"POST C.C.L. ANNOS PATEBO, 1550."
"In two hundred and fifty years I shall open!" cried Rougemont, "and the date 1550--why, the exact time is arrived. Old Cyprian must have foreseen what would happen, and evidently intended to make me his heir.
There was no occasion for the devil"s interference. And see, the key is in the lock. So!" And he turned it, and pushing against the door with some force, the rusty hinges gave way, and it fell inwards.
[Ill.u.s.tration: The Tomb of the Rosicrucian.]
From the aperture left by the fallen door, a soft and silvery light streamed forth, and, stepping forward, Rougemont found himself in a s.p.a.cious vault, from the ceiling of which hung a large globe of crystal, containing in its heart a little flame, which diffused a radiance, gentle as that of the moon, around. This, then, was the ever-burning lamp of the Rosicrucians, and Rougemont gazed at it with astonishment.
Two hundred and fifty years had elapsed since that wondrous flame had been lighted, and yet it burnt on brightly as ever. Hooped round the globe was a serpent with its tail in its mouth--an emblem of eternity--wrought in purest gold; while above it were a pair of silver wings, in allusion to the soul. Ma.s.sive chains of the more costly metal, fashioned like twisted snakes, served as suspenders to the lamp.
But Rougemont"s astonishment at this marvel quickly gave way to other feelings, and he gazed around the vault with greedy eyes.
It was a septilateral chamber, about eight feet high, built of stone, and supported by beautifully groined arches. The surface of the masonry was as smooth and fresh as if the chisel had only just left it.
In six of the corners were placed large chests, ornamented with ironwork of the most exquisite workmanship, and these Rougemont"s imagination pictured as filled with inexhaustible treasure; while in the seventh corner, near the door, was a beautiful little piece of monumental sculpture in white marble, representing two kneeling and hooded figures, holding a veil between them, which partly concealed the entrance to a small recess. On one of the chests opposite the monument just described stood a strangely-formed bottle and a cup of antique workmanship, both encrusted with gems.
The walls were covered with circles, squares, and diagrams, and in some places were ornamented with grotesque carvings. In the centre of the vault was a round altar, of black marble, covered with a plate of gold, on which Rougemont read the following inscription:
"Hoc universi compendium unius mihi sepulcrum feci."
"Here, then, old Cyprian lies," he cried.
And, prompted by some irresistible impulse, he seized the altar by the upper rim, and overthrew it. The heavy ma.s.s of marble fell with a thundering crash, breaking asunder the flag beneath it. It might be the reverberation of the vaulted roof, but a deep groan seemed to reproach the young man for his sacrilege. Undeterred, however, by this warning, Rougemont placed the point of the lever between the interstices of the broken stone, and, exerting all his strength, speedily raised the fragments, and laid open the grave.
Within it, in the garb he wore in life, with his white beard streaming to his waist, lay the uncoffined body of his ancestor, Cyprian de Rougemont. The corpse had evidently been carefully embalmed, and the features were unchanged by decay. Upon the breast, with the hands placed over it, lay a large book, bound in black vellum, and fastened with brazen clasps. Instantly possessing himself of this mysterious-looking volume, Rougemont knelt upon the nearest chest, and opened it. But he was disappointed in his expectation. All the pages he examined were filled with cabalistic characters, which he was totally unable to decipher.
At length, however, he chanced upon one page the import of which he comprehended, and he remained for some time absorbed in its contemplation, while an almost fiendish smile played upon his features.
"Aha!" he exclaimed, closing the volume, "I see now the cause of my extraordinary dream. My ancestor"s wondrous power was of infernal origin--the result, in fact, of a compact with the Prince of Darkness.
But what care I for that? Give me wealth--no matter what source it comes from!--ha! ha!"
And seizing the lever, he broke open the chest beside him. It was filled with bars of silver. The next he visited in the same way was full of gold. The third was laden with pearls and precious stones; and the rest contained treasure to an incalculable amount. 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 pa.s.sion 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. It will well serve my purpose; and I thank thee, Satan, for the gift."
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!" he cried fiercely. "I want no society--above all, not yours. You know very well that you have ruined me, and that nothing more is to be got from me. Leave me, I say, or I may do you a mischief."
"Tut, tut, Auriol, I am your friend!" replied Rougemont. "I purpose to relieve your distress."
"Will you give me back the money you have won from me?" cried Auriol.
"Will you pay my inexorable creditors? 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 a.s.sented, 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.
"Ask no questions," replied Rougemont, knocking at the door, which was instantly opened by a hall porter, while other servants in rich liveries appeared at a distance. Rougemont addressed a few words in an undertone to them, and they instantly bowed respectfully to Auriol, while the foremost of them led the way up a magnificent staircase.
All this was a mystery to the young man, but he followed his conductor without a word, and was presently ushered into a gorgeously-furnished and brilliantly-illuminated apartment.
The servant then left them; and as soon as he was gone Auriol exclaimed, "Is it to mock me that you have brought me hither?"
"To mock you--no," replied Rougemont. "I have told you that I mean to make you rich. But you look greatly exhausted. A gla.s.s of wine will revive you."
And as he spoke, he stepped towards a small cabinet, and took from it a curiously-shaped bottle and a goblet.
"Taste this wine--it has been long in our family," he added, filling the cup.
"It is a strange, bewildering drink," cried Auriol, setting down the empty goblet, and pa.s.sing his hand before his eyes.
"You have taken it upon an empty stomach--that is all," said Rougemont.
"You will be better anon."
"I feel as if I were going mad," cried Auriol. "It is some d.a.m.nable potion you have given me."
"Ha! ha!" laughed Rougemont. "It reminds you of the elixir you once quaffed--eh?"
"A truce to this raillery!" cried Auriol angrily. "I have said I am in no mood to bear it."
"Pshaw! I mean no offence," rejoined the other, changing his manner.
"What think you of this house?"
"That it is magnificent," replied Auriol, gazing around. "I envy you its possession."
"It shall be yours, if you please," replied Rougemont.
"Mine! you are mocking me again."