CHAPTER XI.
"Silvain's revelations," continued Doctor Louis, "aroused within methe keenest interest. The mysterious influences to which certainnatures are susceptible, and which in these twin brothers foundpractical development, had always strongly attracted me, and it was atthis period of my life that I commenced the serious study of thosehidden forces which, now only dimly understood, will in the nearfuture become a recognised science. In this statement of my belief Ido not lose sight of the impostors who, trading upon credulity, creepinto the battle raging between those who have religious faith andthose who are groping in dark labyrinths. Their presence does notlessen the importance of the subject; there always have been and therealways will be such.
"I endeavoured to draw Silvain into discussion, but he declined toargue. He was content to accept without question the existence of themysterious chain of sympathy by which he and Kristel were bound, andhis theory was that unless such sympathies were born in men allendeavours to acquire them must be futile.
"'You do not dispute,' I said, 'that there are secrets in naturewhich, revealed, would throw a new light upon existence?'
"'No,' said Silvain, 'I do not dispute it.'
"'Nor that,' I continued, 'by study and research, the discovery ofthese secrets is open to mankind.'
"'Undoubtedly,' he said, 'you may gain some knowledge of them; as youmay gain knowledge concerning the growth of flowers. But howeverprofound your application and however assiduous your pursuit, you cannever acquire a power which is intuitive in those who are born withit. At the present time, for instance, you are attracted to the studyof animal magnetism, and you may become a master in its tricks. Youwill reach no higher point. The true spiritual gift is bestowed bynature only.'
"I need not say that my opinions were not in harmony with his, and hadthere not been an entire absence of arrogance in his utterances, Imight have been nettled by the idea that he was asserting asuperiority over me. Although he declined to seriously discuss thesubject he was too amiable to refuse to converse upon it, and Iextracted from him a promise that, if it were in his power, he wouldafford me the opportunity of testing and verifying any incident ofwhich he might become forewarned through his sympathy with Kristel. Hefaithfully kept this promise, which, as you will presently learn, wasthe forerunner of strange results.
"Meanwhile Silvain and I continued to travel together. I pursued mystudies assiduously, and did not allow myself to be discouraged by theinstances of charlatanism which met me at every turn. Silvain was inthe habit of relating his dreams to me, so far as he was able torecall them, and during the first three months of our intimacy nothingoccurred to disturb him with respect to Kristel, whose letters healways handed to me for perusal. These letters were mostaffectionately written, but I gathered from them an impression thatSilvain's love was the more profound of the two. It was at theexpiration of three months that Silvain said, 'Louis, I am beginningto dream about you.'
"'That is because we are constantly together,' I said.
"'I am dreaming also of another whom I have never seen,' said Silvain.
"'Man or woman?'I asked.
"'Woman,' he replied.
"'Young or old?'
"'Young.'
"I smiled and said, 'You also are young, Silvain.'
"'Well?' was his inquiry.
"'Love comes to the young,' I said, with the kind wisdom which youthis fond of parading. 'It may come one day to me.'
"'Do _you_ dream,' said Silvain, 'of a young woman whom you have neverbeheld?'
"'I dream of many such, no doubt,' I said, still preserving my lighttone.
"'Ah, yes, of many such--but of one who constantly appears, and whomyou can in certain particulars vividly describe? Is this among yourexperiences?'
"'No,' I said, 'it certainly is not.'
"'Then,' continued Silvain, 'she seldom appears alone. My brotherKristel is there; occasionally, also, you.'
"His earnest voice made me serious.
"'Describe this woman, Silvain, as she appears to you in your dreams.'
"'I cannot,' he said, after a momentary pause, 'describe her faceexcept that I know it is beautiful, nor her form except that I know itis graceful. She has black hair, which tumbles in thick luxurianceover her shoulders below her waist, and upon her head is a scarletcovering, loosely tied, which flutters in the wind which is sweepingaround her. Her figure is nearly always in this position, standingupright, with her left hand raised to her forehead, and her eyeslooking eagerly forward.'
"'As though searching for some one, Silvain?'
"'Yes, as though searching for some one. For whom? For me? It is aquestion I seem to have asked of myself, I know not why. Her lips areparted, and I see her white teeth gleaming. The wild waves are dashingup to her feet, and surging all around her while the wind whistles andshrieks.'
"'A storm is raging,' I suggested.
"'An invisible storm, of which she appears utterly regardless.'
"'And I am there?'
"'And you are there,' said Silvain, 'and Kristel, and myself and thisyoung girl, whose face I have never seen, but whose beauty spirituallyimpresses me, is always looking forward in the position I havedescribed.'
"'Towards us?' I asked.
"'I cannot say,' he replied, 'but we seem to be moving in herdirection.'
"'Moving!' I exclaimed. 'How? By what means? Walking, riding, orflying?'
"'We are on the water, it seems,' he said; 'but truly there is nothingclear except the figure of the young girl standing in the midst of thestorm.'
"'You dream this constantly?'
"'Constantly.'
"'Has Kristel ever spoken to you of such a girl?'
"'Never.'
"'It is possible,' I suggested, 'that since you and he parted he hasmet with her.'
"'Ah,' cried Silvain, with animation, 'you have hit the mark. It isthrough Kristel that she comes to me in my dreams.'
"My suggestion had been lightly made, and the readiness with which heaccepted it astonished me. Thinking over it afterwards in cool bloodit appeared to me incredible that, in his dreams, Silvain should thusbecome acquainted with a being whom he had never seen, and of whoseexistence he had never heard. But Silvain entertained no doubt on thematter.
"'Shall I ever see her in my waking life?' he asked, in a musing tone.
"'You believe she lives?'
"'As surely as I live. If I knew where she is to be found I would goand seek her.'
"In other men's judgment the calm manner in which he spoke of thismystic episode would have been accounted a species of madness; but Iknew that he was perfectly sane, and that his brain was as clear andwell balanced as my own.
"'For what reason would you seek her?' I asked.
"'I do not know,' he replied, and added, with a grave smile, 'perhapsbecause she is beautiful.'
"'You have fallen in love with a shadow, Silvain.'
"'It may be,' he said; 'I cannot say how it is--only that I think ofher by day and dream of her by night. I wonder whether we shall evermeet!'
"'Cannot you tell?'
"'No, I cannot see into the future. All that comes to me in my dreamsof and through Kristel belongs to the past and the present. There isno foreshadowing of what is to be. The picture I have seen of thisbeautiful girl is a reflex of what Kristel has seen in actualembodiment.'
"It would have been both unkind and ungenerous to throw ridicule uponthese statements. To no man would Silvain have spoken as he spoke tome; he had, as it were, opened his soul to my gaze, and I should havebeen unworthy of friendship had I not received his confidences withrespect. Nevertheless I could not bring myself to believe as hebelieved. I was soon to become a convert.
"About a month after this conversation I was aroused from sleep earlyin the morning by Silvain. The sun had scarcely risen, and he wasfully dressed. I observed signs of agitation in his face.
"'Kristel is in danger,' he said.
"These simple words acted u
pon me as a charm. I divined instantly thatSilvain had dreamt of his brother being in peril. Here, then, to myhand, was a means of verifying a mystery which might assist me in mystudies. I questioned Silvain, and he answered me frankly. Yes, he haddreamt of Kristel, and it was his dream which had driven him from hisbed. I determined to be precise, and, for my own satisfaction, toextract from Silvain all the details at his command.
"'Kristel,' he said, 'was one of a company of tourists who had set outto traverse a difficult pass, from the summit of which a view of cloudand water, and distant lowlands of great beauty, was to be obtained.'
"'How do you know this?' I asked.
"'Kristel reached the summit,' replied Silvain, 'shortly beforesunset, and stood enjoying the prospect.'
"'You saw him there?'
"'I saw him there, with his friends. Near the spot upon which theywere gathered was a hut, which in all likelihood was built toaccommodate large parties of tourists, such as that of which Kristelformed one. It was spacious, with many bedrooms in it, and one largeapartment in which meals were taken. Kristel and his companionsretired to this hut after sunset. Then night set in, and my dreamended.'
"'There is nothing very alarming in that,' I observed.
"'I do not think I awoke,' continued Silvain, 'and I cannot saywhether the interval between this dream and the dream that followedwas one of hours or minutes. Kristel and a companion are exploring acavern, the opening into which is on the summit of the mountain. Theybear torches. The walls and roof of the cavern are of glittering sparand crystal, and the light from the torches is a thousand-foldreflected. They emerge from the cavern through a fissure in the rockssome hundreds of feet below the summit. There is an overhanging ledgeof stone, by springing upon which readier access to the hut is gained.Kristel's companion makes the spring, and reaches the ledge in safety.Kristel follows, fails in the attempt, and falls back, bleeding. Hiscompanion, standing far above him, cannot reach him by bending over,and, being without ropes, is powerless to assist Kristel, who liesthere, badly hurt.'
"'Nothing further, Silvain?'
"'Nothing further.'
"'Do you know from evidence in your dream where this occurred?"
"'No; but Kristel is in Bavaria. I know that by his letters, and bythe scheme of travel mapped out by my father.'
"'What do you intend to do?'
"'To go to Kristel. To go to Bavaria.'
"'But by the time you arrive there, he may be gone.'
"'You forget that I told you he is badly hurt. It will be some days,perhaps some weeks, before he is able to resume his travels. I shallarrive in time.'
"'Is it your intention to start to-day?'
"'Yes, I shall start immediately. I must not lose an hour. I am sorryto part from you, Louis, but you see it cannot be helped. I shall missyou sadly.'
"'And I you, Silvain. But, after all, why should we part? My time ismy own; I have no arbitrary plan of travel mapped out. I willaccompany you to Bavaria, and gain another friend in Kristel.'
"Silvain was delighted at the proposal, and eagerly accepted it. Formy own part, although I did not confess it to Silvain, I was notentirely ingenuous in my offer. It was not prompted solely byfriendship; an insatiable curiosity possessed me to ascertain the realfacts of the case, and, as I have already said, to verify them indetail.
"'Kristel lives?' I said to Silvain.
"'As nearly,' he replied, 'as a man can be convinced of anything, theknowledge of which is acquired by spiritual means, so am I convincedthat Kristel lives.'
"'And will recover?'
"'That is beyond me,' said Silvain gravely. 'I hope so--I pray so. Youinspire strange thoughts, Louis. Though parted from Kristel by greatdistances, I hold communion with him while he lives. Were he to die,should I still hold communion with him?'
"The question startled me, holding out, but it did, an illimitableprospect of mysterious knowledge stretching as far as the portals ofimmortality."
Here Dr. Louis broke off in his narrative, and said, addressinghimself immediately to me,
"In recalling these incidents of my youthful days, and of myconnection with Silvain and Kristel, I am drawn insensibly into afairly faithful depiction of the visionary ideas and speculationswhich sprang within me from time to time, and which afforded me foodfor thought. During a brief space I foolishly believed that the veryquestion and truth of the immortality of the soul were involved in mystudies of animal magnetism. Had I accepted this, had I allowed it toroot itself firmly in my mind, I should have been profoundly unhappy.I can imagine no such grounds for misery to the intellectual man aslack of faith in a future state. I care not what shape or form ittakes, so long as it is there. And this faith must of necessity be ablind faith. I have already expressed to you my conviction that arecognised science will arise out of the better knowledge which willbe gained by certain hidden forces, but there are immortal secretswhich will never be revealed to mankind. It appears to me to benecessary to make this clear to you, in order that you may not supposethat I am still wedded to the wild chimeras of youth."
I knew why Doctor Louis made this statement to me. The reminiscenceshe was recalling had rendered him for a little while oblivious of thepresent. His youth rose before him, in which his daughter Lauretta hadno share. Suddenly he had remembered that I loved Lauretta, and theFather's heart spoke to the man whose most earnest desire it was towed the cherished child.
"I understand you, sir," I said, humbly; the confidences which he wasimparting to me, had drawn us closer together, and this fact seemed tobe an assurance of my happiness. In the light of this prospect myspirit was humbly grateful. "I understand you," I repeated. "Perhapsalso to me will come the wisdom in which the most perfect human anddivine comfort is to be found."
He pressed my hand, and regarded me with glistening eyes.
"It is a wisdom," he said, "which not only comforts, but purifies."
Then he resumed his story.
A Secret Inheritance (Volume 1 of 3) Page 11
