Part 24

They had not gotten well away before I asked the father to hunt up whatever keys he could find in the house; and he was not long in finding two or three bunches, and several other single ones besides, and, without explaining anything, I told him to follow me, and proceeded at once to the attic. A half dozen trials of the keys resulted in the chest's yielding up its deposits. There we found all sorts of things secreted away in old boxes placed within the chest, and all covered with a blanket, and over all this small piles of time-old newspapers, brown and faded. The chest was very capacious, and contained a great deal of the silver ware that had been taken, valuable little articles of _virtu_; a large quantity of jewelry, and all sorts of small things which are ordinarily to be found in the houses of wealthy people. These were all nicely laid away. Considerable order was observed in their arrangement, which accounted for the hours of solitary comfort which Mrs. G. told me, on the first visit to the attic, that she spent there among the old mementos of the past. But when we had gotten everything out of the chest, Mr. G. called to mind many things which had been missed, which were not found there; so we made the most scrupulous search into old trunks, and other things in the attic, without much avail, finding a few things, however. At last, in removing some old boxes which stood atop of each other, and against the chief chimney running through the attic, we came across a fireplace, which Mr. G. said he had forgotten all about. Long years before the house had been extended into the rear yard (for it was a corner house), by a small "L," in which the servants were provided with rooms. Prior to that some of them had occupied a room done off in the attic, the board partitions of which had been removed. It was then this fireplace was in use. A sheet-iron "fire-board" closed it up, and was held in place by a button. As I took hold of the button, and found it moved easily, I said to Mr. G., "We shall find treasures here;" and we did. It was quite full of household things; and here we found some of the largest pieces of silver ware that had been lost. A full tea-service, etc., together with a large roll of bank bills, and five bills of old "Continental scrip," the loss of which Mr. G. had mourned as much as that of almost all the rest, for they were pieces which Alexander Hamilton had given to Mr. G.'s father, upon a certain occasion notable in the history of the latter, and bore General Hamilton's initials in his own hand.

We continued our search, and found other things, which it is needless to specify. Then Mr. G. and I held a "council of war" as to what was to be next done. We concluded that the servants must not be allowed to know anything about the matter, and we had not concluded whether the daughters were to be let into the secret or not. This was after I had told Mr. G. of my solution of the matter, which I had kept secret from him until we came to consider what was to be done with the things. At first we thought we would at once carry them all to his bedroom, and place them in a large closet there. But finally Mr. G. thought it would be more satisfying to see his wife operate, himself; and we put back the things as well as we could, and went down. It was arranged that I should come back that night to watch further, and that Mr. G. should tell the family that I wished to make more investigations, and that I was not quite satisfied after all; which he did. That night I returned, kept excellent watch, and Mrs. G., as fate would have it, left her room, and went prowling about as before. At the proper time I entered Mr. G.'s room, and awakened him; and, drawing on his pantaloons, and wrapping himself in a cloak, he followed me and watched his wife's man[oe]uvres to his satisfaction, and retired, before she had concluded her work.

The next day, at breakfast, the family rallied me about the things missed the night before, Mr. G. joining in the badgering, jokingly. I played the part of a defeated man, half covered with shame; and before noon Mr. G. had the family out to ride again. We hastily gathered up all the lost and found treasures, and placed them in a large closet in Mr. G.'s bedroom; he having made up his mind to give his wife, by herself, a great surprise, and then tell her what he had seen, and consult her feelings as to whether the children were to ever know how the things were gotten back, or not.

He was anxious to have me wait till she came; and we managed, without exciting the suspicion of the girls, to get together in the bedroom, where Mr. G. opened the door of the closet, first cautioning Mrs. G. to make no loud exclamation, and there revealed the lost treasures.

"See what the 'spirits' have brought back to us?" said he. "Mr. ---- is the best 'medium for business' in the city. We must give him a certificate;" and the old man "rattled away" with his jokes, while Mrs. G. looked on with astonishment and delight.

"You must tell me all about it," said she. "How _did_ you find these things? Who brought them? Who is the thief? How did he get in the house? Does he come down chimney?" and a host of other questions.

"I'll tell you all about it to-night," said Mr. G. "It is a long story; but first the girls must be called to see the lost treasures now restored." And the daughters were called up. To their queries, uttered amidst the profoundest astonishment, as to how, and when, etc., the treasures were brought back, and who was the thief, and if it was some Catholic, who had disgorged the stolen goods through the confessional, Mr. G. only answered, slyly winking at the spiritualistic daughter, "It was through the means of a first-rate 'medium' that the things were restored."

"There, there," said the daughter, too serious to understand her father's irony, "I could have told you so. What do you think now of spiritualism, father?"

"O, I don't know," said he in reply. "There _are_ a great many strange things in the world, that's a fact." But he would not promise to ever tell them how the things got back, and the ladies went to assorting them, and commenting on each article. It was a novel sight to see the eagerness with which they grasped at this or that article as it turned up,--the long-lost treasures found.

I left the house duly that day, and I understood from Mr. G., who called on me three or four days after, that when he told his wife that night what he had seen, and how she looked, and so forth, when moving about so slyly, that she had a "great crying spell" over it, and did not wish the daughters to be informed of the secret state of things; and that for fear the somnambulistic state should come upon her again, she tied her arm or foot to the bedstead, in order to be awakened if she should attempt to get out of bed. But she had had no more attacks of the disease.

"Perhaps her severe crying broke it," said he.

I made many inquiries of Mr. G. about his wife's habits in life, her general health, her peculiar troubles, if she had any, by way of resolving this mystery of the kleptomania connected with the somnambulism; and from all I could learn, I believe that she was one of the most conscientious and best of mortals in her normal state, and I was led to believe that the kleptomania, if not the somnambulism, was caused by diseases, though slight ones, peculiar to the female sex; but why these came on so late in life, (for Mrs. Garretson was sixty-three years old,) I cannot conceive, but leave that for the doctors to decide.

THE SORCERESS' TRICK, AND HOW SHE WAS CAUGHT.

CLASSIFICATION OF MEN--THE SUPERSTITIOUS ELEMENT IN MAN--THE OLD CULTS CONTINUED IN THE NEW--FIRE WORSHIP--THE SORCERERS--MY LEGAL FRIEND'S STORY A LAUGHABLE ONE INDEED--THE DESPONDENT OLD MAID, THOUGH ENGAGED TO BE MARRIED--AN AUNT ARRIVES IN "THE NICK OF TIME"--THEY HUNT UP A FORTUNE-TELLER--MRS. SEYMOUR, THE SORCERESS, AND HER PRETTY LITTLE "ORATORY"--THE "PRIE-DIEU"--THE OLD MAID MARRIES--MRS. SEYMOUR'S PLAN FOR INSURING THE AFFECTION OF HUSBANDS--HER POWERS AS A CHARMER--THE SACRED BOX AND ITS FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS CONTENTS--MRS. SEYMOUR IS LOST SIGHT OF--SEARCH FOR HER IN BROOKLYN AND AT BOSTON--THE CHARMED BOX OPENED BY MR. AND MRS. ----, AND THE CONTENTS FOUND TO HAVE CHANGED FORM MATERIALLY--MY LEGAL FRIEND AND I LOOK AFTER MATTERS--A PORTION OF THE TRANSFORMED VALUABLES FOUND--A MRS. BRADLEY, A "MEDIUM" IN BOSTON, PROVES TO BE THE IDENTICAL MRS. SEYMOUR--THE HIGH-TONED DEVOTEES OF BOSTON--SUDDEN PROCEEDINGS TAKEN--MRS. SEYMOUR AND HER HUSBAND COME TO TERMS--RESULTS--RESPECTABLE VICTIMS OF THE SORCERERS NUMEROUS--THE DUPES IN THE "ATHENS OF AMERICA."

What the human race might have become without the love of the mysterious or marvellous in its composition, would be a pretty subject of speculation for the philosophers, but one which human genius will prove perhaps ever unable to solve. There are three classes of human beings,--or so I am apt to divide them in my "philosophy,"--the good, and in different degrees, sensible; the crafty; and the simple and weak, neither positively good or bad. These latter two divisions comprehend the vast majority of mankind, made so, to a great extent, by the institutions which the race has, in its ignorance, wrought out for itself, and by which it is constantly cursed, until one by one it outgrows, along the course of the ages, these outrages upon itself, which itself has imposed. This process of outgrowing we call _progress_, and so it is, perhaps; but it would be more satisfactory progress if, when it overrides or abates one wrong or malicious incumbrance upon a race, it could or would also avoid the establishment of another equally bad. The love of the mysterious is, to a great extent, the religious element in man. Some writers hold that it is such to the full extent; but I am not about to decide that, even for myself alone, much less for others. True it is, however, that in all historic time this element, or whatever else one is pleased to call it, has been the medium through which the intellectual and tyrant forces in the race have subjected the weaker to their sway. The ancient oracles played upon the superstitious in men in the government of whole races and nations, and to-day the oracles of old are reproduced among us in a thousand ways, and the religions of the past, in their symbolizations, exist among us, and exert their influence, almost unconsciously to the masses.

For example. That beautiful cult, or religion of old, sun-worship,--is traceable in modern institutions, and the old fire-worship, so wondrous, still lives in that word Purity (from the Greek word _pur_, fire), which is the expression of our highest or deepest sense of all that is morally perfect; and in the very steeples of our churches is the old fire-worship symbolized; for the steeple is but a representation of the old obelisks, which were themselves but symbols of the tall shafts of fire which shot up from the top of some mountain, like Sinai, when the worshippers built thereon the vast _bon_-fires,--or good, i. e., _holy_,--fires to which the vast assemblages poured forth their devotions. And in even the names of the days of the week we preserve the memories of the old superstitions, and to some extent the superstitions themselves--Sun-day, day devoted to the worship of the sun, and so on. In Thurs-day, or Thor's-day, we are kept in mind of the old Scandinavian god, as potent in the estimation of his worshippers as the Jehovah of the Hebrews was to them, though a somewhat different character.

Through all grades, and shades, and degrees the superstitious element of to-day finds itself fed. The sublime and the ridiculous still exists as of old, and the advertising columns of the public journals tell but too plainly and painfully of the susceptibility of the masses to the deceits and frauds to which the superstitious element in them subjects them. The sorcerers are not yet extinct, and the prophets, as good as most of those of ancient days, and magicians as expert as those whom the greater magician, Moses, outwitted, are still to be found; and I suspect these excel those of ancient times in one important, the most important, art--that of money-getting. But they have an advantage over their prototypes in that they have the influence of the public journals of these days to widely proclaim themselves--to make their pretensions heard by a larger audience. I suspect that many a reader of this would be surprised to learn, could he be statistically informed, how vast is the number of the victims of modern sorcery. These are not confined to the lower orders, as many an intelligent and educated man, who has not made the special matter of remark here a study, might quite sensibly suspect. None of the conventional grades of society, whether the same be measured by money, by the education of books, or what is called "blood," or high hereditary social position, is lacking in them; and it is remarkable that the victims from the educated circles are as much more intense, generally, in their superstitions, as their superiority in other respects to the uneducated is marked and distinguished. I suppose this may be accounted for thus: Being once led into superstition, the man of letters resorts to his pride of intellect to sustain himself in it, and deepen his convictions; for although we cannot exactly believe whatever we please,--for the character of evidence must be a matter of some consideration with us, must have weight with us,--yet when we are led on to a certain point, and have averred our belief in any absurdity, we are disposed to admit its logical consequences, however wide apart from good sense they may be.

In this narrative I have first to deal with parties of high social position--of education, and much refinement, of course,--but descended from a long line of ancestors more or less noted for their inclination to believe everything which came to them under the similitude of religion or superstition of any kind--anything which seemed to them inexplicable; anything, in other words, mysterious to them.

A lawyer of my acquaintance--in fact an old friend, who had employed me many times before, especially in the ferreting out of legal evidence in criminal matters--came one day into my office with a broad grin on his face. I was in pretty good humor, and was beguiling an hour or two,--while I was awaiting the advent of a party who I hoped would bring me some valuable news of the working of a little plot of mine in the investigation of a case,--with Dickens's Martin Chuzzlewit. Of course I was in good humor, enjoying that rare word-painter's faithful pictures of American society as he found it; and my friend, the lawyer, was of course enjoying himself, otherwise why that irresistible grin, which, in my mood, stirred me up to outright laughter as he entered?

"What's up?" I said. "Deliver yourself _instanter_; for I want to hear the fun."

"O, ho," he replied, "I've the jolliest affair to tell you of that ever occurred in the line of my experience. I am counsel, advocate, and judge in the matter, and expected to be constable, jury, and executioner, all in one; for the whole thing, involving love and lovers, 'potions and pills,' quacks, schemers, thieves, and everything else, is left in my hands, and I've come over to divide the honors with you--"

"Well, well; after your long opening, suppose you come down to the points in the matter--'judge,' 'executioner,' or whatever you please to call yourself in the premises."

"To begin, then, you must know that there's a part of the business which you must not know at present, and that is, the _names_ of the people I am about to tell you of. These people occupy a very high position in society, and their case is the funniest thing in the world, considering their rank, life-time associations, and the man's official position in the world, or rather the one which he has held,--a very high one under the government. You must understand that he is old and wealthy, and that his wife is a young woman, comparatively speaking, though she had arrived at that degree of maturity before marriage which entitles a lady to the honors of an old maid. She is extremely well educated, comes of a good family, and has been a successful teacher in her day in a ladies' seminary. All things considered, she is, in the general way, rather the superior of her husband. This much to begin with, to give you a sort of inkling of how extraordinary the case is; for if they were simply a couple of fools, or ordinary people, the matter wouldn't have any spice in it."

"Well," I broke in as he paused, "go on, and satisfy my curiosity, counsellor, now that you've whetted it up."

"Be patient," said he, "and I will, but I am always choked with the comicality of the affair when I picture it to myself; and I was only stopping to gather a little dignity, to go on reciting the serious thing to you. The parties are very rich, and it's only a matter of some five thousand dollars anyhow--a bagatelle for them. They are ugly about it, considering the way they, or rather she, was duped,"--and here the lawyer fairly roared, as he slapped his hand upon his knee, over the thought of such people's being "taken in and done for" by the arts which usually prevail mostly among the ignorant. But there is no telling what the superstitious element in the mind may not lead to.

My friend went on to say, then, that about the time of the marriage of the old maid in question with the rich old man, she had, in brooding over her future, gotten it into her head in some way, that perhaps his affection,--of which she felt pretty contentedly sure for the time, however,--might wane and grow less, and she become but a slave to the old man and his money. Brooding over this, she got quite melancholy and "nervous." She really loved the old man, who was not only a man of ability and honors, but was very kind of soul. Of course, too, his great wealth was no objection to a woman who could appreciate the value of a comfortable home, or enjoy the refinements of a luxurious one.

"I would not wish to intimate," said the lawyer, "that she took this matter of wealth into consideration, even lightly; for I like to assure myself once in a while that there are to be found a few women in this populous vale of tears, who have considerations superior to the thought of wealth; and, verily, this woman _looks_ to me like one of those."

But the woman got nervous. If his affection should fail, why, she would become only a prettily-dressed bird in a handsome cage, with enough to eat and drink, but without loving companionship; excluded, in fact, from the society of her old and poorer friends, and, to use a religious phrase, unhappy enough to be practically "without God in the world." She hardly dared to mention to any of her particular friends the dreadful thought that was knawing at her heart, and growing fiercer every day, for fear they would ridicule her.

"Ladies having passed a certain age are supposed to be peculiarly sensitive on matters touching love and marriage, you know," said my friend, with a very knowing wink in his eye.

No, she had no friend to pour out her soul to on the very point, of all things, the most dear to her. Her "intended" had exhibited some peculiarities of character which she did not understand, and now, while she was brooding over her especial grief, he was naturally enough more eccentric than ever. Possibly he, too, was undergoing fears,--fears that when he grew older, and older--and he was far in advance of her in years,--that her affection would wane, and then all that would bind her to him would be his money. Perhaps he had caught her disease unconsciously. Withal the condition of things generally between them, in their silent hearts, must have been anything but pleasant to both of them. The lady prayed for light to know her duty to herself and her coming lord,--in fact, to be taught from on high whether she would be doing a wrong or not to him, to marry him,--for her fever had burned on beyond the point of simple selfishness. The great question of duty and right had seized hold of her mind, and she had become religiously morbid thereon. But one thing she thought she knew for a certainty--that she not only loved him now, but would continue to love him, always. So she reflected that she should do no wrong to him in marrying; and she finally got to the resolution that she would patiently bear his coldness and neglect, and even his tyranny, if he should display anything of the last, as a good Christian woman ought to,--and the time set for the wedding was fast drawing near. But she found this resolution of Christian fortitude under the condition of unrequited love rather more than a good human nature could bear, or ought ever to be asked to bear; and it got to be an awful burden to her, meek and lowly though she was.

As the time grew shorter before the wedding, the lady's wakeful hours at night grew longer and more burdensome, and her friends began to notice their telling effect upon her countenance, and whole constitution, in fact. Such of them as were indelicate enough (and who ever knew many ladies, especially, who are not inclined to be indelicate at times on matters of love and marriage, or rather towards those indulging the one and contemplating the other?),--such, my friend went on to say, got to poking fun at her a little; said the condition she contemplated must be terrible, indeed, since it wore upon her so much, etc.--all of which did not seem to amend matters much.

But finally, only three or four days before the time set for the wedding, and not over an hour after her old lover had called, and rolled away in his carriage,--he having seemed very gloomy that day, too,--an old aunt of the lady came,--came from New Orleans to pass a few days with her niece,--and she found the latter in tears. She had heard of her niece's prospective marriage; and as she was a demonstrative old lady, and very sympathetic, she both pitied her niece, and spared no pains in attempting to console her, and finally won her great secret.

"La, me!" exclaimed the old aunt; "do tell--_is_ that _all_ that's troubling you so? Now, do take heart. I tell you we can get that sore spot fixed up,--cured in a mighty short time. I understand all about it. Fact is, I've had such an experience myself in my day, and I've known others have the like, and I got it all made right, and they did too, if there's any believin' folks; but some folks are curious creatures--that's true, Mary," (for that's the niece's first name); and she went on to tell her "as how" she didn't believe in witchcraft, or in seers, or "clair-ry-voy-ants" (as she called them), or in fortune-tellers, "either with the cards or without them," nor "in them as sees into things through crystals, and such like," as a general thing. But she did believe that some folks had a magic about them, by which they could peer into the future, and prevent things happening that might otherwise occur. She was a very garrulous old lady, it would seem, and overwhelmed her niece with instances enough, which she had "known" to prove valuable, of the mysterious "power of some people," to establish a general rule in favor of all seers' pretensions.