Auriol

“ On the evening of the last day, at the hour of seven, I shall look for you at the foot of the statue in Hyde Park."
"I will be there," replied Auriol.
"That girl must be the next victim," said the stranger, with a grim smile.
"Peace!" thundered Auriol.
"Nay, I need not remind you of the tenure by which you maintain your power," rejoined the stranger. "But I will not trouble you further now."
And, wrapping his cloak more closely round him, he disappeared.
"Fate has once more involved me in its net," cried Auriol bitterly. "But I will save Ebba, whatever it may cost me. I will see her no more." ”

“ For several hours deep sleep, occasioned by some potent medicaments, had bound up the senses of Auriol. On awaking, he found himself within a cell, the walls, the floor, and the ceiling of which were of solid stone masonry. In the midst of this chamber, and supporting the ponderous roof, stood a massive granite pillar, the capital of which was grotesquely ornamented with death's-heads and cross-bones, and against this pillar leaned Auriol, with his left arm chained by heavy links of iron to a ring in the adjoining wall. ”

“ There could be no illusion in what I then beheld."
"Despite all this, you will see her again," said Reeks.
"Who are you who give me this promise?" asked Auriol.
"As I have already declared, a friend," replied Reeks.
"Are you human?"
"As yourself."
"Then you seek in vain to struggle with the powers of darkness," said Auriol.
"I have no fear of Cyprian Rougemont," rejoined Reeks, with a laugh.
"Your voice seems familiar to me," said Auriol. "Tell me who you are?"
"You shall know anon," replied Reeks. "But, hist!—we are interrupted. Some one approaches." ”

“ I will care for you presently; and I understand leechcraft so well, that I will answer for your speedy and perfect recovery."
"Drink, then, to it!" cried Auriol.
"I know not what stays my hand," said the old man, raising the phial; "but now that immortality is in my reach, I dare not grasp it."
"Give me the potion, then," cried Auriol.
"Not for worlds," rejoined Darcy, hugging the phial to his breast. "No; I will be young again—rich—happy. I will go forth into the world—I will bask in the smiles of beauty—I will feast, revel, sing—life shall be one perpetual round of enjoyment. ”

“ The old man's gaze was fixed upon a crucible placed upon the furnace, and he was occupied in working the bellows. He moved his head as Auriol entered the chamber, and the features became visible. It was a face never to be forgotten.
"Come in, grandson," said the old man kindly. "Come in, and close the door after you. The draught affects the furnace—my Athanor, as we adepts term it. So you are better, your keeper tells me—much better."
"Are you indeed living?" cried Auriol, rushing wildly towards him, and attempting to take his hand. ”

“ Come, let us continue our walk," she added, taking his arm kindly.
"Ebba," he cried, "I implore you to let me go! I have not the power to tear myself away unless you aid me."
"I'm glad to hear it," she rejoined, "for then I shall hold you fast."
"You know not what you do!" cried Auriol. "Release me! oh, release me!"
"In a few moments the fit will be passed," she rejoined. "Let us walk towards the abbey."
"It is in vain to struggle against fate," ejaculated Auriol despairingly. ”

“ Perpetual life!—perpetual youth!—what more need be desired?"
"What more, indeed!" cried Auriol.
"Ha!" exclaimed the doctor, suddenly recollecting the wounded man, and concealing the phial beneath his gown.
"Your caution is vain, doctor," said Auriol. "I have heard what you have uttered. You fancy you have discovered the elixir vitæ."
"Fancy I have discovered it!" cried Doctor Lamb. "The matter is past all doubt. I am the possessor of the wondrous secret, which the greatest philosophers of all ages have sought to discover—the miraculous preservative of the body against decay." ”

“ The Compact.
"Notes to an immense amount!" cried Auriol, opening the pocket-book, and glancing at its contents.
"They are yours, together with the house," cried Rougemont, "if you will but sign a compact with me."
"A compact!" cried Auriol, regarding him with a look of undefinable terror. "Who and what are you?"
"Some men would call me the devil!" replied Rougemont carelessly. "But you know me too well to suppose that I merit such a designation. I offer you wealth. What more could you require?" ”

“ And he stamped on the ground. At this signal an arm was thrust from the trap-door, and Auriol's hand was seized with an iron grasp.
While this took place, the stranger bore his lovely burden swiftly up the plank leading to the narrow doorway in the wall, and just as he was passing through it he pointed towards the sky, and shouted with a mocking smile to Auriol—"Behold! the moon is in her first quarter. My words are fulfilled!" ”

“ Talbot, who had approached Auriol, "I came to bid you good-bye. Why do I find you here alone? Where is the carriage?—what has become of Edith?"
"She is in the power of the Fiend, and I have sold her to him," replied Auriol gloomily.
"What mean you, wretch?" cried Mr. Talbot, in a voice of distraction. "I heard that Cyprian Rougemont was here. Can it be he that has gone off with her?"
"You have hit the truth," replied Auriol. "He bought her with the money I gave you. ”

“ I see no one."
"Not a tall man, wrapped in a long black cloak?" rejoined Ebba, following him cautiously.
"Ha!" cried Auriol. "Has he been here?"
"Then you know the person I allude to?" she rejoined.
"I know some one answering his description," he replied, with a forced smile.
"Once beheld, the man I mean is not to be forgotten," said Ebba. "He has a countenance such as I never saw before. If I could believe in the 'evil eye,' I should be sure he possessed it."
"'Tis he, there can be no doubt," rejoined Auriol, in a sombre tone.
"Who and what is he, then?" demanded Ebba. ”

“ Good lack, sir!" exclaimed the dwarf, "little of sleep knows Doctor Lamb. He will toil at the furnace till the stars have set."
"Doctor Lamb!" repeated Auriol. "Surely I have heard that name before?"
"Very likely," replied Rougemont, "for it is the name borne by your nearest kinsman."
"How is the poor young gentleman?" asked the dwarf, glancing commiseratingly at Auriol. "My master often makes inquiries after his grandson, and grieves that the state of his mind should render it necessary to confine him." ”

“ Followed by Auriol, who, in his turn, was followed by Ginger and the Sandman, the Tinker directed his steps to Great Windmill Street, where he entered a public-house, called the Black Lion. Leaving his four-footed attendants with the landlord, with whom he was acquainted, Ginger caused the party to be shown into a private room, and, on entering it, Auriol flung himself into a chair, while the dog-fancier stationed himself near the door. ”

“ CHAPTER II THE COMPACT
About two months after this occurrence, and near midnight, a young man was hurrying along Pall Mall, with a look of the wildest despair, when his headlong course was suddenly arrested by a strong grasp, while a familiar voice sounded in his ear.
"It is useless to meditate self-destruction, Auriol Darcy," cried the person who had checked him. "If you find life a burden, I can make it tolerable to you."
Turning round at the appeal, Auriol beheld a tall man, wrapped in a long black cloak, whose sinister features were well known to him.
"Leave me, Rougemont!" ”

“ Will you save me from a prison?"
"I will do all this, and more," replied Rougemont. "I will make you one of the richest men in London."
"Spare your insulting jests, sir," cried Auriol. "I am in no mood to bear them."
"I am not jesting," rejoined Rougemont. "Come with me, and you shall be convinced of my sincerity."
Auriol at length assented, and they turned into Saint James's Square, and paused before a magnificent house. Rougemont ascended the steps. Auriol, who had accompanied him almost mechanically, gazed at him with astonishment.
"Do you live here?" he inquired. ”

“ Rougemont gazed at them in transports of joy.
"At length I have my wish," he cried. "Boundless wealth, and therefore boundless power, is mine. I can riot in pleasure—riot in vengeance. As to my soul, I will run the risk of its perdition; but it shall go hard if I destroy not that of Auriol. His love of play and his passion for Edith Talbot shall be the means by which I will work. But I must not neglect another agent which is offered me. That bottle, I have learnt from yon volume, contains an infernal potion, which, without destroying life, shatters the brain, and creates maddening fancies. ”

“ She is in her first quarter."
"The moon in her first quarter!" cried Auriol, in a tone of anguish. "All then is over."
"What means this sudden change?" cried Ebba, frightened by his looks.
"Oh, Ebba," he replied, "I must leave you. I have allowed myself to dream of happiness too long. I am an accursed being, doomed only to bring misery upon those who love me. I warned you on the onset, but you would not believe me. Let me go, and perhaps it may not yet be too late to save you."
"Oh no, do not leave me!" cried Ebba. "I have no fear while you are with me." ”

“ Auriol groaned, and sank against the wall.
"Since you have become so reasonable, you shall again go forth into the world," said Rougemont; "but the first essay must be made at night, for fear of attracting observation. I will come to you again a few hours hence. Farewell for the present."
And casting a sinister glance at his captive, he turned upon his heel, descended the steps, and quitted the cell.
CHAPTER VI DOCTOR LAMB AGAIN
Night came, and the cell grew profoundly dark. Auriol became impatient for the appearance of his keeper, but hour after hour passed and he did not arrive. ”

“ You seem paler—eh? what do you think, Ebba?"
"Mr. Darcy looks as if he were suffering from mental anxiety rather than from bodily ailment," she replied timidly.
"I am so," replied Auriol, regarding her fixedly. "A very disastrous circumstance has happened to me. But answer me one question: Has the mysterious person in the black cloak troubled you again?"
"What mysterious person?" demanded Mr. Thorneycroft, opening his eyes.
"Never mind, father," replied Ebba. "I saw him last night," she added to Auriol. ”

“ I told her I was linked to an inexorable destiny, which would involve her in its meshes—but in vain."
"Oh!" ejaculated Thorneycroft.
"You see you ought to blame him, not me," said Rougemont, with a derisive laugh.
"I would have given my life, my soul, to preserve her, had it been possible!" cried Auriol.
"Horrors crowd so thick upon me that my brain reels," cried Thorneycroft. "Merciless wretch!" he added, to Rougemont, "fiend—whatever you are, complete your work of ruin by my destruction. I have nothing left to tie me to life." ”

“ Love may again rule my heart—beauty may again dazzle my eyes, but I shall never more feel the passion I entertained for my lost Amice—never more behold charms equal to hers."
And he pressed his hand to his face.
"The mistake you then committed should serve as a warning," said Auriol. "What if it be poison you have now confected? Try a few drops of it on some animal."
"No—no; it is the true elixir," replied Darcy. "Not a drop must be wasted. You will witness its effect anon. Like the snake, I shall cast my slough, and come forth younger than I was at twenty." ”

“ Did you ever hear tell of a gemman as murdered Doctor Lamb, the famous halchemist o' Queen Bess's time, and, havin' drank the 'lixir vich the doctor had made for hisself, has lived ever since? Did you ever hear tell of such a person, I say?"
Auriol gazed at him in astonishment.
"What idle tale are you inventing?" he said at length.
"It is no idle tale," replied the Tinker boldly. "Ve can bring a vitness as'll prove the fact—a livin' vitness."
"What witness?" cried Auriol.
"Don't you reckilect the dwarf as used to serve Doctor Lamb?" rejoined the Tinker. "He's alive still ”

“ A week had elapsed since Auriol Darcy was conveyed to the iron-merchant's dwelling, after the attack made upon him by the ruffians in the ruined house; and though almost recovered from the serious injuries he had received, he still remained the guest of his preserver.
It was a bright spring morning, when a door leading to the yard in front of the house opened, and a young girl, bright and fresh as the morning's self, issued from it.
A lovelier creature than Ebba Thorneycroft cannot be imagined. ”

“ Talbot.
"Of some accident befalling you, which might have interfered with our happiness, sir," replied Auriol.
"Oh, lovers are full of idle fears!" cried Mr. Talbot. "They are unreasonable beings. However, here I am, as I said before, safe and sound. To-morrow we will finish all preliminary arrangements, and the day after you shall be made happy—ha! ha!"
"Do you know, papa, Auriol intends to give a grand ball on our wedding-day, and has invited all his acquaintance to it?" remarked Edith.
"I hope you have not invited Cyprian Rougemont?" said Mr. Talbot, regarding him fixedly. ”

“ A thorough man of the world, though not an unamiable person, Mr. Talbot was entirely influenced by selfish considerations. He had hitherto looked with an unfavourable eye upon Auriol's attentions to his daughter, from a notion that the connection would be very undesirable in a pecuniary point of view; but the magnificence of the house in Saint James's Square, which fully bore out Auriol's account of his newly-acquired wealth, wrought a complete change in his opinions, and he soon gave the young man to understand that he should be delighted to have him for a son-in-law. ”