George Lumley

“ To men in search of an object in the gloom of a forest, these glowing tracks were so many lures to attract the eye. Following one of them, it led to their perceiving the man they were seeking. He was sitting on the ground, his left side leaning against the trunk of a tree, and his head hanging down, as though he were asleep. Beside him lay his rifle, and about him numerous birds were hopping, as if aware he was no longer capable of injuring them, or else attracted to the spot by the sight or smell of the body of the chamois which lay behind him. ”

“ The captain did not utter a word; but a name which no man caught came trembling from the lips of Charles. The former laid his dagger on the parapet, and extinguished the light, lest anybody might see it and give the alarm; then grasping the stone with his left hand, he lowered his right as if to help the prince to ascend. Finding his intended victim took no heed of his hand, he took up the dagger, his followers crowding around him, some holding his clothing, and all looking eagerly over the wall and watching his movements. ”

“ By your intrepidity in battle, the unexampled endurance of fatigue and excessive privations, you have rendered an immense service to the sovereign and the country; neither the savage horrors of inaccessible mountain dens, nor the desperate resistance of their inhabitants, neither biting cold nor torrid heat, nothing has been able to resist your progress; during long years you have surmounted all without being discouraged, and you have attained the goal, in marking every stage with your sweat and blood. ”

“ If, then, our own experience enables us to prove that so slight a change of position in our atmosphere makes all the difference between life and death, surely no sane person will continue to urge the want of warmth in the more distant planets, as a reason for their being uninhabitable, when by a slight increase of density in their atmospheres their temperature would be raised to an equality with ours; moreover, we do not yet know that the heat we enjoy emanates entirely from the sun, or from the combined action of the sun’s rays and terrestrial agencies. ”

“ The throne occupied by each of them was of marble, beautifully polished, and above their heads was a plate of gold covered with hieroglyphics, and encircling this the serpent painted in the same vivid colours as those we had seen on the walls previously, but with eyes of a green stone, resembling emerald, which flashed back the light and gave them a life-like appearance. ”

“ Without an atmosphere we could not, of course, exist at all; but a very slight addition to one of the gases of which it is composed would destroy every living thing on the Earth’s surface, and its abstraction would reduce the globe to a mass of ashes. Everything, then, being so nicely adapted to the maintenance of life, and such an apparently trifling modification being capable of extinguishing it altogether, it is impossible to reflect on these matters without being driven to the conclusion that the Earth was formed expressly as a dwelling for us. ”

“ Instead of being particles of water, they are, there is good reason to believe, formed of metallic vapours, which, if they descend at all, pour down on the body of the sun in a fiery shower with a force, compared with which our tropical rains are light as falling dew. The mass of which the sun is composed is so enormous that the mind cannot form the faintest conception of the period which must elapse before its fires are extinguished and it disappears from the firmament, as other luminaries have done before it. ”

“ I walked out of the house, followed by Mindanho, and sat down in the broad sunshine to reflect on the occurrence, and consider what it was best to do.
I have always found that there is something in brilliant sunshine which is opposed to superstitious beliefs of a vulgar kind and degrading to the intellect. I could readily enough admit the possibility of the existence of invisible spirits in the atmosphere surrounding us, but not that they could enter into such puerile extravagances as those imputed to them. ”

“ They sat upright and rigid, as though they were living men; the purple colour of their robes was so fresh, and their open eyes reflected the light so brightly, that I could hardly help thinking they were alive and watching our movements. ”

“ Of those in the centre, four were filled by the same soulless tenants, not more grand in their physical appearance, but who probably held posts of authority: for each, instead of the gold plate inlaid in the marble, with the serpent around it, wore a circlet of gold about his head in the form of that reptile, its various brilliant hues being imitated by stones set in the gold, which reflected the flame so vividly that the forehead seemed to be covered with specks of many-coloured fires. ”

“ The rich vessels and the jewelled ornaments were at once forgotten, and we turned and left the chamber to get as rapidly as possible through the stony labyrinth which lay between us and safety. The count took the candle from me and led the way, as fast as it was safe to go, without running the risk of extinguishing it. There was so little of it that I tore the sleeves off my dress as we went along, and putting one end between my teeth, I twisted the other so as to have it ready to light in case the candle should be burnt out before we had got through the maze. ”

“ As I sat there, revolving in my mind the cause of what I had heard, the idea that the sounds had been produced by spiritual agency—which, from the impossibility of discovering any material cause, had made its way into my mind—gradually faded out, and I determined on remaining there till I had discovered the real cause. Besides, I could not leave before I had learnt the fate of my uncle. Till this moment it had not occurred to me to ask Mindanho his opinion of the origin of the noises we had heard, and when I did I found he had quite made up his mind that it was the work of the devil. ”

“ There was something awe-inspiring in these remains of human beings, some of whom, from their life-like attitude, looked as if they were capable of rising and questioning us with regard to our intrusion. After a few seconds spent in looking fearfully about us, and in reflection, the count stepped carefully over a recumbent figure, and I followed close behind him, stopping whenever we came near a figure which seemed in better preservation than the others, to examine it. ”

“ Have the other planets an atmosphere resembling ours? If they have not, it is clear that, however closely they may resemble the Earth in other respects, they cannot be inhabited by beings like us. If we were deprived of our atmosphere we know that there could be no clouds, no gradual passage from light to darkness; objects would be strongly lighted or in deep shadow, the sun would be a brilliant object, but the firmament would appear black, and dotted with stars ”

“ Years even had passed, and both had travelled from the sunshine of life into the shade, and yet they had never once spoken to each other; on the contrary, the enmity of the Black Bear seemed as strong as ever, for he was often heard to declare that if he ever caught Fuchs poaching on the mountains, he would shoot him with no more reluctance than he would a wild cat. ”

“ With provisions sufficient to last him fourteen days, a man might travel to the most distant part of the globe, without fatigue or danger; alighting where he felt disposed, and proceeding on his journey as soon as he had satisfied his curiosity or transacted his business, if he had any business to transact. The idea of making a machine capable of floating in the atmosphere is probably as old as the hills, and, for aught we know, the materials of which the topmost stories of the Tower of Babel were built may have been lifted to the clouds by some such contrivance. ”

“ At the end of the cellar, on our left hand as we entered, was heaped up the earth which had been taken out in making the tunnel. On the ground, before and around us, were lying partially decayed bodies—every one, or nearly every one, with a sword by its side. At the end, on our right hand, we came to some steps cut in the earth, and roughly planked, and at the bottom of these was lying a corpse, not much altered in appearance, which Van Hoogen pronounced to be that of José from the dress, even before we had turned it over to look at the face. ”

“ Notwithstanding the occasional destruction of an aeronaut, through the Montgolfier taking fire (and it would be very difficult indeed for any man to imagine a more terrible end than falling from a body of flame amidst the clouds to the surface of the earth) , the same Garnerin ascended from the Tivoli Gardens, at Paris, one evening, with fourteen coloured lamps hanging from the car. As it was certain he would have to let out gas, there was an imminent risk of this igniting and, by communicating with that in the balloon, blowing the whole concern to pieces. ”

“ Apart from the expression of the countenance, which was stern, and as firmly set as though it were carved in stone, and of itself calculated to make a profound impression on all who looked at it, there was that in the eyes which no human being could fathom. They might belong to a man who had at one time committed a murder, and who was continually on the watch to see if any person who spoke to him suspected the crime of which he had been guilty. ”

“ As I have already said, there were several inscriptions on the walls of this apartment: these the count had translated—you can see them if you like. Young Giovanni—Luigi—what’s your name, take these keys, unlock the bottom right-hand drawer of that writing-table, and give me out a parcel rolled up in a piece of rag.
“This piece of canvas,” continued the Italian, “once held the head of a human being, whose dark countenance with its widely-opened eyes, its lip drawn up as though he had died a violent death, and its large white teeth, gave me a startling shock when I first saw it. ”

“ After a few moments she called Jacinta twice rapidly, and then became deadly pale, and sank down motionless. At that instant the door opened, and two of the women came in hastily, one carrying a light in her hand. Jacinta woke then, and has been crying ever since; for she says she is sure my sister is dead. You know Jacinta was her foster-mother, and they have always been as fond of each other as mother and daughter could be. I have been trying to persuade her that it is nothing but a dream, and that she will find Marie alive and well when we get home ”

“ In everyday life the sexes are as much on an equality as among other civilised peoples, but in religious matters the case is slightly different: it is in acknowledgment of this difference that the Jew is taught to offer up the following short thanksgiving along with his daily prayers:—“Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who hast not made me a woman.” ”

“ The belief in dreams is one which has existed among all nations through all time; and the records of every people contains remarkable instances of their fulfilment. In giving the following instances of the actual realisation of dreams in ancient and modern times, I am not influenced by any desire to increase the credulity which seems to have reached its culminating-point in the case of spirit-rappings, but simply to furnish food for reflection for the minds of those who take pleasure in the consideration of subjects removed from the hard facts of everyday life. ”

“ The struggle was a momentary one, the conspirators being either forced over the parapet and crushed by their fall on the rocks below, or struck to the ground and left for dead. Captain Whitehead and Turner were the only two who made what could be termed a resistance, but the latter was soon overcome; a blow from an axe fell on his forehead, and the blood rushed into his eyes. He made a feeble attempt to press it out with the fingers of his left hand, but while in the act of doing it he received stabs and blows sufficient to have destroyed life in an elephant. ”

“ Before he set the men to work, he showed me a drawing of a pillar, on which the figure of a man was sculptured in low relief, and twining round it a serpent, with its head completely buried in the figure, as though devouring its heart. ”

“ Nature has gifted me with an excellent memory, but not a particle of imagination, otherwise I might clothe with details many interesting narratives which now repose in my mind as mere dry facts. As captain of a ship carrying passengers of every grade, from the man of humble origin who has made a fortune by successful speculation, to the members of royal families, it often happens that one or other of them beguiles the time by walking up and down the deck with me, while smoking his evening cigar, and relating some of his experiences at the places where he has been. ”

“ The bolts were hastily drawn back, the door dashed violently upwards, and each man sprang on the platform with the agility of a tiger. The group of conspirators were so intently occupied in watching or aiding the efforts of Captain Whitehead to detach a stone, that three or four of Charles’s friends were on the platform and had heard his cries for help before they were perceived. The conspirators had no time to consider whether to fight or fly, for the cavaliers were upon them, hewing and striking almost at random. ”

“ The houses were soon emptied of their inhabitants, all of whom proceeded towards Exton’s store to satisfy themselves of the truth of the rumour, and to gratify that mysterious inclination of humanity to look upon a place which has been the scene on which a human soul has been violently expelled from its earthly sanctuary. ”

“ My share of the labour was to watch the operations of the Arabs, to see that every stone they turned up was taken to the count, who examined every stone as it was raised. One day an Arab brought me a stone he had just dug up, and asked me for a present in return. It was a perfect cube, and on one of its faces there was the same design as on the pillar, the figure of the serpent wandering over three others, through a maze of hieroglyphics. I made the man show me the place where it had been dug up, and then I called the count to look at it. ”

“ True enough, there was the body of a man in a half-sitting, half-lying position, one leg bent under him, the other stretched out, and his right hand still grasping the hilt of a sword, the point of which was buried in the earth. From the attitude we concluded that he had died while trying to penetrate through the mound to the outer air, as much probably from suffocation caused by breathing the impure air exhaled from his own lungs, as from exhaustion produced by want of food. ”

“ During the time (he began) that King Charles was in Jersey, several attempts were made to carry him off by private adventurers, who knew that wealth, if not honours, would be accorded to the man who should be fortunate enough to place him in the hands of Cromwell. Among those whose ambition or thirst for gold, or some other motive, prompted them to ponder on a method of effecting his capture, was a man whose real name was unknown, but who was afterwards spoken of by the natives of Jersey as the Gipsy, or Captain Whitehead. ”