I bethink me, the rabbi said
there was _one_ peril against which the elixir could not guard me--_one_
vulnerable point, by which, like the heel of Achilles, death might reach
me! What is it!--where can it lie?" And he relapsed into deep thought. "This uncertainty will poison all my happiness," he continued; "I shall
live in constant dread, as of an invisible enemy. But no matter! Perpetual life!--perpetual youth!--what more need be desired?" "What more, indeed!" cried Auriol. "Ha!" exclaimed the doctor, suddenly recollecting the wounded man, and
concealing the phial beneath his gown. "Your caution is vain, doctor," said Auriol. "I have heard what you have
uttered. You fancy you have discovered the _elixir vitæ_." "Fancy I have discovered it!" cried Doctor Lamb. "The matter is past all
doubt. I am the possessor of the wondrous secret, which the greatest
philosophers of all ages have sought to discover--the miraculous
preservative of the body against decay." "The man who brought me hither told me you were my kinsman," said
Auriol. "Is it so?" "It is," replied the doctor, "and you shall now learn the connection
that subsists between us. Look at that ghastly relic," he added,
pointing to the head protruding from the bag: "that was once my son
Simon. His son's head is within the sack--your father's head--so that
four generations are brought together." "Gracious Heaven!" exclaimed the young man, raising himself on his
elbow. "You, then, are my great-grandsire. My father supposed you had
died in his infancy. An old tale runs in the family that you were
charged with sorcery, and fled to avoid the stake." "It is true that I fled, and took the name I bear at present," replied
the old man, "but I need scarcely say that the charge brought against me
was false. I have devoted myself to abstrusest science, have held
commune with the stars, and have wrested the most hidden secrets from
Nature--but that is all. Two crimes alone have stained my soul; but
both, I trust, have been expiated by repentance." "Were they deeds of blood?" asked Auriol. "One was so," replied Darcy, with a shudder. "It was a cowardly and
treacherous deed, aggravated by the basest ingratitude. Listen, and you
shall hear how it chanced. A Roman rabbi, named Ben Lucca, skilled in
hermetic science, came to this city. His fame reached me, and I sought
him out, offering myself as his disciple. For months, I remained with
him in his laboratory--working at the furnace, and poring over mystic
lore. One night he showed me that volume, and, pointing to a page within
it, said: 'Those characters contain the secret of confecting the elixir
of life. I will now explain them to you, and afterwards we will proceed
to the operation.' With this, he unfolded the mystery; but he bade me
observe, that the menstruum was defective on one point. Wherefore, he
said, 'there will still be peril from some hidden cause.' Oh, with what
greediness I drank in his words! How I gazed at the mystic characters,
as he explained their import! What visions floated before me of
perpetual youth and enjoyment. At that moment a demon whispered in my
ear, 'This secret must be thine own. No one else must possess it.'" "Ha!" exclaimed Auriol, starting. "The evil thought was no sooner conceived than acted upon," pursued
Darcy. "Instantly drawing my poniard, I plunged it to the rabbi's heart. But mark what followed. His blood fell upon the book, and obliterated
the characters; nor could I by any effort of memory recall the
composition of the elixir." "When did you regain the secret?" asked Auriol curiously. "To-night," replied Darcy--"within this hour. For nigh fifty years after
that fatal night I have been making fruitless experiments. A film of
blood has obscured my mental sight. I have proceeded by calcitration,
solution, putrefaction--have produced the oils which will fix crude
mercury, and convert all bodies into sol and luna; but I have ever
failed in fermenting the stone into the true elixir. To-night, it came
into my head to wash the blood-stained page containing the secret with a
subtle liquid. I did so; and doubting the efficacy of the experiment,
left it to work, while I went forth to breathe the air at my window. My
eyes were cast upwards, and I was struck with the malignant aspect of my
star. How to reconcile this with the good fortune which has just
befallen me, I know not--but so it was. At this juncture, your rash but
pious attempt occurred. Having discovered our relationship, and enjoined
the gatekeeper to bring you hither, I returned to my old laboratory. On
glancing towards the mystic volume, what was my surprise to see the page
free from blood!" Auriol uttered a slight exclamation, and gazed at the book with
superstitious awe. "The sight was so surprising that I dropped the sack I had brought with
me," pursued Darcy. "Fearful of again losing the secret, I nerved myself
to the task, and placing fuel on the fire, dismissed my attendant with
brief injunctions relative to you. I then set to work. How I have
succeeded, you perceive. I hold in my hand the treasure I have so long
sought--so eagerly coveted. The whole world's wealth should not purchase
it from me." Auriol gazed earnestly at his aged relative, but he said nothing. "In a few moments I shall be as full of vigour and activity as
yourself," continued Darcy. "We shall be no longer the great-grandsire
and his descendant, but friends--companions--equals,--equals in age,
strength, activity, beauty, fortune--for youth _is_ fortune--ha! ha! Methinks I am already young again!" "You spoke of two crimes with which your conscience was burdened,"
remarked Auriol. "You have mentioned but one." "The other was not so foul as that I have described," replied Darcy, in
an altered tone, "inasmuch as it was unintentional, and occasioned by no
base motive. My wife, your ancestress, was a most lovely woman, and so
passionately was I enamoured of her, that I tried by every art to
heighten and preserve her beauty. I fed her upon the flesh of capons,
nourished with vipers; caused her to steep her lovely limbs in baths
distilled from roses and violets; and had recourse to the most potent
cosmetics. At last I prepared a draught from poisons--yes,
_poisons_--the effect of which, I imagined, would be wondrous. She drank
it, and expired horribly disfigured. Conceive my despair at beholding
the fair image of my idolatry destroyed--defaced by my hand. In my
frenzy I should have laid violent hands upon myself, if I had not been
restrained. Love may again rule my heart--beauty may again dazzle my
eyes, but I shall never more feel the passion I entertained for my lost
Amice--never more behold charms equal to hers." And he pressed his hand to his face. "The mistake you then committed should serve as a warning," said Auriol. "What if it be poison you have now confected? Try a few drops of it on
some animal." "No--no; it is the true elixir," replied Darcy. "Not a drop must be
wasted. You will witness its effect anon.