The Wonderful Story of Ravalette

ued: 'Mesmerism's

oroughly mixed therewith, and forms a compound which they carry back, instead of what they brought; and when they get home again, they peddle it out as "Divine Philosophy," when in fact it is an excellent article of soap-regular savon extraordinaire, warranted to extract brains, decency, money, and everything else worth having, from all who meddle with it-it washes so very clean. If yo

ws that exclu

s that lead

ery few exceptions to the rule

e other gender go for hardly as much, for the first has at least a degree of poetry about her, but the latter none at all. No, no, friend, do not place too great reliance on the ability of Magnetism to aid your researches, for you will r

ht flash thought, not only to the bounds of the globe and the Present, but also to the ends of Time and the Ages Past, or nerved by Hope and Curiosity, dispatch a message to the Great Future and drag back the answer. It was looked upon as the great Messenger of Light, through whom we might easily read the records of a Past so distant that the coal-beds are but yesterday's creations in comparison. And here, at one fell stroke, Ravalette had toppled the castle remorselessly about my ears. I bit my lip with vexation, and for awhile was silent as, together, we walked up and down a sort of natural esplanade on the sides of the hill next Paris. Mechanically as we walked back and forth, I trod in the footprints made while going, on each return, and just as mechanically observed that Ravalette did the same. One thing struck me as curious, even while my mind was profoundly engaged in th

ne. I have a peculiar reverence for those figures, as you may plainly see.' A

was a tiny cross formed of minute stars, and just where the two bars met was a rose just blooming, and colored with enamel to the life. Gazing still closer at this novel breastpin, with the aid of a fine eye-glass, I discovered a legend engr

s, the first and fifth of which were broken. The foot of this ladder rested upon a broken column, near which lay a mason's trowel, and its top leaned against the beam and ring of an anchor, reversed, the lower part being lost in what repr

The opposite side presented some excellent enamel-work representing the cardinal points of the compass. Three stars gave light from the West; a tomb, with its door partly open, stood in the East; broken columns adorned

, by observing: 'Never mind now what these things mean; you will know one of these days. At present let us continue our talk on other matters. A little while ago you observe

ich effects such grand effects, and works such wonderful effects, Physical? Impo

ent tribe. We know that those reptiles charm birds and other animals, and that they exert an influence upon their prey precisely like that exerted by the magnetizer upon his subject, with this difference, that the human subject exhibits none of that peculiar terr

izer does, and observe effects resulting therefrom no less remarkable, an

Certainly the snake is a spiritual being so long as he is alive, and

te, inquiringly, 'is a mer

ies, exhibit the same terror and other phenomena, in presence of a stuffed as in that of a living serpent. This is a strong point in my favor; but one that is still stronger, indeed quite irrefutable, shall now be adduced. Persons employed in the Jardin des Plants, and other zoological institutions, find it dangerous work to clean out the dens of certain serpents, even for weeks after the occupants have been removed, for the effluvium-which, I take it, you will not claim to be other than physical-which they have left behind, and whi

eric glance of hungry, quiet, and enraged serpents. In all three cases the effects were bad, all the subjects alike complaining of constriction of the chest, loss of memory, and a very strange sort of vertigo. As soon as the last symptom manifested itself, the curtain that separated the serpents from the men was dropped, and proper baths and other restoratives resorted to. Secondly-these same persons were all invited subsequently to a feast, as a reward for their services. Serpents were securely fastened in wooden boxes beneath the seats of three hundred and sixteen of them, and of these two hundred and eighty-four manifested the same symptoms as when under the direct gaze of the serpents. Two months aft

the old gentleman held me at his mercy. Howeve

or that I dispute the existence of spirit. Far from that! Your humble servant is a firm believer, not only in spirit, but in a great Spiritual Kingdom, more vast, varied, and beautiful than this Material one; a

ithout extrinsic aid, is competent to the production of the magnetic wonders, and a hundred others still more marvellous. For instance, I do not believe that any merely mesmeric power whatever, much less the dream-force of ordinary sleep, can, or, under any conceivable circumstances, could enable you to correctly read the inscriptions on the tablets in the Louvre, or probe the secrets of Karnak, Baalbec,

words. It was plain and clear, so I thought, that he alluded to certain medicaments whic

s of mental activity and fantasy; but, beyond all question, you over-rate their importance and power, for not one of t

u allude particu

stics, as Opium, Beng, and Hemp, the preparations of the delightful but dangerous --, the equally fascinating decoctions of ----, not forgetting Hasheesh, that accursed drug, beneath whose sway millions in

ngth was broken by Ravalette, who sa

, also, has its head-quarters in the Orient. Ever since I have known you, I have been anxious to have you for a brother of our Order. Shall I direct your initiation? Once with us, there is n

ity, and firmly but respectfully told him so; whereupon he

g. I must, therefore, leave you. Take this paper; open it when you see proper to do so. You will quit Paris to-morrow, next day, or when you choose. You may turn your face southwa

words and allusions contained a deeper meaning than appeared upon the surface. His conversation had filled my soul with new and strange ideas and emotions; and I felt that he had left me at the inner door of a vast edifice, after skillfully

a Normandy, I should draw closer the bonds of common sympathy between us, and be made wiser throu

even one day more of his society; but, alas! thousands could not purchase it. Still, I learned a lesson. There are things in this world more valuable than even boundless material wealth

n hand, had stood patiently waiting under a large tree at the south-eastern terminus of our promenade. As the old man placed the sealed paper in my hand, this groom advanced and assisted his master to mount, and, as soon as he wa