many people do) supply the 
 unconscious vampire with the life essence he or she may require. 
 
 "But to return to the question of the best means of disposing 
 of the corpses of mortality. Doth it not seem to thee desirable 
 for all reasons to hasten as much as possible the disintegration 
 of their particles, rather than leave them to the slow process of 
 a loathsome decay, whether thou dost make of them poor mum 
 mified relics of the Departed, or suffer them to corrupt the soil 
 in which they are buried?" 
 
 As the Angel ceased to speak I looked at the lonely grave 
 yard lying so still and silent under the dark night sky, with its 
 rocky tombs and its mouldering corpses, its floating Astral 
 wraiths and the wandering Earth-bound Spirits who hovered 
 around their earthly bodies, unable to sever the links between 
 themselves and those poor mortal forms for whose indulgence 
 they had neglected to cultivate the higher powers of the Souls, 
 so that the starved and stunted Spirits could scarce conceive of 
 any life apart from those poor decaying forms. To the selfish 
 and worldly the links of materiality are as giant links, and for
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 257 
 
 them it would be a mercy to sever by the purifying action of 
 fire, all such material chains. As I thought of the utter useless- 
 ness of these embalmed bodies to their dead owners, as I saw 
 how their preservation was a source of danger to dead and living 
 alike, I turned to the Angel of the Golden Star, and said : 
 
 "Yea, thou art right. Better a thousand times the fiery 
 sepulchre that my beloved hath found within yonder blazing 
 Temple than that Dead and Living alike should be exposed to 
 the horrors of such a state of things as thou hast shown me." 
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 THE GREEK PHILOSOPHER; THE LITTLE SHRINE; 
 
 ABUBATHA AGAIN; WHY HIS PROGRESSION AS A 
 
 SPIRIT HAD BEEN SLOW; HOW A SENSITIVE 
 
 SHOULD BE TRAINED. THE FAULTS OF 
 
 PRIESTS AND MAGICIANS; HOW 
 
 MEDIAL POWERS ARE USEFUL 
 
 IN SPIRIT WORLD. 
 
 Once more we resumed our rapid flight, and it was with 
 strangely mingled feelings of interest and regret that I recognised 
 one familiar country after another as we passed. Very soon we 
 alighted amongst a range of hills overlooking a city of the Greek 
 Empire. Here we found a house of modest yet picturesque 
 appearance, surrounded by fine trees and a small shrubbery, in 
 which were placed many graceful statues surrounded by beds of 
 fragrant flowers. 
 
 The dweller in this house was a man well on in middle age, 
 whose calm noble cast of feature at once attracted me. He was 
 seated at a table with every variety of scientific apparatus then 
 known about him, and scattered on the shelves of the room I 
 noticed many rare and precious books. I saw at once that he was 
 a deep student of all nature, and I observed that many advanced 
 spirits were around him, inspiring his thoughts and directing his 
 studies, though he was himself unconscious of their presence.
 
 258 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 The Spiritual atmosphere around this man was calm and 
 clear, and in it were mirrored the great thoughts of the mighty 
 dead who gathered around him. 
 
 "That," said the Angel, "is one of Earth's greatest philoso 
 phers, and it matters not whether he believes the thoughts he 
 notes down are his own or whether they are an inspiration from 
 the Gods, for they are true thoughts, and embody great truths 
 and noble teachings, and though man may not recognise them 
 now they will live as vital elements of Truth for all time." 
 
 Again we floated away, and this time we stayed our flight 
 above a small mountain Temple, which I at once recognised as 
 the one where I had met Abubatha, and conceived the idea of 
 becoming a prophet. It was in truth no more than a little shrine. 
 The word Temple was almost too important to use in describing 
 it, yet in this humble little building I recognised a far more val 
 uable aid to man's understanding of Immortality than in any of 
 the splendid Temples I had seen. For here the lamp of Truth 
 burned with a pure and steady flame, and the light that supplied 
 it came in almost unbroken rays from the Higher Spheres. 
 
 The Priests were five in number, each gifted with some Spir 
 itual endowment. In the case of four of them these gifts were 
 of the lower degrees of power, and though of infinite value to 
 their possessors in their daily lives, not of the same Spiritual 
 importance as those of the fifth member of this little community, 
 who was a medium of the higher class, and who in consequence 
 led a very quiet secluded life, never going beyond the confines of 
 the little Temple or the sacred grove which surrounded it. As I 
 have already said, this little Shrine stood on the summit of a 
 mountain, where it could catch the first and last rays of the rising 
 and setting sun, and from which an extensive view of the country 
 round could be obtained. 
 
 Behind the Temple there was a small building where the 
 four Priests and the Sensitive lived, and around it there wa- a 
 garden tended by all the Brothers in turn. Here they could sit 
 and watch the clouds and sky, the hills, and fields, and trees, and 
 the approaching figures of the occasional pilgrims who came to 
 pay their homage at the little Shrine. 
 
 One of the Brothers, as I have said, never left the precincts 
 of the Temple, but the others went forth two at a time to travel 
 through the surrounding country, preaching the doctrines of their 
 Order, helping the suffering, and performing such minor miracles
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 259 
 
 of healing and divination as their particular gifts enabled them to 
 do. Those who sought for direct advice from the Higher Pow 
 ers had to go to the Temple to seek for it, and then the response 
 would be obtained through the Sensitive who lived secluded there, 
 and whom no one but his Priestly Brethren ever saw. 
 
 The simple if somewhat narrow lives led by these Priests was 
 at least free from all temptations of ambition and avarice, for 
 their fame travelled not beyond the range of hills and valleys 
 that shut them in on all sides, and the simple herdsmen to whose 
 spiritual wants they ministered were too poor to offer any but the 
 humblest gifts in return. 
 
 Thus only those who were animated by an unselfish love of 
 their fellow men were ever tempted to come to this solitary little 
 Shrine, and its absence of wealth and grandeur was its strongest 
 safeguard against such elements of Spiritual deterioration as I 
 had seen rising around the handsome Temple of Amurath. 
 
 While I was watching the little Temple I saw a Spirit ap 
 proaching me, whose exceeding brightness caused me to think at 
 first that he must be from a very high sphere. Then, as he drew 
 aside the mantle which half hid his face I saw with a sense of joy 
 that it was my beloved friend Abubatha, whom I had long desired 
 in vain to see. He responded to my salutation with great affec 
 tion, and in reply to my question of why I had never been able 
 to see him except the one time when I had seen him in that dream 
 on the night of my earthly death, he replied : 
 
 "At first Ahrinziman I lay in slumber, for my Spirit was not 
 truly fit for its great change when Death overtook my mortal 
 frame. I erred in that I took not more care of my earthly body. 
 I fasted so often that I weakened its powers, and instead of help 
 ing to purify my soul thereby I only caused Soul and Body to part 
 before 1 had fully gleaned the full measure of my Earth experi 
 ence, and before my Spirit body was strong enough to sustain 
 existence alone. Hence I was for long weak, and lay in a semi- 
 slumber, unable to communicate with anyone upon Earth. When 
 I recovered strength thou wert in the Temple of Amurath, and 
 around thee there were so many strong Spirits of this Earth 
 Plane that I could never approach near enough to show myself 
 to^thee. After that thine own course of life created a still greater 
 barrier between us, and till that last hour of thine Earthly exist 
 ence I was never able to draw near enough to warn thee of the 
 dangers that beset thy path. And since thou quitted the mortal
 
 260 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 body I have not been able to follow thy career, and would gladly 
 hear through what experiences the indulgence of thy passions 
 hath led thee." 
 
 I therefore related to him all that had befallen me, to the 
 moment when my own mad selfishness had deprived me of my 
 beautiful Twin-Soul, whom I knew now under the Greek name 
 of lanthe, and whose beauty was of a Grecian rather than an 
 Eastern type. When I related how I had lost her my feelings so 
 overcame me that I was unable to continue, and once more my 
 good friend strove to comfort me even as when a boy I had 
 poured my childish griefs into his sympathetic ears. When at 
 last we parted I left Abubatha with a heart much soothed by his 
 almost womanly tenderness of sympathy, and the thought that I 
 should enjoy many happy hours in converse with him lightened 
 the desolation of my existence. 
 
 From Abubatha I wandered back to the Mountain of Medi 
 tation, from whose summit I had reviewed the events of my life, 
 and where I had first seen the Angel of the Golden Star. 
 
 I had not seated myself upon the Mountain side for long when 
 I saw the Angel approaching, and as I rose to greet him he said 
 ''. \hrinziman, thou dost mourn ever over thy lost lanthe, but 
 believe me, that vain grief serves not to cure the wound, and thou 
 must rouse thyself and look round upon the multitudes whose 
 griefs are no less bitter, and in seeking to comfort others thou 
 wilt find the surest balm for thine own sorrow. On Earth thou 
 mayest see many unequal unions; there the pure may be mated 
 with the impure, the good with the evil; but in the Spirit World 
 it is not so, and until there be a certain measure of equality in the 
 conditions of Twin-Souls they cannot unite. Thou mayest have 
 certain qualities or experiences not possessed by thy counterpart, 
 and she may have certain others not possessed by thee, and yet 
 ye may truly be united, but it can only be so when the varying 
 qualities have reached a stage of harmoniousness in which union 
 is possible. While any elements conflict ye cannot become as 
 one. Therefore it is that the Spirit World is full of waiting 
 Souls, the higher spheres as well as the lower. For every Soul 
 hath its mate, and sooner or later must unite with it. The dwell 
 ers of Earth are apt to imagine that theirs, is the only real life, and 
 that all the rest of the Soul's existence is passed in a condition of 
 shadow-like immateriality. Yet what error can be greater than 
 thus to confound the Soul with the coarse envelope of its material
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 261 
 
 life, and fancy that in casting off that it hath put aside all that 
 gave it distinction and individuality? And if the cold senseless 
 body of clay be not the man himself, doth it not follow that the 
 soul must have taken with it all that made his identity? The 
 loves and hates, the passions and desires, belonged not to the 
 body but to the Soul, and at the severance between them those 
 attributes beLng still to the Soul; the senseless decaying body 
 feels none of them. And if a man's love is an attribute of his 
 Soul shall it not expand with his Soul in the Spirit World, and 
 develop with each stage of its development, till it finds its most 
 perfect expression in the Spirit Spheres? Thou mayest take a 
 simple wild flower of the Earth and from it develop a most beau 
 tiful specimen of that plant, in whose perfection it is scarcely 
 possible to recognize the humble root from whence it is 
 sprung, yet thou hast changed none of its component parts, 
 thou hast neither added to it nor taken any away: thou hast 
 only developed that which was most beautiful and worthy of 
 development, and surbordinated those parts whose attributes 
 were less worthy. Thou hast but applied thy knowledge to the 
 study of that plant's possibilities, and from a poor weed scarce 
 worth the trouble of plucking thou hast cultivated a glorious thing 
 of beauty, worthy of a place in Paradise. 
 
 "So with the Soul. Man on Earth is as the wayside weed, 
 yet may he develop into an Angel of Heaven without leaving one 
 iota of his individuality behind, and the sweet companionship of 
 his Twin-Soul is no less essential to the perfection of his happiness 
 in Heaven than it was on Earth. 
 
 "But come! I will show thee those whose lot is even harder 
 than thine." 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 I HELP ZULEIKA AND ARTEMISIA; HOW WE 
 PROGRESS BY HELPING OTHERS 
 
 Following out my newly-awakened interest in Artemisia and 
 her son I found myself in a little while beside Selim, wondering 
 much what would be the ultimate fate of one so crippled in his 
 intellectual faculties as the poor half-witted Prince.
 
 262 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 As I approached the place where he amuM/d him-df by hold 
 ing his imaginary court, I saw Zuleika standing with her rla.-pnl 
 hands pressed upon her forehead, as much ID still the tumult (,:" 
 her thoughts as to shade her eyes, watching the infantile anuiM-- 
 ments of Selim, who was pretending to receive an embassy of 
 some rival power, and going through all the pantomime appro 
 priate to the occasion. 
 
 At my approach she started ami turned round, saying "Is this 
 thee, Ahrinziman? Art thou come here to add thy reproaches to 
 my miserable state-'" 
 
 "Nay, Zuleika. The time for reproach between us is past. 
 In these regions all are alike too unhappy to add bitterness to 
 another's lot by vain reproaches." 
 
 "Art thou come then to seek to awaken again the old ties 
 between us?" said she suspiciously. "I owe thee no duty now. 
 Death hath severed all ties between thee and me, and even were 
 it not so I cared not for thee. Even in the days of thy pride and 
 power I would have given more for one smile from yonder mis 
 erable pigmy of a man," pointing to Selim as she spoke, "than 
 for all the love and gifts thou lavished upon me. Yea, even now 
 I know of nothing that I can desire so deeply as to be suffered to 
 remain here, where at last I can be near him. Oh Me!" she 
 wailed in a sudden burst of grief that surprised me, "Oh Me! Is 
 there no hope, no help, for him and me? Must we forever live 
 on thus? He, the poor childish creature who smile> M> happily 
 at his conceits, and I, this miserable degraded object who fears 
 to show myself to him now, lest he should shrink in horror 
 from me." 
 
 "Zuleika," said I gravely and sadly, for her grief touched me, 
 "Zuleika, between thee and me the past is dead; the grave has 
 truly closed over all we were to each other in that past, but never 
 theless I also suffer for my share in the passions of those days, and 
 I too would fain undo the evils that have been wrought. If 
 thou wilt go up to Selim thou wilt find that he turns to thee as to 
 none else, disfigured and fallen as thou art. Hi> love for thee is 
 in-tinctive, as the love of a child for it> Mother, but no less deep 
 and tender, and thou canst do for him what none other can; for 
 between thy Soul and his there are the magnetic links that < 
 unite the twin halves of the perfect Soul, and through thy mind 
 he will dimly sense the things he cannot perceive at all with his 
 own stunted faculties. I will show thee how to awake his dor-
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 263 
 
 mant powers, and so atone for my sin in hurrying him from the 
 Earthly stage of life which was destined to develop the first germs 
 of his senses through the medium of his material powers." 
 
 Zuleika's face brightened with the first look of unselfish 
 pleasure I had ever seen, as she said: 
 
 "If thou wilt help us, Ahrinziman, I would have hope. Well 
 do I know how great are thy powers." 
 
 "Nay, it is not on my powers that I shall now rely, Zuleika, 
 I shall be but the medium for others, even as thou wilt be 
 the medium for me, who always unseen will yet be working 
 through thee." 
 
 A deep sigh caused me to look round, and I saw Artemisia 
 standing beside us. 
 
 "Alas" said she, "I also must be ever unseen by mine own 
 child. Yet I too can help to shield him with my love. Ahrin 
 ziman, my once enemy, my enemy no more since thou wilt help 
 my child, I pray thee to forgive me." 
 
 She bowed her haughty head, and clasping the hand I held 
 out to her in token of amity, bent down and kissed my fingers, 
 while her hot tears like a soothing rain relieved the sorrowful 
 burden of her heart. 
 
 Those on Earth who have had the charge of a poor imbecile 
 child will understand with what feelings we three watched for 
 every sign of the returning intellect. How long and weary and 
 fruitless seemed often our labors, yet how cheered from time to time 
 were we by some sudden gleam of light, some sparkle of intelli 
 gence, as little by little the stupefying weight of the animal facul 
 ties gave place to the permeating influence of the more Spiritual 
 powers, and first one mental shoot and then another burst through 
 the dull soil of the Prince's mind. 
 
 In our absorption in watching we forgot ourselves; so intent 
 were we upon his progress that we thought not of our own. Yet 
 at times, as I watched Zuleika and the Queen, I could not but 
 perceive how the haughty beauty of Artemisia, softened and chas 
 tened by her sorrow, came back to the regal features, smoothing 
 away the hard lines of passion and leaving only the Spiritual 
 beauty and warmth of her deep love. Zuleika's girlish grace and 
 delicacy of feature came back again with all their old youthful 
 charm, and with far more than their old loveliness; for her beauty
 
 264 THE STORY OF AHRINRIMAN 
 
 now was the truly Spiritual beauty of the unselfish soul that has 
 learned to forget self in the love for others. 
 
 Of these changes, however, both the Queen and Zuleika were 
 stiil ignorant. Zuleika had almost ceased to think of her own 
 looks, save with an occasional pang of regret lest her want of 
 beauty should be noticed by Selim. And Artemisia, in the half 
 jealous feelings she still experienced at having to share with 
 Zuleika the love of her son, forbore to comment upon the change 
 which she perceived stealing over Zuleika. 
 
 At last the time came when I felt that my share in the work 
 was over. Sclim had attained to the growth of power akin to 
 that of a bright youth just entering manhood, and I felt that he 
 must progress henceforth by his own efforts, no longer by mine, 
 and thus I told Zuleika and his Mother and bade them adieu for 
 a season. As I turned to go Zuleika followed me, and touching 
 me timidly on the arm said: 
 
 "Ahrinziman, my brother in adversity, cannot ye take me 
 with you? If your task is ended so also must be mine, and I 
 confess I would fain leave now, rather than wait till the awakened 
 perceptions of Selim tell him how fair are the good and pure 
 women of that Earth Plane upon which you say he is now to 
 dwell, and how haggard and ugly to look upon am I. He clinirs 
 to me now as to a dear sister. Alas ! What if some time he shoul< 1 
 should turn from me in disgust at reading what I have been." 
 
 Her voice faltered, and she turned away her head to hide her 
 tears. As for me, as I looked upon her I could not but smile and 
 sigh : sigh to think of the sweetness of the Spiritual love that I 
 could perceive was awakened in her heart, and which made the 
 admiration and the love of her Twin-Soul a thing so dear to her that 
 rather than brave the bitterness of indifference or dislike (or that 
 tender toleration of mere gratitude which to those who love is as the 
 gift of a stone where one is hungry and seeks for bread) she would 
 leave the beloved object of all her cares and go forth to wander with 
 me. I sighed because her words brought back to me all that I 
 in my blindness had lost in losing my lanthe, and I smiled to see 
 how fair she was and how unconscious of it. And I said : 
 
 "Fare thee well, Zuleika. Thy path and mine diverge. For 
 thee, whose sins were those of frivolity and youth, and who hast 
 striven so earnestly to overcome them; for thee, and for Selim, 
 there is a new life opening in the brighter spheres of the Earth 
 Plane, where ye shall both gather that knowledge of life of which
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 265 
 
 Death deprived you. For me, my path lies amidst those fields of 
 wide and dangerous knowledge that I have elected to explore, 
 and wherein thou couldst not follow me. If thou dost desire to 
 leave here for a season do so, but first let me advise thee to go to 
 Selim himself and see what he will say to thy looks. Or stay, 
 go yonder and look into that crystal stream that flows near our 
 feet : gaze into its depths and methinks its waters will mirror back 
 to thee the answer thou wilt get from Selim." 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 LONG YEARS OF LABOR; I MEET MY MOTHER; 
 HOW THE SPHERES ARE INTERBLENDED, YET 
 DISCREET; THE GATES AND PORTALS 
 
 For many years I labored in the dark spheres and on the 
 Earth Plane, helping and comforting those who were less fortu 
 nate than myself. At times I enjoyed a season of rest with my 
 good friend Abubatha, and his patient faith and happy tempera 
 ment did much to lighten the burden of my own cares, and to 
 soothe my ever-present remorse for the loss of my sweet lanthe. 
 
 Through all the weary waiting years I never caught one 
 glimpse of her again. No echo even of her thoughts could come 
 to me. For the gates of the snow-white spheres had shut upon 
 her, and to me they were ever impenetrable. Vain were all my 
 longings; fruitless all my regrets. The wall that my own act had 
 created shut her away from me. Now and again at long intervals 
 I had seen the vision of a Silver Star, and afar from it the Golden 
 Star, but although they were a little nearer to each other as time 
 passed on I saw no signs of the rays from the one crossing the rays 
 from the other, and thus I knew that our union was still afar ofT. 
 
 As I wandered on the Earth Plane and worked in the dark 
 spheres T would sometimes meet those whose life threads had 
 been intertwined with my own, and I knew that they also were 
 working out their penance, and gleaning the harvest of the seeds 
 which they had sown.
 
 266 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 Mansur I often saw, and from his wisdom I gained much 
 valuable help; and as in time Jel-al-ud-dln joined us in our work 
 I came to meet them very often. For both these Spirits the path 
 was far more rugged than for myself, and their work was so enor 
 mous that there was no possibility for them to ascend for many 
 centuries from the dark spheres. But even for them Hope's Star 
 shone clear, and as their good deeds began to balance a little 
 their evil ones their surroundings became less sombre. And yet 
 the remorse those two suffered must have been terrible, for at 
 every corner fresh consequences of their evil acts would rise up 
 and confront them, and only the great courage and determina 
 tion of the men could have enabled them to struggle on through 
 the stupendous mass of evil which they had built up around them. 
 
 I cannot pause to describe any of the strange and varied 
 scenes I saw during this part of my labors, for their records would 
 fill volumes. But the experience I gathered from them was of 
 priceless value to my Soul. 
 
 At last, after long, long years of labor, it came to pass that I 
 wandered into a grey valley of shadows and lay down to rest, for 
 Soul and body alike were weary, and I longed for a season of 
 repose. 
 
 The valley was indeed a strange one, for everything looked 
 like only the shadow of something else. The grey trees that 
 waved their branches gently over head, the hills that rose on 
 either side, the rocks that strewed the pathway through the glen, 
 even the misty clouds above my head, were all like the shadowy 
 reflections of another land, and in their very mistiness there was 
 a suggestion of the things one sees in sleep. I lay down upon the 
 ground and almost immediately sank into a most sweet slumlxir. 
 
 How long I lay asleep I do not know, but when I awoke the 
 scene around me had changed, and I was in a new land, a glorious 
 land of golden sunshine and fair flowers. My grey pilgrim's 
 robe too was gone, and youth had returned to my face and form, 
 for the Valley of Shadows was the Gate of Death, and in my 
 sleep I had passed into a new sphere. 
 
 As I looked around me with delight I saw my Mother, the 
 Vv lute Angel of my childhood, coming towards me, and the next 
 moment Mother and Son, so long parted, were clasping each 
 other in a fond embrace. 
 
 At first I could not speak, my heart was too full for words. 
 Then I asked where I was.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRNIZIMAN 267 
 
 "Thou art in the third sphere, Oh my son ! Thou hast passed 
 into it from the second sphere below the Earth where thou didst 
 work. Thou mightest have enjoyed the pleasures of the beau 
 tiful second sphere above long since hadst thou desired it, but 
 I was not there to greet thee, and we thought it best to leave thee 
 at thy labors till thou couldst come here to me." 
 
 Again with much emotion I embraced her, and then I asked 
 whether now I should be able to see my lost lanthe. My Mother 
 shook her head sadly. 
 
 "Not even yet, Oh my poor son! canst thou see thy Beloved. 
 The Silver Star opens not its gates ever to one who hath known 
 the passions of life. But thy lanthe shall be drawn down in time 
 to thee, and will meet thee in the lands of the Golden Star, where 
 as yet thou hast not reached. Here thou canst dwell with me, 
 dear Son, until the happy time comes which will unite thee with 
 thine lanthe. I have myself dwelt in the spheres of that Silver 
 Star and I can tell thee of them. My love for thee and for thy 
 Father drew me around you both, and as I followed the lives of 
 those I loved I shared the thoughts and emotions of the Souls so 
 strongly linked with mine; and I gathered the experiences of life, 
 developing my passions and living in my own hopes and fears for 
 thee, until I was no longer a fit dweller in the spheres of the Star 
 of calm unruffled Peace." 
 
 "And where, Oh my Mother, are the spheres of. the Silver 
 Star? Do they lie far from Earth?" 
 
 "Nay, my Son. The spheres of the three Stars of Passion, 
 of Innocence, and of Knowledge, that have for their symbols the 
 Crimson, the Silver, and the Golden Stars, stretch from the Earth 
 Plane upwards through all the spheres of the planet Earth itself. 
 They are divided from each other by the invisible walls of the 
 attraction or repulsion which the qualities of each exert upon the 
 one opposed to it, so that they who belong unto the Silver Star 
 can neither see nor come in contact with those who dwell in the 
 rays of the Crimson Star, for they act upon each other with the 
 strongest repelling force, while the qualities of the Golden Star 
 are formed of a blending of the higher faculties of both, and thus 
 the Golden Star hovers ever between them, and in its neutral 
 spheres those who are drawn from the Silver and the Crimson 
 Stars can blend. In the second sphere thou canst see three 
 gates. One is in the second sphere below. It looks, they tell 
 me, like a Gate of Fire, whose flaming portals admit those whose
 
 268 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 passions bring them into affinity with the Red Star, into the 
 realms of Darkness which men call Hell. Thou hast passed that 
 Gate, my Son, and thou knowest into what lands it leads, and how 
 from that Gate thou mayest descend, into ever lower and lower 
 depths of sin and passion. 
 
 "In the second sphere above the Earth there is the Silver 
 Gate, wherein all the innocent and pure, all those who die in 
 unsullied childhood or unsullied youth, do pass. Its lands are 
 lovely to the eyes. Its realms are those of endless peace. Nei 
 ther passion nor sorrow ever enter there. Therefore as the 
 memory of my husband and my child awoke, my sorrow at part 
 ing from them shut me out from the lands within the Silver 
 Gates, and I dwelt outside for many years, till my own efforts to 
 lighten the sorrows of others raised me to this sphere." 
 
 "And do all children pass into that land of the Silver Star?" 
 
 "Not all, my Son. There be some children born of parents 
 so evil, so degraded, that they inherit evil propensities, and learn 
 even as children to follow the dictates of childish passion. Such 
 children remain near the Earth outside the Silver Gates, tended 
 by Spirit guardians. Still, many children enter the lands of the 
 Silver Star, for most children are innocent of evil, in that they do 
 not comprehend the nature of it. 
 
 "And now the third Gate that I would tell thee of is also 
 in this second sphere above the Earth. It is larger and more 
 beautiful than that of the Silver Star, and is of purest Gold. They 
 who pass it are always men and women of full experience and 
 ripe wisdom, and it opens only to those whose labors have taught 
 them the control of their passions, and also given them the purity 
 that comes of experience, not that which comes from irresponsible 
 innocence. Thou hast not passed that Gate as yet, but thou 
 shall do so soon, for it hath its counterpart in every sphere (even 
 as have each of the others), and it admits the Soul to the 
 special lands which pertain unto the realms of the Golden Star in 
 each sphere." 
 
 "And will lanthe join me then?" I asked wistfully. 
 
 "Alas! No, Ahrinziman. Not even then can she come at 
 once to thee. She left the Earth life so young and innocent, and 
 the Earth ties were so feeble, that only after long years yet to 
 come will she have gathered an experience which will make her 
 a fit mate for thee. Hadst thou but known, it would have been 
 so easy for thee to awaken her emotions while she was on Earth
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 269 
 
 and under thy care, whereas now in that peaceful life of the 
 Silver Star her love may be asleep for long, long years. Yet 
 despair not, my Son, in the memory of that one hour in which 
 thou didst hold her in thine arms there is a link between you, and 
 as thou dost rise thyself, thy thoughts, freed from Earth, will rise 
 more easily to her." 
 
 My Mother's speech saddened me, for my hopes had sprung 
 into sudden life when I found myself in so fair a land. Still, I 
 had learned now how short is Time in comparison with Eternity, 
 and I felt that with my Mother's love to soothe and comfort me 
 I could still struggle to await in patience the coming of my van 
 ished love. I felt this more especially as I considered how many 
 waiting Souls there were, whose lives, even amidst the fair sur 
 roundings of the higher spheres, were still like my own, incomplete. 
 
 "Ahrinziman," said my Mother tenderly, "thou hast wandered 
 far, my Son : thy path hath been long and weary, b at the days of 
 happiness are come for thee at last. In this fair land thou shalt 
 dwell with me and with thy Father, for he too shall shortly join 
 us here. And as in the dark spheres thou hast seen all the woes 
 that evil produces, so here thou shalt see what joys spring from the 
 seeds of good. Thou hast seen the dark Genii of the evil passions 
 of man's Soul; now thou shalt behold the good Genii of unselfish 
 ness and purity and love, whose ethereal forms float in the air of 
 these bright lands, and who have their dwelling places in the 
 cloud palaces of golden hopes realised and happy dreams fulfilled. 
 For as man's evil propensities assume form and shape in the 
 Spirit World of ethereal life, so do his good desires: and as the 
 one is strong to haunt him with thoughts of evil, so are the others 
 powerful to inspire him with aspirations for that which is pure 
 and good. Thus the actions and thoughts of a man's life react, 
 not alone upon himself and those with whom he comes in con 
 tact, but upon a countless multitude whom he hath never seen, 
 but who feel the influence of the Good or Evil Genii which he 
 hath created." 
 
 My Mother now took me by the hand and led me to a beau 
 tiful archway of flowers, and together we passed into the foir 
 gardens of that Land of Light.
 
 270 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 CONCLUSION; THE GATHERING OF MY FRIENDS; 
 MARRIAGE AT LAST OF TWIN-SOULS 
 
 More than two thousand three hundred years have passed 
 since I left the mortal body, and the history of the time in which I 
 lived hath become an ancient and half-forgotten story to the 
 
 nt generation of mankind. The city and Palace of I'ar- 
 sagherd lie in ruins, with but a crumbling heap of grass-grown 
 stones to mark where they once stood. 
 
 The wandering Arabs pitch their tents where once King- held 
 their court, and the jackal makes his lair amidst the broken frag 
 ments of the fatal secret passage. 
 
 The Temple of Amurath hath also fallen into decay, and the 
 Faith of my forefathers hath become an almost extinct belief, 
 kept alive only by a scattered remnant of the ancient Persians, 
 who worshipped the light of Purity and Truth under the emblem 
 of the sacred Fire. 
 
 And as I stand upon a mountain top in that bright Spirit 
 Sphere where I have dwelt with my beloved parents for so long, 
 and look down to Earth to view again the scenes of my Earthly 
 pilgrimage, and mark the changes Time hath wrought, the vi 
 sions of my past rise one by one before me, showing me again the 
 drama of my life's story. But now there is neither sadness nor 
 reproach in the pictures: they but show the weaving of the threads 
 in the web of my destiny. 
 
 As the last picture fades out in a haze of golden glory I 
 the friends whom I knew or loved in the days of my Earth's 
 history gathering around me, or sending to me from afar the 
 reflex of their thoughts of me. 
 
 I see first Mansur and Jel-al-ud-din, still working on the F.arth 
 plane and in the Dark Spheres, but working now as those who 
 have conquered the evils of their past, and who are sowing 
 the seeds of good that they may spring up and cover over the 
 ruins they once helped to make, and veil them \\ith flowers like 
 a mantle of atonement. 
 
 I see next my fair Mother, clad in purest white, with a faint
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 271 
 
 bordering of pink to mark where once the crimson stained her 
 fair white robes. She wears a Golden Star upon her brow, and 
 she looks up at my Father with the half shy happy look of a young 
 bride, as she leans upon his arm. He wears no kingly robes now. 
 No crown rests upon his head. His mantle is of green and gold, 
 but fashioned like a student's, not a King's. For the burdens of 
 state sat heavy on his Soul and he hath been glad to cast them 
 aside, to find in a life of study and the companionship of his 
 sweet wife that happiness which long years of labor in the dark 
 spheres have won for him. 
 
 With my parents I see another figure: that of the faithful 
 friend, the gallant soldier, the noble patriot, Ben Al Zulid. And 
 following them I see the dusky figure of that poor slave whom 
 my Father's orders had caused to be slain, to guard the secret 
 of the passage, but whom in Spirit life El Jazid had raised up 
 and helped, till the wrong of the past had been forgiven, if not 
 forgotten. 
 
 Following these I see Bamba, the ever faithful, and Zuleika 
 and Selim. No longer doth Selim appear as the grotesque child 
 with the face of an old man. He hath grown up into the true 
 understanding and power of a man's estate, while Zuleika is no 
 longer the selfish frivolous girl, but a thoughtful gentle woman, 
 whose own sufferings have taught her sympathy with those of 
 others. They make a very bright looking handsome group, as 
 they stand with smiling faces looking over to me. 
 
 Artemisia stands beside her son, a Queenly figure in robes of 
 crimson and gold, with a long white veil falling from the golden 
 Crown she wears upon her head . For Artemisia is one of nature's 
 Queens, and her commanding nature makes of her a strong pro 
 tectress to those of her own sex whose weaker natures make them 
 glad to lean upon her calm strength. She hath learnt the secret 
 of true sovereignty, as opposed to mere selfish state, and there is 
 no Spirit more noble, more constant in her unswerving devotion 
 to others, than the once proud revengful Queen. 
 
 As the vision of Artemisia and the others fades away I see the 
 radiant form of my beloved friend Abubatha. The shining 
 brightness of his snowy robes no words can ever paint. The noble 
 beauty of his face no language can express, as the dear friend 
 and companion of my boyhood and Spirit life draws near to me. 
 
 Beside him I see the Angel of the Golden Star, no 'longer 
 clad in grey and gold but with robes of dazzling white and wing.-
 
 272 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 of glittering gold, while the Golden Star upon his forehead shim 
 mers like the light from the Star of Truth. For the cycle of this 
 Angel's pilgrimage is at last complete, and he reigns now in the 
 realms of the glorious Golden Star. 
 
 He turns to me with a smile, as he says "Look up, Ahrinziman, 
 and see the crowning vision of joy that awaits thee." 
 
 As he speaks I hear a strain of wondrous music, and I see a 
 brilliant cloud of Silver light appear, and as it floats down and 
 down to me I see that it is a va.st throng of the Angels of the Silver 
 Star, accompanied by many youths and maidens in robes of 
 white and silver, carry flowers which they scatter around them as 
 they float down to \vhere I stand. In their midst I see a great 
 mass of white blossoms, like a cloud of flowers, whereon there 
 rests the lovely figure of my long lost lanthe. No longer a child, 
 but a gentle maid, with the sweet child's face and the long float 
 ing hair I saw of old. She is dressed in white, and her robes 
 are spangled with silver Stars, while on her dark hair there is 
 a crown of white flowers, and over her head there is thrown a 
 veil of silver gauze. 
 
 As she floats down I see again the vision of the Silver and 
 the Golden Stars, but now they are near together. And as I 
 look at them I see that the rays from the Golden Star are touch 
 ing the Silver one and turning its whiteness into Gold, and 
 I know that the hour of my true romance hath dawned for me 
 at last. 
 
 As my lanthe and her train of white Spirits from the Silver 
 Star reach the place where I stand I know why it is that all the 
 nearest and dearest friends of my past have gathered around 
 me, and why even those whose Spiritual conditions prevent 
 them from entering my sphere have yet projected their thoughts 
 to me in this the happiest moment of my existence, that as we 
 have shared life's sorrows we may also share its joys, and it is 
 with a heart full of deep gratitude for all their friendship that 
 I turn to greet my lovely Bride. 
 
 As I clasped her to my heart I whispered to her, "Dost thou 
 remember still thy Patriarch?" 
 
 She laughed and blushed, and raised her eyes shyly to my 
 face. Then for answer she put her soft arms around my neck, 
 and laid her fair head upon my breast, even as she had done 
 on that far-away night when I had fcund and lost my Love.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 273 
 
 ENVOI 
 
 Many centuries separate me from my earthly life, yet I have 
 not lost one iota of my interest in the lives of those who are toil 
 ing through their earthly pilgrimages. The faith of my fore 
 fathers has well nigh passed away, and the Star of another Faith 
 hath risen upon the earth and spread its teachings East and 
 West, North and South. 
 
 Yet is not truth the same under whatever religious garb 
 we find it? is not God the same God, the same loving Father 
 of all mankind, whether we call Him by the name of the Jewish 
 Jehovah or that given to him by any other nation of his children? 
 Are they not all alike his children, or can we believe that while 
 he loads with privileges one favored race he will turn as a hard 
 step-father from the prayers offered to Him by another, because 
 their mode of worshipping Him is different? And if all Re 
 ligions have their roots in the one fountain of all truth, may it 
 not be possible that the restless discontent and scepticism of 
 these later days of the nineteenth century of the Christian era, 
 this searching amidst the teaching of the East, with its mystic 
 doctrines and its secrets that may be revealed only to the elect 
 few while the starving many have their eager hunger for Light 
 left still unsatisfied, this turning to occult studies in the hope 
 that some new path may be found; may not all this be due to 
 the efforts of the Higher Powers to make man recognise his 
 Universal Brotherhood as an actual verity, not as a mere ethical 
 form of speech, and to make each nation recognise the truth 
 and beauty that are enshrined in the teachings of the others. 
 As each acknowledges the virtues of the other, as each nation 
 and class recognise the slenderness of the barrier that separates 
 them, and the sacredness of the bonds that should unite, they 
 are taking a step towards the Millennium of perfect happiness 
 of which every people of the Universe have dreamed. 
 
 And may it not also be that the Spirits of the Higher Spheres 
 in seeking to level the barriers between nations and classes and 
 religions, are also striving to draw away those barriers thai 
 interpose between Earth and the Spirit World? and that, as 

 
 274 
 
 in these days the march of education, the diffusion of knowl 
 edge, the means of freer inter-communication between nation 
 and nation, and the consequent spread of freedom of thought 
 and liberty of action, have freed mankind from many of the 
 dangers which surrounded the intercourse of the incarnate souls 
 of earth with the disencarnate souls of the Spirit World; those 
 doors of communication between the two worlds which have 
 been so long closed are about to be thrown open again, that 
 man's means of gaining knowledge upon earth may be aug 
 mented by the dearer knowledge of the Spirit Spheres? 
 
 And since in the past those Spiritual doors were closed by 
 reason of the many errors that crept in, and the evil uses to 
 which the unscrupulous turned the knowledge which they gained, 
 may it not be that a part of the atoning work of those who abused 
 or perverted their spiritual advantages in the past, consists now 
 in returning to the earth and helping, with the clearer knowledge 
 they have gained, and the purer, holier desires they have culti 
 vated, to shed anew upon the world the glorious knowledge of 
 the higher spheres of Spiritual life? 
 
 THE END
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 275 
 
 NOTES 
 
 Note A. 
 
 This story came to me under peculiar circumstances. It is 
 printed as told by Ahrinziman himself, but the names of the 
 characters are purely fictitious and have no claim to historical 
 accuracy. The accounts given by historians of the Persian 
 history of that period are meagre and often conflicting, although 
 there is a general agreement as to the leading events, and as it 
 may interest some readers to know who the actors in this true 
 tale are, I give the real names: 
 
 El Jazid was Artaxerxes Longimanus of Persia, said by the 
 Jewish historians to be the Ahasuerus mentioned in the Story 
 of Esther and Vashti. He is said to have been a singularly 
 handsome, graceful man, tall and of commanding presence. 
 
 Josephus, the Jewish historian, in giving the story of Esther 
 and Vashti expresses the opinion that the action of the King in 
 proposing to exhibit his beautiful wife to his boon companions 
 after a banquet was intended as an insult to her and that she 
 was justified in refusing to appear. In the opinion of Josephus 
 there were indications of a private quarrel and that the King 
 took this public method of finding an excuse for deposing Vashti 
 from her position of dignity and honor. If Artemisia was Vashti 
 then it is quite possible that the "Damaspia" who has gone down 
 in history as the queen of Artaxerxes was some other wife than 
 Vashti. Other historians ignore the story of Vashti and Esther. 
 
 Artemisia was Vashti, the haughty, beautiful Queen of Ash. 
 
 Selim was Xerxes, the only legitimate son of Artaxerxes, who 
 had reigned only forty days when he was assassinated (it was 
 said by Sogdianus). 
 
 Ahrinziman was Sogdianus, the illegitimate son of .Artaxerxes. 
 Various accounts are given of his character and the manner of 
 his death, but all agree that he in his turn was assassinated by 
 order of "Ochus," whom I call "Ahmed," a third and illegitimate 
 son of Artaxerxes. Ochus then ascended the throne and reigned 
 for a number of years. 
 
 Ben Al Zulid was Megabyzus, the noted general of Artaxerxes. 
 The other characters of the story are not mentioned in history.
 
 276 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 Note B. 
 
 In all discussions as to the merits or demerits of trance me- 
 diumship, one cannot but feel that there is amongst many people 
 a total misconception of the true meaning of the word trance, 
 that term being applied to any and every variety of hypnotic 
 condition and to all forms of suspension of the individual con 
 sciousness. 
 
 Strictly speaking, a trance should mean a condition of en 
 chantment or delight; entrancing meaning to delight and uplift 
 the spirit into a superior condition of sensation in which the 
 Soul, raised above the limitations of the lower or animal plane 
 of existence, wanders in conscious pleasure amidst the highest 
 thought regions to which that Soul can gain access. In the 
 words of John of Patmos, one may describe a true trance condi 
 tion. John of Patmos visited a sphere with which he was men 
 tally and magnetically in harmony, and what he saw was what 
 such a Soul would enjoy were it released entirely from the earth 
 body, not merely lifted up from his earthly environments for a 
 brief period. 
 
 In the perfect trance condition the Soul retains a full and 
 perfect consciousness of its own individuality, and is to all intents 
 and purposes as much awake as when acting through the agency 
 of its earthly body, while it possesses the added mental power 
 which would be its attribute were it finally freed from the envel 
 opment of that earthly envelope which, while it protects the Soul 
 in Earth life, also dulls and deadens its finer perceptions and 
 limits its power of mental vision and its ability to receive the 
 thought waves transmitted from other minds. 
 
 The true "Master of Magic" is he who, having learnt all 
 which can enable him to control mind incased in matter, can go 
 one step higher and, freeing himself from the limitations imposed 
 by matter, roam at will into spheres too distant for the Soul to 
 reach while clogged by its grosser envelope. 
 
 Furthermore, to take the Soul out of the body into the free 
 upper regions of pure spirit life is to give it the same spiritual 
 refreshment which climbing to the top of a high mountain or 
 sailing upon the wide ocean gives to the tired and jaded mortal 
 to whom change of air often means a renewal of life. 
 
 Thought is a universal essence unbounded by any limita 
 tions of time or space, but it is also in its nature like "Light," 
 and capable of having its rays refracted and its illuminating
 
 THE STORY OF AHR1NZIMAN 277 
 
 powers obscured by the mass of material thought atoms which 
 fill the atmosphere of planetary life even as the material dust 
 particles affect the transmission of a ray of light. 
 
 The constant giving off and absorbing again of every shade 
 and variety of mental and physical atoms is a part of the unceas 
 ing pulsation of the life with which an inhabited planet teems, 
 and we maintain that while there be some minds so powerful 
 in their mental grasp of the thoughts transmitted to them and 
 so clear and strong in their power of mental vision, that they can 
 overcome many of the limitations produced by their earthly 
 environments, yet even these lofty and powerful intellects would 
 be enabled to wing their flight into still wider thought regions 
 were they able to rise from their earthly body and, leaving it as 
 the unconscious, unresponsive (because uninhabited) tabernacle 
 of the Soul, travel into those farther mental spheres with which 
 the degree of their mental development put them in harmony. 
 
 A perfect trance, then, should be the conscious flight of the 
 Soul into a superior condition from which it ought to return 
 strengthened and refreshed and capable of wider thoughts and 
 nobler and freer actions and a stronger and more perfect pos 
 session of its own individuality. The true Seers of all ages who 
 have left behind them knowledge which is as valuable now as 
 when first given to the world, were Mystics who had mastered 
 the true nature of the trance condition and to apply the word 
 "trance" to all those exhibitions of semi-conscious mental aber 
 rations of persons whose sensitiveness lays them open to the 
 mesmeric control of either incarnate or excarnate minds, is to 
 propagate an error which ought long ago to have been exploded. 
 With the spread of mediumistic development all and every variety 
 and degree of subconscious conditions have come to be classed 
 as "trances," yet they bear no more resemblance to the true 
 trance of the developed Mystic of the older occult "Faiths" than 
 does the sleep which is produced by the use of powerful narcotic 
 drugs resemble that of healthy tired nature. 
 
 The hypnotically-induced trance is as pernicious to the Soul 
 as would be the habitual use of narcotics to the body. Whether 
 the hypnotiser (or, more correctly, the magnetiser) be in the 
 flesh or out of it, the results are the same; an habitual use of 
 magnetism to induce sleep or "trance" is an evil and one which 
 it would require a whole volume to properly illustrate. 
 
 The wisest of spirit intelligences on both sides of life do not,
 
 278 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 then, use the magnetic forces to produce either trance or sleep, 
 except as they would use a powerful medicine whose aid it was 
 sometimes necessary to invoke but whose habit n, il use was an 
 evil even more deadly than that which it was designed to cure. 
 
 The teachers of the Eastern schools study to enable their 
 pupils to acquire the power of conscious spiritual communion 
 while in the body, and the development of an equally conscious 
 power of leaving the body while the conscious spirit is gaining 
 rest and knowledge in a higher condition of existence. That 
 the majority of mediums have not yet acquired this perfect 
 control is due to the fact that very few are ever able or willing to 
 go through the process needful to gain this perfect mastery of 
 their bodies. The majority do not even grasp the idea that 
 there is any need for more development than they have already 
 attained. 
 
 In the limits of a note it is impossible to follow out this sub 
 ject further, but since it is becoming an accepted fact that such 
 things as "hypnotic" trances and hypnotic control exist, it would 
 be well for thoughtful persons to give the subject an intelligent 
 and careful consideration, regarding as a dangerous, as well as a 
 useful and often beneficent attribute, this magnetic power which 
 lies latent in so many people. 
 
 CONCERNING OBSESSIONS 
 
 In giving the Story of Ahrinziman to the public, those who 
 dictated it have been asked to add a note as to their 
 views of the recent discussions on Obsessions and other Evils 
 which are so prominent a feature of the Occult movement in the 
 present day. 
 
 First, as to the evil effects experienced by some persons who 
 have sat in circles for development or for the manifestations of 
 p>yi-hic power. The whole theory of magnetic control n-t- 
 upon a condition of mutual receptivity being established between 
 the members of a circle, but few reflect that the blending of 
 magnetisms with those who form the spirit side of that circle is 
 no less a part of the process, and that without the aid of the
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 279 
 
 magnetism of the spirits present nothing belonging to the spirit 
 side of life would be obtained. Now, in forming a circle which 
 sits in a large city, how are you going to insure absolute freedom 
 from the intrusions of the low or evil earth-bound spirits who 
 crowd the streets of a large city? The magnetic aura created 
 by the circle hangs in a cloud around them and draws spirits to 
 it even as a magnet draws iron and steel, and everything bright 
 or rusty, useful tools or dangerous weapons, will be attracted 
 by the powerful magnet. 
 
 The popular idea that the "good intelligences" who guard 
 the meeting will prove strong enough to insure protection, has 
 not always proved correct; for which reason we are not in favour 
 of circles for physical phenomena being held in large cities. 
 
 Supposing, however, that they are held; then it should be 
 remembered that the intruding spirits will give off their magnet 
 ism to blend with that of the good spirits, and thus magnetic 
 threads will be formed between them and those members of the 
 circle who are sensitive to magnetic influences, for not until a 
 complete fusion of magnetisms takes place is there a distillation 
 of that vitalised ether upon which genuine manifestations depend. 
 If you once admit that the aura of a good and pure person can 
 be poisoned by their absorbing the tainted mixture from a mixed 
 circle of all sorts of mortals and spirits, you will also admit that 
 the good persons can carry home with them a sufficient portion 
 of that posioned magnetism to form the nucleus of a magnetic 
 state congenial to the low and depraved spirits, and into which 
 any of them can enter a second time without the aid of the circle. 
 The oftener the low spirit visits a good and pure mortal the 
 more completely will that mortal's aura become poisoned by the 
 magnetism of the low spirit and the easier will it be for other 
 low spirits to follow the first intruder, and the more difficult will 
 be the task of breaking off the rapport which has been established 
 or limiting these low spirits' power of controlling the mortal. 
 
 In all physical phenomena one essential element required 
 to form the complete magnetic chain from mortal conditions to 
 the higher spirit states, is the magnetism of spirits upon the 
 Earth Plane, that being the condition of magnetic life which 
 forms the final link with man. Therefore the presence and aid 
 of earth-bound spirits is always needful to such manifestations, 
 and even if these earth-bound spirits are not evil, but anxious to 
 do good, their continual control of a very highly sensitive medium
 
 280 THF STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 must do harm because, owing to the nature and structure of 
 that Astral body of the earth plane (in which an earth-bound 
 spirit is imprisoned), the spirit cannot help absorbing from the 
 mortal his finer life essence. A draught of that vitalised 
 ether which is distilled at a seance for physical phenomena 
 most particularly for materialisation is like a drink of cham 
 pagne to a mortal or an elixir to a sick man, and it is little wonder 
 that earth-bound spirits crowd to seances or that those who only 
 know how much better they feel from attending a seance should 
 be loud in praise of the good a seance is doing them and oblivious 
 to, or ignorant of, the fact that the life essence they absorb must 
 have been drawn from some liring person in the flesh, since only 
 persons in the flesh can give off earthly magnetism to blend with 
 that higher magnetism which also is what the poor earth-bound 
 spirit lacks and cannot obtain unaided. An earth-bound spirit 
 is like one who belongs to neither earth nor heaven nor Gehenna. 
 He has lost his hold on the earth life and not yet attained to the 
 spirit world. lie lives in his Astral body and, having nothing 
 of his own, must borrow from those both above and below him 
 on the ladder of development. We cannot here explain all that 
 the study of the earth-bound Astral body would lead to, but we 
 should much desire to see the nature and structure of that body, 
 and its relation to both the true spirit body and the earthly en 
 velope, made the subject of scientific study by the student of 
 Occultism, for it is through this knowledge that the causes and 
 cure of obsessions will be found. 
 
 We admit that physical phenomena, like every other form of 
 phenomena, has its place and its use in demonstrating the nature 
 of the latent powers conferred on man, but we object to the 
 indiscriminate use of it, with disastrous and often fatal results. 
 It would be wiser to recognise and admit the evil and the danger 
 and set to work to find the remedy, than deny what is proved 
 by thousands of instances of obsession and ruin amongst ignorant 
 or thoughtlessly confiding mediums. 
 
 ictic treatment is one of the remedies for obstinate cases 
 of obsession, but it ought to be very cautiously applied becui-e 
 under certain conditions magnetism will only increase the evil 
 The majority of magnetisers do not possess sufficient knowledge 
 of the different forms of obsession nor of the different effects of 
 the magnetism of the astral and physical planes. The whole 
 subject is in need of an altogether wider study.
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 281 
 
 Mediumship is a necessity. Without it there would be no 
 means of knowledge, no instruments through which to study the 
 Occult plane, but mediumship, in exact proportion to the mag 
 netic powers it confers, becomes a greater and ever greater source 
 of danger the further its development is carried, unless the con 
 trol of those powers can be held with a firm hand and understood 
 in all their aspects. At the present moment mortals have not 
 got sufficient knowledge to make the universal practise of me 
 diumship safe, and it would be wiser to limit its development to 
 those who intend to make it the business of their lives and who 
 possess logical powers of brain, strength of will, and purity of 
 purpose, as well as gifts of a high order. 
 
 The majority of slightly endowed dabblers in mediumship 
 whom one meets on all sides are simply wasting time and creating 
 a danger to themselves and others. Knowledge is the best safe 
 guard, and knowledge will be best obtained from those who can 
 study all the conditions of spirit life, not from those whose ex 
 periences have only been of a nature to put them in harmonious 
 touch with certain of the bright spheres of good and happy spirits. 
 
 What we would like to see would be the conditions under 
 which there could be a development of mediumship such as would 
 reproduce some of the more subtle forms of phenomena known 
 to the old Magicians, many of whom were very highly endowed men 
 with a far greater knowledge than is shown by the fragmentary 
 records they have left. But to reproduce these experiments 
 would require the development of just those mediums whose 
 gifts lie on the blended Astral and physical planes, and who are, 
 as we said, the mediums whose powers are the most dangerous 
 to develop in the mixed conditions in which public mediums at 
 present have to live. A very special course of development for 
 such mediums is also required, and very few would have the 
 self-sacrifice to submit to the long and tedious process or give up 
 all that they would have to resign. In the old days, a Magician, 
 when he found such a medium as a young child, bought that 
 child for a slave and did with it what he chose, and through such 
 a medium the Magician made a study of the Astral body and 
 the Astral plane of earth life, and those who wish to obtain the 
 knowledge of that plane will have to find such mediums in order 
 to learn by actual demonstration the facts the old Magicians 
 discovered. 
 
 But no experimenter ought to attempt to develop or use that
 
 282 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 or any other form of magnetic mediumship, until the experimenter 
 understands the nature and dangers of the force he is studying. 
 To allow all sorts of ignorant people to experiment with their 
 own and others' magnetic forces is like throwing open to the 
 public a chemical laboratory full of jars and vials containing 
 the most powerful and deadly poisons. A study of the subject 
 is a necessity of the age; but in making all freely welcome to 
 enter upon that course of study the most clear and decided 
 warnings ought to be given as to the dangerous nature of the 
 elements which will have to be dealt with during that course of 
 study. In all ages this has been true, and although a fair number 
 of persons year by year safely carry on a little routine of simple 
 experiments, they owe their safety to the fact that such gifts as 
 they employ do not put them in touch with the sphere from 
 which the true dangers arise, and even though they themselves 
 escape harm there are numerous cases where persons who have 
 joined in these experiments have suffered seriously afterwards, 
 from the simple reason that the mcdiumship of the sufferers 
 proved to be on a different plane, and once the development was 
 begun by good but often half-instructed spirits, it has pa 
 beyond their control, and the sensitive has been taken possession 
 of by another class of spirits and developed onto the dangerous 
 plane. As regards the two forms of magnetism which are cl.; 
 as Astral and Physical, we say that the fundamental difference 
 between them is due to the different planetary conditions under 
 which the Astral people and the Physical people, or spirits of 
 the Adamite race, were created. We speak of Physical spirits 
 when we mean those spirits who obtained their original individual 
 consciousness with their incarnation upon the planet earth at 
 the period of its perfect physical (or present) stage of evolution. 
 This race is called by old writers the Race of Adam, or first per 
 fected type of man in the physical form on earth. As distin 
 guished from the Adamite Race, old writers speak of the Astral 
 people and of a mixed race whom they called the "Dwellers on 
 the Threshold," and while the Western nations have lost trace 
 of these ancient traditions, the Eastern schools of Occultism 
 and Theology have retained a belief in them as a part of their 
 teachings. With the lapse of time much confusion and many 
 errors have crept into the teachings given regarding these two 
 races, but the main features will be found alike in all count 
 both East and West, where any traditions survive, and although
 
 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 283 
 
 the arrogance of Adamite man has made him believe that to 
 him alone was the gift of Immortality given, the oldest records 
 go to show that the Astral race was no less immortal and num 
 bered amongst its people good as well as evil Intelligences of 
 the highest order. 
 
 These spirits who have never known incarnation in the con 
 ditions of the Adamite race cannot be seen by man, but they 
 can and do act upon him through the intervention and medium- 
 ship of that intermediate race who have blended with both the 
 Astral and Adamite races and whose origin and kinship with 
 man cannot be explained here, but which have been fully given 
 in another story which will follow this one. 
 
 It is from the mediums upon earth who can hold converse 
 with this dual race of Dwellers on the Threshold, that all knowl 
 edge of the true Astral people has been derived in ancient times, 
 and it is of course partly due to the necessary imperfections in 
 all mediums that certain errors have crept into accounts of 
 them, for, as \ve have elsewhere shown, the minds of the earthly 
 Inquirers who questioned the mediums, often dominated them 
 to the exclusion of the spirit controls, hence the ideas of Adamite 
 man got mixed with the revelations given him. If a study of 
 the Astral Plane were opened up now by careful and thoughtful 
 students, much could be learned, but not until the systematic 
 development and safeguarding of the Astral-physical mediums 
 was established, could it be attempted. These mediums were 
 the subjects in olden times of the witchcraft manifestations, 
 either innocently or with a knowledge and evil use of their power, 
 and a study of the apparently absurd or wildly imaginative 
 details given at many of the witch trials would indicate one 
 direction in which to seek for the causes of obsessions. Mediums 
 belonging to the class of mixed Astral and physical mediumship 
 ought never under any circumstances to be tempted to sit for 
 development in mixed circles or allow themselves to be treated 
 magnetically even for curative purposes, because all magnetism 
 will tend to the uncovering and development of the powers of 
 their Astral body and put them at once in touch with the Astral 
 plane of the Earth sphere that sphere from which come the 
 worst evils which can afflict humanity once the barrier be 
 tween it and man is taken away. Since no one knows to 
 what (lass their mediumship may belong, is it not wiser to 
 avoid developing it unless there be good reason to believe
 
 284 THE STORY OF AHRINZIMAN 
 
 that in doing so valuable knowledge and useful power will be 
 gained ? 
 
 Wht-n we reflect upon the enormous degree of power which 
 a finely developed, highly endowed, Astral-physical medium 
 posesses, and that such power once developed can be used for 
 good or for evil, according to the minds under whose control 
 the power is held ; we cannot wonder that such gifts filled people 
 with fear in olden times, or that when so many evil practitioners 
 of the Black Arts obtained and developed these mediums, a 
 reign of terror prevailed which caused afflicted humanity to call 
 in the aid of the laws and sweep all such persons and their knowl 
 edge from the earth, and that every religion has prohibited the 
 use or development of such powers amongst the laity. It has 
 been thought that the accounts of witchcraft in all lands are 
 more or less exaggerated and highly colored, but we assert that 
 within the lifetime of the younger members of the present gener 
 ation there will be again a reproduction of all the worst features 
 of those past epochs of evil power a still more widespread reign 
 of fear and danger will arise, because the number of persons 
 who are developing and using magnetic powers is greater than 
 in the past, and all these persons will become the tools of those 
 who desire either good or evil results; they will be the instru 
 ments through which the occult forces will act in the time of 
 conflict. The various churches and schools of philosophy will 
 all take their share in the approaching conflict, just as they did 
 in j>a^t times. And, as in the past, so in the future, the victory 
 will be with those who possess the largest number of followers 
 and the most knowledge with which to fight the side oppox/d to 
 them. 
 
 The Spiritualists represent one of the efforts made by those 
 in the spirit life to prepare for the coming struggle. The S< u-- 
 ties of Eastern Mystics represent another. The churches repre 
 sent a third. The Free-thought schools are an attempt by 
 materialistic spirits to free men's minds and give to each his sov 
 ereign power over his own brain and his own power of action. 
 Tlu- age is an age of Freedom and of Reason; let every one, then, 
 welcome all schools of thought which can aid in giving to man 
 that knowledge of the obscure and dark places in nature's king 
 dom, which will prove his best antidote against the approaching 
 rvil.
 
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