"It seemed as if my fate had then reached its climax, and I have really
but a dim recollection of the terrible scene. "I remember something of the confused murmur arising from an immense
throng of persons. I remember looking about me, and seeing nothing but
what appeared to me an immense sea of human heads, and then suddenly I
heard a loud roar of execration burst from the multitude. "I shrunk back terrified, and it did, indeed, seem to me a brutal thing
thus to roar and shout at a man who was brought out to die. I soon,
however, found that the mob who came to see such a spectacle was not so
debased as I imagined, but that it was at the hangman, who had suddenly
made his appearance on the scaffold, at whom they raised that fearful
yell. "Some one--I think it was one of the sheriffs--must have noticed that I
was labouring under the impression that the cry from the mob was
levelled at me, for he spoke, saying,--

"'It is at the hangman they shout,' and he indicated with his finger
that public functionary. In my mind's eye I think I see him now, and I
am certain that I shall never forget the expression of his face. It was
perfectly fearful; and afterwards, when I learned who and what he was, I
was not surprised that he should feel so acutely the painfully degrading
office which he had to perform. "The fatal rope was in a few minutes adjusted to my neck. I felt its
pressure, and I heard the confused sounds of the monotonous voice of the
clergyman, as he muttered some prayers, that I must confess sounded to
me at the time like a mockery of human suffering. "Then suddenly there was a loud shout--I felt the platform give way
beneath my feet--I tried to utter a yell of agony, but could not--it
seemed to me as if I was encompassed by fire, and then sensation left
me, and I knew no more. *       *       *       *       *

"The next feelings of existence that came over me consisted in a
frightful tingling sensation throughout my veins, and I felt myself
making vain efforts to scream. All the sensations of a person suffering
from a severe attack of nightmare came across me, and I was in such an
agony, that I inwardly prayed for death to release me from such a cruel
state of suffering. Then suddenly the power to utter a sound came to me,
and I made use of it well, for the piercing shriek I uttered, must have
struck terror into the hearts of all who heard it, since it appalled
even myself. "Then I suppose I must have fainted, but when I recovered consciousness
again, I found myself upon a couch, and a man presenting some stimulus
to me in a cup. I could not distinguish objects distinctly, but I heard
him say, 'Drink, and you will be better.' "I did drink, for a raging thirst consumed me, and then I fell into a
sound sleep, which, I was afterwards told, lasted nearly twenty-four
hours, and when I recovered from that, I heard again the same voice that
had before spoken to me, asking me how I was. "I turned in the direction of the sound, and, as my vision was now
clearer, I could see that it was the hangman, whose face had made upon
the scaffold such an impression upon me--an impression which I then
considered my last in this world, but which turned out not to be such by
many a mingled one of pain and pleasure since. "It was some time before I could speak, and when I did, it was only in a
few muttered words, to ask what had happened, and where I was. "'Do you not remember,' he said, 'that you were hanged?' "'I do--I do,' was my reply. 'Is this the region of damned souls?' "'No; you are still in this world, however strange you may think it. Listen to me, and I will briefly tell you how it is that you have come
back again, as it were, from the very grave, to live and walk about
among the living." "I listened to him with a strange and rapt attention, and then he told
how a young and enthusiastic medical man had been anxious to try some
experiments with regard to the restoration of persons apparently dead,
and he proceeded to relate how it was that he had given ear to the
solicitations of the man, and had consented to bring my body after it
was hung for him to experiment upon. He related how the doctor had been
successful, but how he was so terrified at his own success, that he
hastily fled, and had left London, no one knowing whither he had gone. "I listened to this with the most profound attention, and then he
concluded, by saying to me,--

"'There can be no doubt but my duty requires of me to give you up again
to the offended laws of your country. I will not, however, do that, if
you will consent to an arrangement that I shall propose to you.' "I asked him what the arrangement was, and he said that if I would
solemnly bind myself to pay to him a certain sum per annum, he would
keep my secret, and forsaking his calling as hangman, endeavour to do
something that should bring with it pleasanter results. I did so
solemnly promise him, and I have kept my word. By one means or another I
have succeeded in procuring the required amount, and now he is no more." "I believe," cried Henry, "that he has fallen a victim to the blind fury
of the populace." "You are right, he has so, and accordingly I am relieved from the burden
of those payments; but it matters little, for now I am so near the tomb
myself, that, together with all my obligations, I shall soon be beyond
the reach of mortal cavilling." "You need not think so, Varney; you must remember that you are at
present suffering from circumstances, the pressure of which will soon
pass away, and then you will resume your wonted habits." "What did you do next?" said the admiral.--"Let's know all while you are
about it." "I remained at the hangman's house for some time, until all fear of
discovery was over, and then he removed me to a place of greater
security, providing me from his own resources with the means of
existence, until I had fully recovered my health, and then he told me to
shift for myself. "During my confinement though, I had not been idle mentally, for I
concocted a plan, by which I should be enabled not only to live well
myself, but to pay to the hangman, whose name was Mortimore, the annual
sum I had agreed upon. I need not go into the details of this plan. Of
course it was neither an honest nor respectable one, but it succeeded,
and I soon found myself in a position to enable me thereby to keep my
engagement, as well as to supply me with means of plotting and planning
for my future fortunes. "I had never for a moment forgotten that so large a sum of money was
somewhere concealed about Bannerworth Hall, and I still looked forward
to obtaining it by some means or another. "It was in this juncture of affairs, that one night I was riding on
horseback through a desolate part of England.