INTERLUDE.
CHAPTER LII.
THE LAST FAREWELL.
My mysterious guest, he of the silver, flowing beard, read the last word of the
foregoing manuscript, and then laid the sheet of paper on the table, and rested
his head upon his hand, gazing thoughtfully at the open fire. Thus he sat for a
considerable period in silence. Then he said:
" You have heard part of my story, that portion which I am commanded to
make known now, and you have learned how, by natural methods, I passed by
successive steps while in the body-, to the door that death only, as yet, opens
to humanity. You understand also that, although of human form, I am not as other
men ( for with me matter is subservient to mind ), and as you have promised, so
you must act, and do my bidding concerning the manuscript."
" But there is surely more to follow. You will tell me of what you saw and
experienced beyond the end of earth, within the possessions of Etidorhpa. Tell
me of that Unknown Country."
" No," he answered; " this is the end, at least so far as my
connection with you is concerned. You still question certain portions of my
narrative, I perceive, notwithstanding the provings I have given you, and yet as
time passes investigation will show that every word I have read or uttered is
true, historically, philosophically, and spiritually (which you now doubt ),
and men will yet readily understand how the seemingly profound, unfathomable
phenomena I have encountered may be verified. I have studied and learned by
bitter experience in a school that teaches from the outgoings of a deeper
philosophy than human science has reached, especially modern materialistic
science which, however, step by step it is destined to reach. And yet I have
recorded but a small part of the experiences that I have undergone. What I have
related is only a foretaste of the inexhaustible feast which, in the wisdom
expanse of the future, will yet be spread before man, and which tempts him
onward and upward. This narrative, which rests against the beginning of my real
story, the Unknown Country and its possibilities should therefore incite to
renewed exertions, both mental and experimental, those permitted to review it. I
have carried my history to the point at which I can say to you, very soon
afterward I gave up my body temporarily, by a perfectly natural process, a
method that man can yet employ, and passed as a spiritual being into the
ethereal spaces, through those many mansions which I am not permitted to
describe at this time, and from which I have been forced unwillingly to return
and take up the semblance of my body, in order to meet you and record these
events. I must await the development and expansion of mind that will permit men
to accept this faithful record of my history before completing the narrative,
for men are yet unprepared. Men must seriously consider those truths which,
under inflexible natural laws, govern the destiny of man, but which, if
mentioned at this day can only be viewed as the hallucinations of a disordered
mind. To many this manuscript will prove a passing romance, to others an enigma,
to others still it will be a pleasing study. Men are not now in a condition to
receive even this paper. That fact I know full well, and I have accordingly
arranged that thirty years shall pass before it is made public. Then they will
have begun to study more deeply into force disturbances, exhibitions of energy
that are now known and called imponderable bodies ( perhaps some of my
statements will then even be verified ), and to reflect over the connection of
matter therewith. A few minds will then be capable of vaguely conceiving
possibilities, which this paper will serve to foretell, for a true solution of
the great problems of the ethereal unknown is herein suggested, the study of
which will lead to a final elevation of humanity, such as I dare not
prophesy."
" Much of the paper is obscure to me," I said; " and there are
occasional phrases and repetitions that appear to be interjected, possibly, with
an object, and which are yet disconnected from the narrative proper."
" That is true; the paper often contains statements that are emblematical,
and which you can not understand, but yet such portions carry to others a hidden
meaning. I am directed to speak to many persons besides yourself, and I can not
meet those whom I address more directly than I do through this communication.
These pages will serve to instruct many people whom you will never know, to whom
I have brought messages that will in secret be read between the lines."
" Why not give it to such persons ?"
" Because I am directed to bring it to you," he replied, " and
you are required:
” First, To seal the manuscript, and place it in the inner vault of your safe.
" Second, To draw up a will, and provide in case of your death, that after
the expiration of thirty years from this date, the seals are to be broken, and a
limited edition published in book form, by one you select.
" Third, an artist capable of grasping the conceptions will at the proper
time be found, to whom the responsibility of illustrating the volume is to be
entrusted, he receiving credit therefor. Only himself and yourself ( or your
selected agent ) are to presume to select the subjects for illustration.
" Fourth, in case you are in this city, upon the expiration of thirty
years, you are to open the package and follow the directions given in the
envelope therein."
And he then placed on the manuscript a sealed envelope addressed to myself.
" This I have promised already," I said.
" Very well," he remarked, " I will bid you farewell."
" Wait a moment; it is unjust to leave the narrative thus uncompleted. You
have been promised a future in comparison with which the experiences you have
undergone, and have related to me, were tame; you had just met on the edge of
the inner circle that mysterious being concerning whom I am deeply interested,
as I am in the continuation of your personal narrative, and you have evidently
more to relate, for you must have passed into that Unknown Country. You claim to
have done so, but you break the thread in the most attractive part by leaving
the future to conjecture."
" It must be so. This is a history of man on Earth, the continuation will
be a history of man within the Unknown Country."
" And I am not to receive the remainder of your story?" I reiterated,
still loth to give it up.
" No; I shall not appear directly to you again. Your part in this work will
have ended when, after thirty years, you carry out the directions given in the
sealed letter which, with this manuscript, I entrust to your care. I must return
now to the shore that separated me from my former guide, and having again laid
down this semblance of a body, go once more into "-
He buried his face in his hands and sobbed. Yes; this strange, cynical being
whom I had at first considered an impertinent fanatic, and then, more than once
afterward, had been induced to view as a cunning impostor, or to fear as a cold,
semi-mortal, sobbed like a child.
" It is too much," he said, seemingly speaking to himself; " too
much to require of one not yet immortal, for the good of his race. I am again
with men, nearly a human, and I long to go back once more to my old home, my
wife, my children. Why am I forbidden? The sweets of Paradise can not comfort
the mortal who must give up his home and family, and yet carry his earth-
thought beyond. Man can not possess unalloyed joys, and blessings spiritual, and
retain one backward longing for mundane subjects, and I now yearn again for my
earth love, my material family. Having tasted of semi-celestial pleasures in one
of the mansions of that complacent, pure, and restful sphere, I now exist in the
border land, but my earth home is not relinquished, I cling as a mortal to
former scenes, and crave to meet my lost loved ones. All of earth must be left
behind if Paradise is ever wholly gained, yet I have still my sublunary
thoughts.
" Etidorhpa! Etidorhpa!" he pleaded, turning his eyes as if towards
one I could not see, " Etidorhpa, my old home calls. Thou knowest that the
beginning of man on earth is a cry born of love, and the end of man on earth is
a cry for love; love is a gift of Etidorhpa, and thou, Etidorhpa, the soul of
love, shouldst have compassion on a pleading mortal."
He raised his hands in supplication.
" Have mercy on me, Etidorhpa, as I would on you if you were I and I were
Etidorhpa."
Then with upturned face he stood long and silent, listening.
" Ah," he murmured at last, as if in reply to a voice I could nut
catch, a voice that carried to his ear an answer of deep disappointment; "
thou spokest truly in the vision, Etidorhpa; it is love that enslaves mankind;
love that commands; love that ensnares and rules mankind, and thou, Etidorhpa,
art the soul of love. True it is that were there no Etidorhpa, there would still
be tears on earth, but the cold, meaningless tears of pain only. No mourning
people, no sorrowful partings, no sobbing mothers kneeling with upturned faces,
no planting of the myrtle and the rose on sacred graves. There would be no
child-love, no home, no tomb, no sorrow, no Beyond "
He hesitated, sank upon his knees, pleadingly raised his clasped hands and
seethed to listen to that far-off voice, then bowed his head, and answered:
" Yes; thou art right, Etidorhpa- although thou bringest sorrow to mortals,
without thee and this sorrow-gift there could be no bright hereafter. Thou art
just, Etidorhpa, and always wise. Love is the seed, and sorrow is the harvest,
but this harvest of sadness is to man the richest gift of love, the golden link
that joins the spirit form that has fled to the spirit that is still enthralled
on earth. Were there no earth-love, there could be no heart-sorrow; were there
no craving for loved ones gone, the soul of man would rest forever a brother of
the clod. He who has sorrowed and not profited by his sorrow-lesson, is unfitted
for life. He who heeds best his sorrow-teacher is in closest touch with
humanity, and nearest to Etidorhpa. She who has drunk most deeply of sorrow's
cup has best fitted herself for woman's sphere in life, and a final home of
immortal bliss. I will return to thy realms, Etidorhpa, and this silken strand
of sorrow wrapped around my heart, reaching from earth to Paradise and back to
earth, will guide at last my loved ones to the realms beyond-the home of
Etidorbpa."
Rising, turning to me, and subduing his emotion, ignoring this outburst, he
said:
" If time should convince you that I have related a faithful history, if in
after years you come to learn my name ( I have been forbidden to speak it ), and
are convinced of my identity, promise me that you will do your unbidden guest a
favor."
" This I will surely do; what shall it be?"
" I left a wife, a little babe, and a two-year-old child when I was taken
away, abducted in the manner that I have faithfully recorded. In my subsequent
experience I have not been able to cast them from my memory. I know that through
my error they have been lost to me, and will be until they change to the spirit,
after which we will meet again in one of the waiting Mansions of the Great
Beyond. I beg you to ascertain, if possible, if either my children, or my
children's children live, and should they be in want, present them with a
substantial testimonial. Now, farewell."
He held out his hand, I grasped it, and as I did so, his form became indistinct,
and gradually disappeared from my gaze, thc; fingers of my hand met the palm in
vacancy, and with extended arms I stood alone in my room, holding the mysterious
manuscript, on the back of which I find plainly engrossed:
" There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in
your philosophy."