Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1861-07-26
aOrtester 4ailg SPY.


l rose and walked across the room. to sbak
off the clingingshorror that oppressed me.
lie spoke again in dreary tone.
And now, johnson, you must make me
promise, and bind yourself by an oath to kee
it."
/ was startled and must have shown that
was so, for Temple added
You need be under no apprehension all
want is, that you shall promise to come to me
whenever send for you and above all, tina
wherever you may be, you will come to m,
when am dying, which time l cannot thinl
far distaat."
"Have you no older friend 90 1 asked.
He disregarded my question entirely, and
continued.
You need have no personal fear. 1t will
be some comfort to me, and if it is terrible fo
you to witness, what must suffer 2"
was ashamed of my cowardice, and gave
the promise he asked, confirming it by sol
emn oath which he dictated. He seemed sat
istied and, lighting another cigar, he handed
the box to me and sat down again.
was singularly ill at ease, and bitterly re
GREETED now that regret was unavaling, -
my oath and promise. Temple spoke present
ly, returning as by fascination to the evil sub
ject.
"And / lead a cursed life between the Wis
ions. / should have ended it long ago. but
dared not let my soul out into the dark to meet
Guandano. The meeting is but delayed, and
though know that, am not brave enough to
bring it one moment nearer by my own act
Look there-and he pointed to a clear ray of
moonlight which came through the window
and lay white upon the carpet 81 can never
see that without feeling how lost and hopeless
my life is"
"For Gods sake, Temple" broke in "stop!
m hatp Xvi T L.
heard tonight, and will not hear another word.
must keep my word, having pledged it but
wish to heaven we had never met p
l regretted my passionate words moment
after, as looked into his mournful face but
terror had made me cruel. l took my hat, and
was about to leave the room.
81 will walk with you" said Temple, ris-
ing.
"You shall not, answered holly al am
nearly as mad as yourself to have listened to
your cursed story"
He did not seem displeased, but said quiet
Good night, then. Remember your prom
ise.'
/ walked home like one in a dream. Call it
cowardice, if you will but my very flesh
seemed to creep on my bones as l remember
ed what had heard, and recalled the promise
had made. If ] could have thought Temple
a mailman, it would have relieved me, but his
manner, so free from excitement, so full of
quiet resignation, forbade my doing so : and
yet the thing was monstrous. AS / walked
along Piccadilly saw its familiar objects and
its nineteenth.century life,-I thought of wild
stories that had read in childhood of magic.
ians and demons, and decided that such things
ere fictions. But again recalled the scene
Ia my rooms, and was staggered.
began to hate Temple. Though sensible
that was doing him the bitterest injustice,
and that he deserved only pity from me, was
still unable to repress the feeling which before
long had grown to such a height that | felt it
impossible to remain in the same country with
him, and determined to leave England for
time. had been for some years reading for
the bar, and was expecting an immediate call
to It, My legal knowledge therefore warrant
ed my accepting an engagement which was
offered me by aoqu"i1Itance IT.
vented by illness from visiting personally
some property which had become embarrassed
owing to the neglect or dishonesty OF his
agents. / was so eager to leave England, that
it was not until had fully determined upon
the journey thai remembered had not IN
uuired where the business lay With strong
feeling of shame at my unbusiness-like ar
rangements l made the inquiry but every
feeling was lost in that OF extreme astonish~
ment when my friend said it was Mexican
mine. My first impulse was to throw up the
engagement at once, Mexico being insepera.
bly associated in my mind with Temple and
his hideous story-and twas from these that
sought escape, but upon second thought II
struck me that thus I might find out for my
self the truth OF the tragedy in which Temple
had played so fatal part. If such man as
Guandano had lived in Mexico and come to
an untmely death so short time as four
A. t, l,of II, could
not have died out, and l should have temples
story corroborated or contradicted.
During the interval that necessarily elapsed
between the concluding of the engagement and
my departure from England, as far as possible
/ avoided Temple, and scrupulousy abstaned
from any reference to my approaching Jour-
ney was with feeling OF relief, to which
/ had been stranger ever since l became
Temples unwilling confdant, that l set sail
early in July. The voyage was propitious
one, and reached my destination early in
August. Having once entertained the idea of
investigating the truth Of what Temple had
told me III came to consider that as my real err
rand. and began my inquiries the very day
after landed. / found no difficulty no soon
er had | asked of Guandano's tate,-saying l
had heard of him as a man versed in strange
lore, from an Englishman who had visited
Mexico some years beiore,-then the whole
story was told to me how the bodies of Gu
andano and his wife had been found in the
grove adjoining to his house,-hers stabbed to
the heart, and his without sign OF any cause
of DEATH The bodies had been buried. but
the following day the grave was found to be
open, and Guandano's corpse missing. This
circumstance had so impressed the inhabitants
of the city that nothing had been done to his
house, which remained in every respect as it
had been left by the magician.
asked il it were possible to enter it, and
was told by my host that nothing could be
easier, as it was open and, though many Wis
tied it daily, no one had dared to remove OF
displace any thing, contained in the building
He added, that there was one very singular
thing connected with it--that though every
other room was dimmed by the dust, which
had been so long accommodating, the one which
from its curious furniture and arrangements
was conjectured to have been Guandano's pri
vate apartment, had the appearance of Away
being kept in order as though still occupied
no trace of dust or disorder ever visible in it
Popular superstition had long ago declared
that this room had been the scene of unholy
rites, and that the spirit of the magician haC
not found rest, but nightly visited his haunt
and kept the room free from change of any
kind.
Business was imperative, and for three day
after my arrival found no opportunity o
putting into execution my intention of visiting
the deserted house On the fourth day, takinl
\ my host as guide, went early in the forenoon
to see for myself what truth there wa
in the story I had heard. After walking for
couple of miles, we wound through sma
plantation, and came suddenly upon buidin
of no extraordinary appearance; it was yer
much like other large houses in and near tn
city, but was much dilapidated-more, it seen
ed TO me, than four or five years of neget
would seemed to account for. My companio