The Master of Silence

f my time in his library, conversing with him or conning the musty books that had long lain unread. To me this room was a fascinating and restful place. Somehow it reminded me of an ol

he midnight episode that gave me suc

ses in one's mind-a vivid dream, for instance?" I

thing in my history. One day I saw him at work on a picture. It startled me. The canvas showed a man lying on a surgeon's table. The knife had just severed an artery in his thigh. There were four men working

and looked earne

onal experience," said I. "Som

he answered. "My mind, released from

power!" I

y their parents, subject to hired tenderness or none at all; left to the care of ignorant or depraved nurses, and often taught little but selfishness and greed of gain, the children of men are surrounded by destructive agencies. Can we wonder that the human mind loses in infancy so much of its native power? But so the generations of earth are growing up, bearing embittered fruit and sowing its seed to the four winds. Who cares for the mind and body of a child has the

"most parents have other

orces. The general mass of mind lies within narrow zones on both sides of the equatorial line of this imaginary world. Its attraction prevents any men from rising far above or descending far below it. I tell you, sir, the intellectual world has degrees of latitude and longitude which determine every man's location. Emancipated from the forces I have described, my son has risen to a level

ds vehemently, with quick gestures and flashing eyes. He did not, seemingly, expect an answer to his remark, for,

e suddenly, m

n on his shoulders. When the beast sprang down he seized it by the mane and tossed it about like one

id my uncle, "and a movement of his

opt a pet so te

"He's an object of terror to intru

kes here, too

to me, but you were a stranger, and your life would have been in danger every day. Years ago I procured a score of them from

an to destroy them, and there were only a few left when you came. They were good friends to me-excellent friends!" he repeated, rubbing his hands with a grim

of teaching this interior

After he became familiar with a sign, I began to make it less pantomimic, until finally a lift of the eyebrow, a movement of the lips, or an inclination of the head served to express my meaning. In time h

e are countless nerves and muscles in your face which proclaim thought. They aid my int

strange gleam came into his own. He turned about suddenly and

te hair. "Never fear, sir-I am not mad. Not yet. I have been afr

ay," I a

sage from Him every day more satisfactory than words. It's the answer of your prayers. I tell you,

llingness to look after him if it should be necessary-to t

n help you; he will teach you wisdom; he will enlarge the issues of your life. My fortune will be ample for his needs: use it as you see fit. I have one servant left," he said, drawing his chair closer to mine and speaking scarcely above a whisper: "I would like this to be his home when I am dead. It will be better, however, to place him in some public institution where he can be well p

s again while he was speaking, and it conveyed

the latter overstep it. In either case they are not of this earth-they are embodied spirits living in a world of their own cr

sharp interrogation and lo

ubtedly many of

of life the nearer he approaches it. But, mark you, one man may venture further than another. For years

hily on his tiptoes to an open door, where he stood for a moment listenin

n to the firelight and saw it was near eleven o'clock. I felt drowsy, and had almost fallen asleep, when my uncle ret

r him to lead the way. He put on his antiqu

" said he. "You'd bet

in front of him, he proceeded slowly and feebly across the rear courtyard, and unlocked a doo

down upon the ground, following in the steps of my uncle, I could hear the murmur of the great pines towering far above our heads. Slowly we made our way through the dense undergrowth, and soon entered an open space carpeted with pine needles and moss. It was a circular plot in the thicket

he comes to me here. Can you see her-my w

es tingling, and I peered about among the shadows of that dimly lighted recess, half expecting some vision to greet my eyes. Then ther

ered, in excitement. "S

own vision. I had seen so many revelations of his strange power that I now sat awestruck and afraid, waiting for some word from him to end my suspense. I could see nothing in the darkness, but I could hear my uncle breathing heavily, as if trying to suppress his emotion. Suddenly there was a stir in th