Volume III Part 16 (1/2)

”Shall I tell you the key?”

”Pray do so”

I gave her the word, which belonged to no language that I know of, and the marchioness was quite thunderstruck

”This is too aht myself the sole possessor of thatit up in my memory--and I aht have informed her that the calculation which enabled me to decipher the manuscript furnished me also with the key, but the whim took me to tell her that a spirit had revealed it to me This foolish tale completed my mastery over this truly learned and sensible woave me an immense ascendancy over Madame d'Urfe, and I often abused er the victihout my life, I blush at the remembrance of my conduct, and the penance I impose onin these Meood marchioness's brain was a firm belief in the possibility of communication between iven all her goods to attain to such communication, and she had several times been deceived by impostors who made her believe that she attained her aim

”I did not think,” said she, sadly, ”that your spirit would have been able to force mine to reveal my secrets”

”There was no need to force your spirit, s of his oer”

”Does he know the inmost secrets of my soul?”

”Certainly, and if I ask him he is forced to disclose all to me”

”Can you ask him when you like?”

”Oh, yes! provided I have paper and ink I can even ask hi you his name”

”And will you tell it me?”

”I can do what I say; and, to convince you, his na, as you would ask a common mortal Ask him, for instance, how I deciphered your manuscript, and you shall see I will co with joy, Madame d'Urfe put her question, expressed it in nu my method in pyramid shape; and I made her extract the anshich she wrote down in letters At first she only obtained consonants, but by a second process which supplied the vowels she received a clear and sufficient answer Her every feature expressed astonishment, for she had drawn from the pyramid the hich was the key to herwith me her heart, her soul, her mind, and all the common sense which she had left

CHAPTER IV

Absurd Ideas of Madae of My Brother--I Conceive a Plan on His Wedding Day--I Go to Holland on a Financial Mission--The Jew Boaz Gives Me a Lesson--M d'Afri--Esther--Another Casanova--I Find Therese Iain

By the time that the Prince du Turenne had recovered frone had left hi his aunt's taste for the occult sciences, was not surprised to find me becolad so see him and all the relations of the hted with the courtesy hich they treatedmore especially to her brothers MM de Pont-Carre and de Viarme who had lately been chosen head of the trade companies, and his son I have already spoken of Madahter, but an unlucky lawsuit separated theer forne having been obliged to rejoin his regiarrison in Brittany, the ether almost every day and people looked upon me as her husband, and despite the improbability of the supposition this was the only way in which they could account for the long hours we spent together Madaht that I was rich and looked uponnito

I was the possessor in her estimation, not only of the philosopher's stone, but also of the power of speaking with the whole host of eleical deduction that I could turn the world upside down if I liked, and be the blessing or the plague of France; and she thought uardto her would be the inevitable result of themy real character These wild notions were the fruit of the nocturnal revelations of her genius, that is, of the dreams of her disordered spirit, which seemed to her realities She did not seem to think that if I was endowed as she supposed no one would have been able to arrest e of the attempt, and in the second place becausefor all bolts and bars All this was clear enough, but strong passion and prejudice cannot reason

One day, in the course of conversation, she said, with the utenius had advised her that not even I had power to give her speech with the spirits, since she was a woenii only communicated with men, whose nature is more perfect

Nevertheless, by a process which ell known to ht make her soul pass into the body of a male child born of the mystic connection between a mortal and an immortal, or, in other words, between an ordinary ht it possible to lead back Madaht use of her senses I would have made the attempt, but I felt sure that her disease ithout remedy, and the only course before s and to profit by them

If I had spoken out like an honest man and told her that her theories were nonsensical, she would not have believed e, and I should have lost her favour without any gain to her or to s take their course, and to speak the truth I was flattered to see myself treated as one of the most profound brothers of the Rosy Cross, as the uished a lady, as in high repute for her learning, who entertained and was related to the first fahty thousand francs, a splendid estate, and several nificent houses in Paris I was quite sure that she would refuseby her wealth I experienced a certain pleasure at the thought that I could do so if I would

In spite of her iold, Madame d'Urfe was miserly in her habits, for she never spent more than thirty thousand francs in a year, and she invested her savings in the exchange, and in this way had nearly doubled them A brother used to buy her in Government securities at their lowest rate and sell at their rise, and in thisable to wait for their rise, and fall, she had amassed a considerable suive all she possessed to become a man, and that she knew I could do this for her if I would One day, as she was speaking to me on this subject in a tone of persuasion almost irresistible, I told her that I must confess I had the power to do what she wanted, but that I could not make up my mind to perform the operation upon her as I should have to kill her first I thought this would effectually check her wish to go any further, but as my surprise to hear her say,