1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:04,879 Speaker 1: Doctor de Bruce by Earl Leiston Bell. This is a 2 00:00:04,919 --> 00:00:08,800 LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. 3 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:13,720 For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. 4 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:19,320 Recording by Colin mac mahon, Doctor de Bruce by Earl 5 00:00:19,399 --> 00:00:24,079 Leiston Bell. The old tent Maker declared that the rose, 6 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:28,320 once blown, forever dies. Then came the part of Avon, 7 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:32,000 who described the after Land as an unknown country from 8 00:00:32,039 --> 00:00:35,520 which no traveler ever returns. I used to laugh with 9 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:40,320 Omar and philosophize with Shakespeare, believing both were right. I 10 00:00:40,399 --> 00:00:43,560 laughed with the Persian Scoffer. Now they laugh at me 11 00:00:43,799 --> 00:00:46,759 when I tell them why. I believe both Omar and 12 00:00:46,799 --> 00:00:50,159 the author of Hamlet were wrong. I am convinced the 13 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:54,439 rose lives on, even as Elsa my rose still exists. 14 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:58,719 The after Land may forever remain an unknown strand, but 15 00:00:58,799 --> 00:01:01,280 I am certain the path to it is not always 16 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:04,799 a one way road. Yes, I am convinced, but I 17 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:08,319 do not care to investigate. To probe too deep into 18 00:01:08,359 --> 00:01:11,719 such things often means a long journey from which the 19 00:01:11,799 --> 00:01:17,840 traveler returns sansanity. Therefore, I Arthur Wrens Humble barrister of 20 00:01:17,879 --> 00:01:21,040 Boston will have none of it, haven't I said? They 21 00:01:21,079 --> 00:01:25,120 already laugh at me. I looked at my watch, five 22 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:28,400 minutes till closing time. As I turned to the key 23 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:31,159 in my office door, I was interrupted by a messenger. 24 00:01:31,599 --> 00:01:37,599 The telegram read Cloughton, Georgia, Arthur Wrens, Boston, mass Calm 25 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:42,680 at once, Heaven and Hell depends Armand de Bruce. Armand 26 00:01:42,719 --> 00:01:46,040 de Bruce, a man who, at the age of twenty seven, 27 00:01:46,359 --> 00:01:49,799 had disappeared while resident physician of one of the largest 28 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:53,640 hospitals in Boston, and whose whereabouts he had never revealed 29 00:01:53,959 --> 00:01:58,280 even to his own family. Heaven and Hell depends. I 30 00:01:58,359 --> 00:02:02,400 perused the telegram several times, wondering the while why De 31 00:02:02,439 --> 00:02:05,359 Bruce at last had chosen to reveal his hiding place 32 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:09,280 and the reason for his urgency of appeal. He it 33 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:13,240 was who had attended Elsie Shackelford, my beloved, in her 34 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:16,680 fatal illness, and we had become the closest of friends. 35 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:20,759 I recalled the little town from which the telegram was sent, 36 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:25,039 a rustic hamlet nestling in the majestic hills of North Georgia. 37 00:02:25,439 --> 00:02:28,000 De Bruce and I had at one time. Spent several 38 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:31,039 days there camping out on a hunt for small game 39 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:34,000 and quail, with which the woods abounded at the time. 40 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:38,120 Enroute to my bachelor quarters, I fell to ruminating on 41 00:02:38,199 --> 00:02:41,439 de Bruce's past. He had been most successful in his 42 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:44,719 chosen profession, and could not have asked for a more 43 00:02:44,719 --> 00:02:48,240 promising future at the time he so abruptly abandoned his 44 00:02:48,319 --> 00:02:52,800 career and disappeared. Though a fellow of marked eccentricities, he 45 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:56,479 had a pronounced pensiont for making friends, and everything in 46 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:58,919 the line of good luck seemed to swerve his way. 47 00:02:59,439 --> 00:03:02,159 Fortune had smiled on him, and he had returned to 48 00:03:02,199 --> 00:03:06,159 the compliment by systematically disposing of much of his income 49 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:10,879 in various charitable ways. A friend of the unfortunate, much 50 00:03:10,879 --> 00:03:13,400 of his time was spent at the bedside of the poor, 51 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:18,800 but reminiscences were crowded out by conjecture over De Bruce's telegram. 52 00:03:19,159 --> 00:03:22,680 Undoubtedly he must be ill or in deep trouble. Anyway, 53 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:26,840 it set me thinking. I awoke early and purchased a 54 00:03:26,879 --> 00:03:30,560 few periodicals with which to while away the trip to Georgia. 55 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:34,639 The journey was without incident, save for a strange dream 56 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:37,439 that night, which was so vivid that I awoke and 57 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:41,240 slept no more. It seemed I heard a voice fraught 58 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:44,599 with memories of the past, crying out too late, but 59 00:03:44,719 --> 00:03:48,000 not too late. The voice sounded weirdly like de Bruce's. 60 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:52,479 Next morning, I dismissed it as an absurd fancy, occasioned 61 00:03:52,479 --> 00:03:56,120 by my concern over De Bruce's telegram and the fact 62 00:03:56,159 --> 00:03:59,080 that I was not accustomed to making long journeys by rail. 63 00:04:00,159 --> 00:04:02,560 Came the hour when the train was struggling over the 64 00:04:02,599 --> 00:04:06,000 Blue Ridge, and the early afternoon found me whirling through 65 00:04:06,039 --> 00:04:09,560 the stately hills of North Georgia, where the iridescent hues 66 00:04:09,599 --> 00:04:13,000 of autumn blended into the blue background of the pines. 67 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:17,120 At four o'clock I reached my destination, the only passenger 68 00:04:17,199 --> 00:04:20,959 to alight, Going into the little station to inquire the 69 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,519 way to de Bruce's dwelling, I found the place deserted, 70 00:04:24,879 --> 00:04:29,120 save for a little Picaninny, who eyed me curiously, particularly 71 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:32,480 after I queried him. After a moment, he stammered that 72 00:04:32,519 --> 00:04:35,800 doctor de Bruce's home was located about two miles west 73 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:39,120 of the village and pointed out the road, tossing the 74 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:41,639 boy a coin. I set out to walk the distance. 75 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:45,519 After making a few inquiries of natives along the way, 76 00:04:45,959 --> 00:04:49,680 I soon neared the house. As I approached, I studied 77 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:53,160 its appearance and wondered why de Bruce, who in his 78 00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:56,920 youth so loved the Magnificent, could be content to dwell 79 00:04:56,959 --> 00:05:00,279 in such a place. It was roomy structure, buil on 80 00:05:00,319 --> 00:05:04,839 the colonial style, but apparently put together hurriedly and left unpainted. 81 00:05:05,639 --> 00:05:09,480 The pathway, pallisated by ancient oaks, was a foot deep 82 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:12,920 in leaves, and the trees themselves gave evidence of not 83 00:05:12,959 --> 00:05:16,639 having been trimmed in years. The great oaks stood like 84 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:21,680 giant sentinels guarding the desolation. Nowhere was there sign of life, 85 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:24,959 save for the shrieking of blue jays and the distant 86 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:30,040 hammering of a woodpecker on a moribund pine. Mounting the steps, 87 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:33,319 which were carpeted with leaves, I saw before me a 88 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:37,920 massive door ajar, revealing the dark interior of a spacious hall. 89 00:05:38,399 --> 00:05:42,519 A moment's hesitation, and I knocked lightly. Nearly five minutes 90 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:46,759 elapsed before I wrapped again, this time more forcibly, But 91 00:05:46,879 --> 00:05:50,360 the only answer was an echo that reverberated ominously through 92 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:54,120 the hall, a lingering echo that seemed to die reluctantly 93 00:05:54,279 --> 00:05:57,959 before the silence of the approaching night. Before I could 94 00:05:57,959 --> 00:06:01,120 wrap again, I was startled by a deep growl, and 95 00:06:01,199 --> 00:06:05,000 glancing behind, saw a large setter dog, his fangs bared. 96 00:06:05,519 --> 00:06:09,000 The animal growled again, and then his mood suddenly changed, 97 00:06:09,279 --> 00:06:11,879 the snarl turning into a whine as he looked at 98 00:06:11,879 --> 00:06:14,680 me in that piteous manner which only a dumb brute 99 00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:18,079 in pain or hunger can register. I spoke kindly to 100 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:21,600 the animal, and he eventually left me, curling himself in 101 00:06:21,639 --> 00:06:23,879 a bed of leaves on the far end of the porch. 102 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:26,920 I rapped on the great door for the third time, 103 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:31,519 louder than ever, again only an echo. I repeated the knocking, 104 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:34,879 and then, pushing open the door, I peered into the 105 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:39,199 hall only shadows, but a door to the left was open, 106 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:42,399 revealing a room fairly well lighted by the rays of 107 00:06:42,439 --> 00:06:46,240 the descending sun straying through the windows. Thinking that to 108 00:06:46,319 --> 00:06:48,800 Bruce might be in a distant part of the house, 109 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:52,079 and assuming that he would not take offense at finding 110 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:54,879 me there, I decided to enter and await his coming. 111 00:06:55,639 --> 00:06:58,879 First glance showed the room to be a library. Books 112 00:06:58,879 --> 00:07:02,519 were everywhere, and over the shelves were many pictures, ancient 113 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:06,680 and dusty. I noticed that the largest picture, which occupied 114 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:09,879 a central position between the shelves, was turned with its 115 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:13,399 face to the wall. I conjectured that the picture must 116 00:07:13,399 --> 00:07:16,040 be of some fair girl whom de Bruce had loved 117 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:18,439 and lost, though as far as I knew, he had 118 00:07:18,439 --> 00:07:22,000 always been a misogynist. But his nature was such that 119 00:07:22,079 --> 00:07:25,120 he would have loved with an almost mythical intensity, had 120 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:27,600 he ever loved at all. The thought came to me 121 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:30,240 that the original of the portrait might have been the 122 00:07:30,279 --> 00:07:33,199 cause of his forsaking his career and living the life 123 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:37,279 of a recluse. I became deeply reminiscent there in the 124 00:07:37,319 --> 00:07:41,519 stillness of the apparently deserted house. If, as had been said, 125 00:07:41,759 --> 00:07:44,959 darkness may become so intense that one may feel it, 126 00:07:45,639 --> 00:07:48,879 then by the same token, silence may become so deep 127 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:51,600 that one may hear it. And so it was that 128 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:55,000 I fancied. I heard voices of other days, and above 129 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:58,959 all the love song of Elsie. How long I sat there, 130 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:02,800 lost in meditation, I cannot recall. Having lost much sleep 131 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:06,240 on the train, I became drowsy, and to arouse myself 132 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:10,160 walked over to a shelf of books, reseating myself. I 133 00:08:10,199 --> 00:08:14,519 tried to read, but the letters blurred. Drowsiness was overcoming me. 134 00:08:15,319 --> 00:08:17,519 Twice I thought to leave the house and return to 135 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:20,879 the station, and twice I decided that De Bruce might 136 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:23,680 be out for a late afternoon walk and would return soon. 137 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:26,920 I placed the book on a table in the center 138 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:30,519 of the room and walked to an open window. Outside, 139 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:33,840 all nature was seeking sleep. Even the jays had quit 140 00:08:33,879 --> 00:08:37,679 their quarreling. As I gazed out upon the blue hills, 141 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:40,120 I became aware of a presence in the room, though 142 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:44,200 I had heard no footfall. Welcome, Arthur, said a voice 143 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:48,320 I recognized, and I turned to meet my host, changed 144 00:08:48,399 --> 00:08:52,039 almost beyond recognition. It was an aged, palsied man who 145 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:55,000 stood before me. He seemed to be suffering from some 146 00:08:55,320 --> 00:09:00,720 devitalizing malady. His sunken eyes held no luster, his complexion 147 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:03,559 was as yellow as the old lace curtains that shaded 148 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:07,600 the windows. I was indeed startled, but composed myself and 149 00:09:07,639 --> 00:09:11,320 met him halfway, extending my hand, But instead of the 150 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:14,759 warm clasp that I expected, De Bruce seemed not to 151 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:18,320 notice my proffered greeting. I knew you were coming, he said, 152 00:09:18,519 --> 00:09:22,200 and I involuntarily stepped back, for in the articulation his 153 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:27,120 lips moved in a most horribly indescribable manner. His grimaces 154 00:09:27,159 --> 00:09:31,000 were terrible to behold, particularly when he attempted to emphasize 155 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:33,919 his words with a smile. I returned a greeting that 156 00:09:34,039 --> 00:09:37,879 must have been almost as incoherent as his. He seemed 157 00:09:37,919 --> 00:09:41,200 to notice my confusion, and his lips again twitched in 158 00:09:41,279 --> 00:09:45,320 an uncanny smile. Arthur, he said, I set for you 159 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:47,840 because there's something I must tell you before it is 160 00:09:47,879 --> 00:09:51,279 too late. A week ago I was stricken with paralysis. 161 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:55,080 See I cannot close my eyes. It is with the 162 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:59,240 greatest effort that I speak. But first tell me how 163 00:09:59,399 --> 00:10:02,440 you affair since I saw you last. Let's talk of 164 00:10:02,519 --> 00:10:06,799 bygone days. We dwelt in reminiscences for a little while, 165 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:09,879 and De Bruce then turned the conversation by asking me 166 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:12,919 to look over the pictures with which the walls were crowded. 167 00:10:13,399 --> 00:10:16,840 They were old, and the faces, those of scientists and 168 00:10:16,919 --> 00:10:20,759 medical men were scarcely discernible, what with their covering of 169 00:10:20,879 --> 00:10:25,519 dust and the gathering shadows. Night was falling fast. I 170 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:28,679 turned to my host and seeming to divine my thoughts. 171 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:32,759 He tottered to the table and lighted a large oil lamp, which, 172 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:35,960 though it dispelled the gloom fairly well, flickered in a 173 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:39,759 manner grotesquely in keeping with the weirdness of the surroundings. 174 00:10:40,879 --> 00:10:43,279 As I looked at each picture, De Bruce told me 175 00:10:43,399 --> 00:10:47,120 what the original had accomplished in science. I noticed that 176 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:51,039 his enunciation was becoming clearer and his lips twitching less. 177 00:10:51,799 --> 00:10:54,919 While I was studying the likeness of a French scientist who, 178 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:58,120 according to my host, had been blown to atoms while 179 00:10:58,159 --> 00:11:02,559 experimenting with some rejuvenait acids of his own concoction, I 180 00:11:02,639 --> 00:11:05,799 heard a whine behind me. The dog had forsaken the 181 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:09,039 porch and entered the room. I stroked the animal gently, 182 00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:12,279 and he looked at me so piteously, whining the while 183 00:11:12,799 --> 00:11:15,919 that I turned to de Bruce for an explanation. Again, 184 00:11:16,039 --> 00:11:19,759 he anticipated my words, poor Leo, he says, he's not 185 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:24,720 eaten in several days. At his master's words, the dog bristled, 186 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:27,399 then cowered to the floor, and crept out of the door. 187 00:11:28,159 --> 00:11:31,799 My host seemed not to remark on the animal's queer conduct, 188 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:36,240 and proceeded to discuss the scientist in the picture. I 189 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:39,200 soon reached the large painting, turned to the wall and 190 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:42,720 started to pass it by, but De Bruce gestured for 191 00:11:42,799 --> 00:11:45,639 me to turn it around. It was with difficulty that 192 00:11:45,679 --> 00:11:50,360 I succeeded, and then, my god, I cried, stepping back aghast. 193 00:11:51,039 --> 00:11:54,240 It was a likeness, a life size oil painting of 194 00:11:54,279 --> 00:11:58,320 Elsie Shackelford, and oh the horror of it. But for 195 00:11:58,399 --> 00:12:01,440 the eyes, violet eyes that had been with me always, 196 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:05,440 I would not have recognized her. A crimson stream apparently 197 00:12:05,480 --> 00:12:07,600 had been painted and mingled with the red of a 198 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:11,600 rose on her breast. The flower also was disfigured, and 199 00:12:11,679 --> 00:12:14,519 its red had trickled down and daubed the whiteness of 200 00:12:14,519 --> 00:12:18,720 her raiment. Speechless, I turned to De Bruce. My face 201 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:22,039 was as bloodless as his, and I was trembling violently. 202 00:12:22,759 --> 00:12:26,320 He again motioned for me to be seated, and I complied, 203 00:12:26,639 --> 00:12:30,720 shielding my eyes from the gruesome sight on the canvas. Again, 204 00:12:30,879 --> 00:12:34,519 my host was speaking. I listened with bowed head. You've 205 00:12:34,559 --> 00:12:37,120 seen the portrait that has driven me mad. He began, 206 00:12:37,879 --> 00:12:40,600 You see that the life blood seems to be flowing 207 00:12:40,639 --> 00:12:43,720 from her pallid lips, and that it stains her breast. 208 00:12:44,279 --> 00:12:46,960 Every time I look at the picture, her lips seemed 209 00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:52,120 to say, murderer, murderer, See the frightened, piteous stare. Arthur 210 00:12:52,120 --> 00:12:54,080 turned the picture to the wall so that I may 211 00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:58,200 tell you the ghastly story there in the dancing shadows. 212 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:01,000 As I caught hold of the gilded friend, I again 213 00:13:01,120 --> 00:13:04,200 glanced at the pathetic face on the canvas, and it 214 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:07,320 appeared that Elsie's eyes were fixed on De Bruce in 215 00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:10,720 a wild and stony stare, that her wilted lips were 216 00:13:10,759 --> 00:13:14,159 trying to find speech. Her eyes then turned to me, 217 00:13:14,639 --> 00:13:17,399 and in their violet depths, I beheld a ray of 218 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:19,759 the love light that had played there so long ago, 219 00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:22,639 and her lips seemed to shape into the ghost of 220 00:13:22,679 --> 00:13:26,679 a smile. Maybe it was only a phantasmagoria of lamp 221 00:13:26,759 --> 00:13:31,000 light and shadows. The task completed, I tottered back to 222 00:13:31,039 --> 00:13:33,759 the chair and again shielded my face with my hands. 223 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:38,480 De Bruce, still standing behind me, continued his story throughout 224 00:13:38,519 --> 00:13:42,440 the unbelievable recital. I never raised my head, overcome by 225 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:45,759 the horror of what I had seen. Arthur, he said, 226 00:13:46,039 --> 00:13:49,320 I killed Elsie in trying to kill you. I loved 227 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:52,360 her desperately, and while she was convalescing in the hospital, 228 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:54,919 I tried to win her. Finally, I told her of 229 00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:57,639 my love and learned that it could never be returned. 230 00:13:58,200 --> 00:14:00,759 It was the first I knew of your approach nuptials. 231 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:03,399 She was the only woman I had ever cared for, 232 00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:06,840 and I had loved her since childhood. The hope of 233 00:14:06,879 --> 00:14:09,879 winning her had spurred me on to success in my profession. 234 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:13,159 When I learned my fate, I went insane, a cool, 235 00:14:13,279 --> 00:14:16,799 calculating madness. Next day you came to see her, and 236 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:19,080 when you held her in your arms, I decided to 237 00:14:19,159 --> 00:14:22,759 kill you. Chance favored me for Elsie soon rang for 238 00:14:22,799 --> 00:14:26,080 a glass of water. I poured two glasses, and into 239 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:28,720 one I poured a few drops of a colorless drug 240 00:14:28,759 --> 00:14:32,159 I had formulated. The ice in the glasses tinkled merrily 241 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:34,480 as I brought the water into the room, and in 242 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:37,679 my madness I fancied the music that of wedding bells. 243 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:42,759 The poison was for you. Again, Chance favored me. You 244 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:45,200 too were thirsty, and reached for the glass before I 245 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:48,600 could offer it. You smiled as you drank. To Elsie's health, 246 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:51,559 Mine was a devil's smile. When in my room. A 247 00:14:51,559 --> 00:14:54,480 few minutes later, I drank of wine to your death. 248 00:14:55,279 --> 00:14:59,039 Two days later, Elsie died in my fiendish anticipation I 249 00:14:59,039 --> 00:15:02,840 had given her the wrong glass. After discovering my mistake, 250 00:15:03,159 --> 00:15:06,360 I was no longer a madman. Day and night, I 251 00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:09,120 watched by her bedside and sought to undo my crime, 252 00:15:09,559 --> 00:15:12,840 but the drug was too potent. She was unconscious and 253 00:15:12,879 --> 00:15:15,440 did not hear my confession in prayers. As I knelt 254 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:19,639 by her bed, she died in unspeakable agony, a hemorrhage, 255 00:15:19,679 --> 00:15:21,879 staining her raymon. As you see it in the picture, 256 00:15:22,799 --> 00:15:25,879 you know the rest Arthur. Afraid to face the judgment 257 00:15:25,919 --> 00:15:29,120 of men, I fled, but no one suspected me, and 258 00:15:29,159 --> 00:15:31,960 I would have been safe in Boston. Now that I 259 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:35,320 soon must face the inevitable judgment, I confess to you. 260 00:15:36,159 --> 00:15:39,320 God knows I've tried to atone from a small photograph 261 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:41,960 of Elsie. I had an oil painting made and placed 262 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:45,200 it in my room. Every night, kneeling before the portrait, 263 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:48,960 I prayed her forgiveness, and nightly I noticed a gradual 264 00:15:49,039 --> 00:15:52,639 change in the picture. Slowly her features began to alter. 265 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:56,679 Her eyes seemed to alternate between an accusing stare and 266 00:15:56,720 --> 00:16:00,000 the dull glaze of death. At first I dismissed it 267 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:03,799 as a defect in the oil. Then, as the metamorphosis 268 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:07,039 became more pronounced, I said it was but the imagining 269 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:12,200 of an avenging conscience, and prayed all the more, almost imperceptibly. 270 00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:16,279 The disfiguration continued until I saw Elsie as she appeared 271 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:19,519 in the agonies of Death. For years, I continued to 272 00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:23,000 implore her forgiveness, but the only answer was her piteous, 273 00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:26,240 accusing stare, which seemed to focus on me whenever I 274 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:29,759 entered the room. Eventually I turned the portrait to the wall, 275 00:16:30,159 --> 00:16:33,279 but I could not thus hide the accusations of my conscience, 276 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:37,360 and soon I became a decrepit old man. But now 277 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:40,279 I believe Elsie has forgiven me, and it is without 278 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:44,480 fear that I prepared to leave the world behind. Farewell, Arthur, 279 00:16:44,639 --> 00:16:48,240 I ask you to forget what you cannot forgive. I 280 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:51,320 raised my head and found the room in darkness. I 281 00:16:51,399 --> 00:16:55,679 shouted to Bruce's name. No answer. Again, I shouted, and 282 00:16:55,759 --> 00:16:58,279 after I had struck a match, the feeble flame of 283 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:02,000 which threw phantom shadows all the walls, a terror stricken 284 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:05,759 echo came back to me. Through the gloom. Experiencing cold 285 00:17:05,799 --> 00:17:08,160 fear for the first time in my life, I rushed 286 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:11,200 frantically out of the room and down the steps. The 287 00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:14,880 station was my destination. I had gone only a short 288 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:18,039 distance when I saw a nebulous glow in the darkness ahead, 289 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:23,000 A vaporous, weirdly luminous substance hovering over the path. I 290 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:27,160 stopped and regarded the phenomenon with all for its phosphorescence 291 00:17:27,279 --> 00:17:30,880 was beautifully different from any I had ever seen. The 292 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:35,200 whirling of the substance rapidly gained momentum. It was taking shape, 293 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:39,240 first the faint outlines of a human form, then the 294 00:17:39,279 --> 00:17:43,759 semblance of a beaming face, a metamorphosis from angel to woman. 295 00:17:44,440 --> 00:17:48,240 And Elsie stood before me. There was nothing wraith like 296 00:17:48,279 --> 00:17:50,599 in her appearance as she came forward to meet me, 297 00:17:51,039 --> 00:17:55,400 except her raiment, which was still luminous. I stepped forward 298 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:57,920 to meet her, to clasp her in my arms, as 299 00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:02,519 of old, but she held up a warning hand. She smiled. 300 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:07,079 She spoke, Arthur, She said, I have forgiven him. He 301 00:18:07,160 --> 00:18:11,839 has atoned you too, must forgive. I am alive, Arthur, 302 00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:14,920 even as you are alive. But our spheres are very different. 303 00:18:15,559 --> 00:18:17,839 I still love you, and some day you will come 304 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:20,799 to me. As a token of this, I will leave 305 00:18:20,839 --> 00:18:22,960 with you the engagement ring you gave me in the 306 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:25,920 long ago. I will drop it into your hand, as 307 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:29,200 I must not touch you. She slipped the ring from 308 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:32,319 her finger and gave it to me. Farewell, beloved, I 309 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:35,880 must return to my plane. She wafted me a kiss, 310 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:39,440 and was gone. For a fleeting moment. A faintly luminous 311 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:43,359 spiral marked the place where she had been. The station 312 00:18:43,519 --> 00:18:46,640 agent was a typical native who seemed both surprised and 313 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:49,799 glad at my appearance. After I had bought my ticket, 314 00:18:50,079 --> 00:18:53,680 he ejected an inordinate quid of cut plug and drawled, 315 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:57,160 Fella never knows how many friends he got till he's dead. 316 00:18:57,559 --> 00:19:00,240 That funeral this afternoon was the biggest I I were 317 00:19:00,279 --> 00:19:03,880 seen in these parts. I nodded and inquired the time 318 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:06,079 the train would arrive. He told me I had but 319 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:09,799 a few minutes to wait. Great man was doctor de Bruce, 320 00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:12,440 remarked to the station man. As I took a seat 321 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:15,759 in the vacant waiting room. Everybody for miles round was 322 00:19:15,759 --> 00:19:19,160 at his funeral today. Did I see you there? What's that? 323 00:19:19,519 --> 00:19:23,400 I ejaculated. The ticket falling from my hand. Doctor de 324 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:26,440 Bruce's funeral today. Thought I might have seen you there, 325 00:19:26,799 --> 00:19:31,799 the man repeated, evidently not remarking my astonishment. I understood, 326 00:19:32,359 --> 00:19:35,240 that is, if the realization that one has just finished 327 00:19:35,279 --> 00:19:38,160 talking with a man just buried can be classified as 328 00:19:38,279 --> 00:19:42,359 understanding of any sort. It wasn't necessary to ask the 329 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:45,920 man for particulars. Upon discovering I was not at the funeral, 330 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:48,920 he was eager to tell the whole story. At least 331 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:52,279 a hundred carriages and automobiles were there, he said, and 332 00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:55,799 hundreds of the physician's friends had come afoot, many from 333 00:19:55,839 --> 00:19:59,759 adjoining counties. His narrative drifted to the life de Bruce 334 00:19:59,759 --> 00:20:04,000 had since coming to Clifton from the Southerner Straw. I 335 00:20:04,079 --> 00:20:06,440 was able to gather that de Bruce had devoted most 336 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:08,839 of his time to caring for the sick and needy 337 00:20:08,839 --> 00:20:11,519 in the village and in the mountains, and had never 338 00:20:11,599 --> 00:20:15,799 accepted a penny for his services. About two years before 339 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:19,480 his death, however, his health began to decline, and thereafter 340 00:20:19,519 --> 00:20:22,440 he was seldom seen to leave his estate. It was 341 00:20:22,519 --> 00:20:24,880 rumored he had locked himself up with his books on 342 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:29,039 science and spiritism. As the native called it. Two days 343 00:20:29,039 --> 00:20:32,519 before my arrival at Cloughton, a hillsman calling at his 344 00:20:32,559 --> 00:20:35,200 house for medicine had found him dead in the library. 345 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:39,839 The coroner had pronounced it paralysis. The fellow was still 346 00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:43,599 talking when the locomotive shrieked in the distance. Five minutes 347 00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:47,559 later it was speeding me northward. Yes, maybe it was 348 00:20:47,599 --> 00:20:51,640 all a dream, a nightmare superinduced by reminiscences there in 349 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:54,799 the gloomy library. Yet I will swear I was awake 350 00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:57,880 through it all, and that it was no hallucination, no 351 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:01,680 phantom of imagery that related the story of the madman's crime, 352 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:06,000 no incubus, that vision of Elsie. If it was a dream, 353 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:09,480 where did I get this ring? Perhaps it is a 354 00:21:09,519 --> 00:21:13,440 matter for psychologists and other delvers into the unknown to investigate. 355 00:21:14,119 --> 00:21:17,160 As for me, Arthur Rens, I repeat, I will have 356 00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:21,160 none of it. End of Doctor de Bruce by Earl 357 00:21:21,319 --> 00:21:24,480 Leeston Bell recording by Colleen McMahon.