The old sweet smile irradiated his face, and he went off as gayly as if he were going to a feast instead of entering upon a dangerous enterprise.
I went up stairs in the now deserted house of Salothel, and sat down at an open window, looking out on a beautiful public square. At any other time I would have been delighted with the scene. My heart would have been cheered by the tender green of the soft gra.s.s, by the rustling of the leaves in the wind, and the twittering of the birds among the branches. I would have admired the splendid domes and spires of Antioch rising all around above the tree-tops, and the brilliant tints of an eastern sky flecked with fantastic and fleecy clouds.
But the glories of nature and art were alike powerless on a spirit sunk into the deepest abyss of sorrow and fear. My heart was full of the direst forebodings. The morning hours pa.s.sed gloomily away. My restlessness became insupportable. It must have been about noon, when, looking down into the public square, I saw a young man seated upon one of the iron benches, whose face immediately riveted my attention. It was my old friend and fellow-student, Demetrius, the brother of Helena.
A powerful temptation immediately a.s.sailed me. It was to do something for my poor sister independently of Beltrezzor"s schemes, so that if one failed the other might succeed. One resource only seemed so little to depend upon. I was nearly frantic waiting thus in idleness for the fruition of an unknown plan which might fail at the very moment when its success was expected.
I said to myself:
"I will speak to Demetrius. He has a good heart and a clear brain. He may suggest something which may lead to good. He may enlist Helena in our behalf, if Helena is here. I cannot see what harm can come of it."
I went down into the square. Demetrius was overjoyed to see me. He did not, however, seem surprised to find me in Antioch. We sat down together and I told him all our troubles. I unbosomed my whole grief to him like a brother. I had the discretion to say nothing of Beltrezzor, resolving to let the old man work out his own plan alone. If harm came to any one, it could only be to myself.
Demetrius knew that the condemned woman was my sister, and professed the deepest interest and sympathy in her case. I pleaded the youth, and the innocent and sweet character of Mary, against the charge of foul and dangerous heresy.
He seemed to think the heresy was bad enough, for he indulged in the most contemptuous expressions against Jesus and his disciples. "But," said he, "it is all the work of Lelius. No one can aid you so efficiently as Simon Magus. Great magician and sorcerer as he has been and is still, he is a n.o.ble and generous man. I am confident he will a.s.sist you in delivering your sister from her fearful peril. He is now lecturing to a select audience on the great points of his new philosophy. Come with me to his palace and hear him. When he has finished, we will consult together as to what is to be done."
I followed him; and ascending the marble steps of a princely mansion, and pa.s.sing through a great hall adorned with statues and immense vases of flowers, we were ushered into a room of moderate size, but superbly furnished. The audience nearly filled the place, for there were but two or three chairs near the door.
Simon Magus, on a raised platform, was in the very heat and height of an eloquent discourse. His subject was the nature of the soul and its transformations. His voice was winning, his gestures expressive, his eye a blaze of intellectual fire. His language was full of Orientalisms and Egyptian mysticisms. Taught in the severer school of Grecian philosophy, and blessed with the far greater a.n.a.lytic light of spiritual knowledge, I perceived at once that the influx of ideas into his mind came from cunning, subtle, evil spirits, and that the tendency of his words was to bewilder, dazzle and betray.
"You saw me," said he, "turn water into wine just now. You saw me turn silver into gold. You saw me resolve a rose into nothing; you saw me restore it as it was before. These things, I told you, were symbolic of spiritual transformations.
"When the spirit by prayer, by faith, by watching, by study, by abstinence, by suffering-is purified and etherealized, it undergoes similar transformations, and from water becomes wine; from silver becomes gold; from human becomes divine. Thus it is that I have become the power of G.o.d-the Son of G.o.d-the Word of G.o.d; and that I have still a holier name, incommunicable to you.
"In this state I have supreme control over matter. You saw me a little while ago take up a deadly serpent. It bit a dog before your eyes and the creature died in a minute. It fastened itself upon my hands and my cheeks; I was unhurt. You saw me swallow b.a.l.l.s of fire. I am unharmed. So I can float in the air like a bird; I can live under water like a fish. I can point my finger at a tree, and it will wither. I can call to a cloud, and it comes to me. I can curse a city, and it will sink into the sea."
There was an excited and admiring murmur among his credulous hearers. The fanatical impostor continued:
"These powers are awful and incomprehensible to you who do not possess them. They are only given to the wise who use them wisely. But I have attained to a height of glory, in comparison with which these first labors and results are insignificant. Having become the emanation of G.o.d, I can create souls out of nothing. I can restore souls to life which had been given to annihilation. I will show you a soul I have created."
There was a great murmur of astonishment and applause. The curtains were now drawn and the room darkened. The wall behind Simon appeared to open, and the most beautiful sight was presented to view that I have ever witnessed. The chamber beyond was one resplendent glory of golden light.
It did not seem to be lighted, but to be filled with light as a golden vapor. In the midst of the room, half-way between the floor and ceiling, both of which seemed to be mirrors of shining bra.s.s, hung or floated a rosy cloud, shaped like a throne, over which was a canopy of celestial azure. On that throne was seated Helena, my first and only love.
I turned to look Demetrius in the face at this splendid creation (?) of his gifted brother-in-law. Demetrius had left the room un.o.bserved.
"Simon," said I to myself, "has lost his old sublime faith in his diabolical art, and has resorted to magical impostures."
I turned my attention to Helena. Now I solemnly avow that the woman, her chair and all, whatever they may have been, were ten feet in the air, entirely unsupported by anything visible to mortal eye. Whether this was some magical trick, really explicable by natural law, or effected by the a.s.sistance of evil spirits, I do not know. Of this, however, I am certain, from experience and knowledge acquired in the spiritual world, that evil spirits can, under certain conditions, lift the heaviest articles high in the air and keep them there for a considerable time.
"This," said Simon Magus, enjoying the ineffable amazement of his hearers-"this is the soul of Helen of Sparta, who caused the Trojan war.
She was annihilated for her extreme wickedness. I have recalled her to life; and, wonderful to relate, I have purified and spiritualized her whole nature by the sanctifying influence of my presence."
I gazed upon this strange scene with intense interest, and was soon enchanted with the face of Helena. Never in this world have I seen features of such exquisite beauty; and neither in this world nor in the other have I seen a face expressive of such womanly love, tenderness, sweetness and purity. The white peace of heaven was enthroned upon her brow, and the softness of infinite pity beamed in her eyes. If she was a picture, it was a subject for boundless enthusiasm. If she was living, she was an object for profound adoration.
So thought every one who looked on. It is strange that I did not remember what I had been taught in the world of spirits, that syrens and wicked women there can counterfeit angelic forms so cunningly as to deceive the angels themselves for a while.
"There," said I, to myself, "is a gentleness, a holiness, a purity, a mercy which I know will save my sister from the lion."
The curtain or wall or whatever it was, was closed, and Simon went on with his lecture. I did not hear a word of it, so rapt was I in the contemplation of Helena"s seraphic face.
"Oh, if I could speak to that vision of superlative beauty, I am sure she would befriend my poor sister."
Suddenly Demetrius touched me on the shoulder and whispered:
"My sister wishes to see you."
I followed him, asking no questions, bewildered, unthinking, but whispering to myself, "Helena wishes to see me!"
We pa.s.sed through the superb hall, and opening a door near the end of it, Demetrius ushered me into the room without entering himself. Helena advanced to meet me. I was delighted with the extraordinary warmth of her reception. If we had been pa.s.sionate lovers long separated, she could not have manifested more pleasure at seeing me!
Superbly beautiful as she was, that heavenly radiance and purity which I had seen upon her countenance a few moments before, had vanished. There was nothing spiritual in her expression. She was plainly no spirit and no soul just created, but a perfectly formed, glowing, enchanting woman of flesh and blood. I was about questioning her on the subject of her extraordinary deception, when she spoke:
"I knew you wanted to see me. I sent Demetrius out to look for you. You are in trouble, and I long to a.s.sist you. Sit down with me on these cushions and tell me all your story."
She touched a little bell, and a tall, stately servant appeared at the door.
"Wine and refreshments," said Helena.
We sat down together, and I told her all about poor Mary, still wisely omitting the part of Beltrezzor. The tears glistened in her brilliant eyes, and she exclaimed:
"As soon as Simon finishes his lecture, I will persuade him to grant your request. I have great power over him."
A pang shot through my heart as I thought of Simon-the husband of this resplendent object of my youthful adoration. Alas! what was Helena to me?
Why did I not remember the fatal effect of her love upon me? Why did I not remember the lessons of the spiritual world? Are there not pa.s.sions which we can never conquer, struggle as we may? Are there not Canaanites of the soul that can never be expelled?
The wine and refreshments were brought, and Helena whispered something to the servant. I heard only the last words, "Tell him to make haste." I thought it was a message to Simon, and that my dear benefactress was impatient to intercede for my sister.
"Come," she said, "pledge our future joys in this delicate wine, and then tell me all about that wonderful voyage they say you made into the world of spirits."
Fool that I was! excited by the powerful liquor, and still more intoxicated by the presence and smiles of that bewitching woman who repeatedly took my hand in hers, I profaned sacred things by lowering them to the level of her vulgar and sensual mind. She seemed vastly entertained by my story; and when I described the great feast of Grecian spirits, and her own splendid appearance in the scene, and her terrible metamorphosis, she laughed uproariously, and said it was one of the most charming stories she had ever heard in her life.
There was a sound of footsteps in the adjoining room.
"Come," she said, filling my gla.s.s, "drink to the morrow which shall be happier than to-day."
There was a rap or signal upon the wall.
"Simon"s lecture is over," she said, rising. "This is his audience-chamber in which he receives a few pupils who question him on the deeper points of his subject. Their conversation would be very dull to us in our mood. Let us retire into my chamber, until they disperse, when we can speak to Simon alone."
I followed her to the door of the room from which the signal had come. I hesitated, abashed, at the thought of entering her chamber.
"Oh come along," she said, grasping my arm. "Do not be afraid of my chamber. It has carpets which render your feet inaudible. It has pictures and statues which ravish your senses."
With that she drew me into the room.
I was immediately seized from behind by several powerful men, and thrown to the floor. With a peal of devilish laughter, my betrayer fled back into the audience-chamber.