"Thus, if you give a person, in whom there is a latent tendency to drink, a drop of a drunkard's blood--in a gla.s.s of wine, or sweet, or pill, no matter what--that person will at once take to drink.

Thus--mark you--people can be metamorphosed into libertines, suicides, idiots and murderers. This metamorphosis can also be produced by means of a magnet called the 'magnes microcosmi,' which is prepared from substances that have had a long a.s.sociation with the human body, and are penetrated by its vitality. Such substances are the hair and blood. Take either one of them, and dry it in a shady and moderately warm place, until it has lost its humidity and odour. By this process it will have lost, too, all its mumia--that is to say, its essence of life--and is hungry to regain it. It is now a magnes microcosmi, or a magnet for attracting diseases and properties, and if it be placed in close contact with a criminal or lunatic, it will be filled with his essence of life, and may then be used as a means of infecting other people with his pernicious qualities. Bury it under the doorstep of the person you wish infected, or hide it in his house, or mix it well with earth, and plant a shrub in the earth, and the vitality the magnet took from the criminal or lunatic will pa.s.s into the plant; and if the plant, or even flower of the plant, be given to any one, that person--unless she or he be a person absolutely free from the germs of vice--will be attracted to it, and greatly affected by it.

"Or again, the earth over the grave of a lunatic or criminal will contain his essence of life, _i.e._ his vitality, which impregnates everything around it, and if that earth be placed somewhere in the immediate presence of a person, in whom there are latent tendencies to vice--then that person will be affected by it.

"And through these methods of using the essence of life, that is impregnated with the disease you wish to inflict--you may infect people with all kinds of incurable ailments.

"But a quicker, and equally sure method of smiting people with disease, such as cancer, fever, epilepsy, apoplexy, etc.; of smiting them blind, deaf, dumb, lame, etc.; or bringing upon them all kinds of accidents, is to make an image of the person you wish to torment, and, setting it in front of you, preferably, at times when the moon is new, or in conjunction with Venus, Mars or Saturn, concentrate with all your will on whatever injury you wish to inflict. If, for example, you desire the person to become blind, stick a pin, or thorn, or nail in the eyes of the image; if deaf, in its ears; if maimed, cut a limb off the image; if to have a certain disease, will very earnestly that he or she shall have that disease. You may thus, too, torment the object of your aversion with plagues of insects and vermin.

"If you desire to bewitch your neighbour's milk, wine, or any food he or she has, you may do it by placing the mumia, _i.e._ the vehicle containing the essence of life of some criminal or lunatic, in the immediate vicinity of the food, etc.; or in the case of milk, by giving it to the cow to eat; or you may accomplish your design simply by means of concentration and an image.

"Always, however, whatever methods you employ, prelude them with this prayer: 'I conjure thee, Great Unknown Power that is Antagonistic to man, that was at the Beginning, that is now, that always will be; by the winds and rain, and thunder and lightning; by the swirling rivers; by the Moon; by the sinister influence of the Moon with Venus, Mars and Saturn; help me obtain the perfect issue of all my desires, which I seek to perform solely for the furtherment of what is detrimental to humanity. Amen.' And conclude them with the signs of the foot, the hand and the bat. If you desire to know anything further it will be unfolded to you in your dreams."

The hand that had been laid on Hamar's was now removed. The writing ceased. The table rose several inches from the floor, and struck the latter three times in quick, violent succession. Then it remained quiet, and Hamar knew, by a subtle change in the atmosphere, that all occult manifestations--for that night at least--were at an end. The ladies were, of course, dying to know what had happened; and like most ladies, who dabble in spiritualism, were ready to believe anything they were told. Hamar, who had no intention whatever of telling them what had actually occurred, satisfied them admirably.

He went home delighted--far too delighted to sleep--for he had in his possession now the greatest of all weapons--the weapon to torment. And with it what could he not do! What could he not get! He could get--Gladys!

CHAPTER XXI

THE SELLING OF SPELLS

The period of stage four promised to be one of such a lucrative nature, that the trio set to work to profit by it at once. They bribed medical men to procure for them the mumia of people suffering from every kind of disease; of criminal lunatics; of idiots and epileptics; they obtained, by bribery also, the blood and hair of the most abandoned men and women--rakes, thieves, murderers. They bottled and labelled, and arranged and catalogued, the mumia, in a laboratory designed for the purpose; and, when all their preparations were complete, advertised--

SPELLS FOR SALE

THE MODERN SORCERY COMPANY LTD.

offer for sale every variety of spells--love charms, sleep charms, etc.

In order to carry out the princ.i.p.al conditions of the compact, namely, to do harm, they made pseudo-love charms as follows:--

They procured the hair of a girl whom they knew to be an incorrigible, and, at the same time, heartless flirt; and, in the manner described (and related in the last chapter) made a magnes microcosmi of it. When ready for use, _i.e._ after it had been in immediate contact with the girl's flesh, so as to get it fully charged, they had portions of it set in rings, lockets and pendants. And the purchaser of any one of these trinkets had only to persuade the object of his (or her) affection to wear it, and his (or her) love would at once be reciprocated.

Had the magnes microcosmi been charged with real, deep-rooted love, the effect on the wearer would have been highly satisfactory, but charged as it was with the effervescent and fleeting fancy of a flirt, the effect on whoever wore it could not be more disastrous. The sentiments of the hopeful purchaser would be reciprocated for a time, which would probably lead to marriage--after which the affection his adored had professed would suddenly decrease, and before the honeymoon was over, would have vanished altogether.

During the week following the announcement of the sale of these spells, over a thousand were sold, the applicants being mostly shop girls, typists, clerks and servants; in the second week the sales rose to three thousand, and every succeeding week showed a still greater increase.

In charging the magnes microcosmi, the motive of the purchaser had always to be taken into account. If the love charm were wanted by a woman--a housekeeper may be, who desired some rich old man to fall in love with her, in order that she might come into his property; or by a woman--a companion probably--who, having wormed herself into the confidence of some eccentric old lady, was anxious that that lady should leave her all her money--Hamar took care that the magnes microcosmi should be charged with a lasting infatuation; and the sale of this love spell--the spell that was sought solely that the purchaser might inherit property to which he (or she) had no claim--far exceeded the sale of any other spell. Indeed, it was extraordinary how many people--people one would never have suspected--desired spells that would do other people harm.

Lady De Greene, the well-known humanitarian, who was most indefatigable in getting up pet.i.tions to the Home Secretary, whenever the perpetrator of any particularly heinous and inexcusable murder was about to be hanged, and who was universally acknowledged "incapable of harming a fly," called, surrept.i.tiously, on Hamar.

"I understand," she said, "everything you do here is in strict confidence!"

"Certainly, madam, certainly!" Hamar said. "We make it a point of honour to divulge--nothing!"

"That being so," Lady De Greene observed, "I want you to tell me of a spell that will hasten some very obnoxious person's death."

"If you will give me a rough idea of their personal appearance," Hamar said, "I will make a wax image of them, and undertake they will trouble you no longer."

But Lady De Greene shook her head. She had no desire to commit herself.

"Can't you do it in any other way," she said, "can't you let me give them an unlucky charm--the sort of thing that might bring about a taxi disaster?"

Hamar thought for a moment and then--smiled.

"Yes!" he said, "I think I can accommodate you."

Leaving her for a few minutes, he went to the laboratory, and from a tin box marked homicidal lunatic, he took a plain, gold ring. With this he returned to Lady De Greene, murmuring on the way the prayer he had learned from the table.

"Here you are," he said handing the ring to Lady De Greene, "give it to the person you have mentioned to me--and the result you desire will speedily come to pa.s.s."

Three days later, London was immeasurably shocked. It read in the papers that the highly accomplished Lady De Greene, beloved and respected by all, for the strenuous exertions on behalf of humanitarianism, had been barbarously murdered by her husband (from whom--unknown to the public--she had been living apart for years), who had suddenly, and, for no apparent reason, become insane. Hamar, who was immensely tickled, alone knew the reason why.

This was no isolated case. Scores of Society women came to the trio with the same request. "A spell, or charm, or something, that will bring about a fatal accident--not a lingering illness"--and the person for whom the accident was desired, was usually the husband. And the trio often indulged in grim jokes.

Without a doubt, Lady Minkhurst got her heart's desire when her husband abruptly cut his throat, but alas, amongst those decimated, when the charm fell into the hands of one of the footmen, was her ladyship's lover.

Again, Mrs. Jacques, the beauty, who, at one time, wrote for half the fashion papers in England, certainly secured the demise of Colonel d.i.c.k Jacques, who tumbled downstairs and broke his neck, but as in his fall the Colonel alighted on one of the maids, who was not insured, and so seriously injured her that she was p.r.o.nounced a hopeless cripple, Mrs. Jacques--with whom money was an object--had, of course, to maintain her for the rest of her life.

Likewise, Sir Charles Brimpton, in jumping out of the top window of his house, besides pulverizing himself, pulverized, too, Lady Brimpton's pet Pekingese "Waller," without whom, she declared, life wasn't worth living; and Lord Snipping, in setting fire to himself, set fire to Lady Snipping's boudoir (which he had been secretly visiting), and thereby destroyed treasures which she tearfully declared were quite priceless, and could never be replaced.

Crowds of young married women were anxious to get rid of their rich old relatives, who clung on to life with a tenacity that was "most wearying."

"Can you give me a spell that will make my grandmother go off suddenly?" a girl with beautiful, sad eyes said plaintively to Kelson.

"Don't think me very wicked, but we are not at all well off--and she has lived such a long time--such a very long time."

"You don't want her to be ill first, I suppose," Kelson inquired.

"Oh, no!" the girl replied, "she lives with us and we could never endure the worry and trouble of nursing her. It must be something very sudden."

"This will do it," Kelson said, giving her a locket containing the mumia or essence of life of a mad dog; "fasten it round the old lady's neck, and you will be astonished how soon it acts."

"And what is your fee?" the girl asked, her eyes br.i.m.m.i.n.g over with joyous antic.i.p.ation.

"For you--nothing," Kelson said gallantly. "Only tell no one. May I kiss your hand."

The firm's sale of spells for getting rid of husbands having risen one day to five hundred--and the sale of their spells for putting old people out of the way to fifteen hundred--even Hamar, who was no believer in the perfection of human nature, was astonished.

"My word!" he remarked. "Isn't this a revelation? Who would have thought how many people have murder in their hearts? At least half Society would, I believe, become homicides if only there were no chance of their being found out and punished. Anyhow, if we go on at this rate there will be no old people left."

And it did indeed seem as if such would be the case. For the moment the idea got abroad that old people could be thrust out of existence with absolute safety and ease, there was a perfect mania amongst men, women, and even children, to get rid of them, and the deaths of people over sixty recorded in the papers multiplied every day. The following is an extract from the _Planet_ of July 28--

BOLT.--On July 27, at No. ---- Elgin Avenue, S.W., Emily Jane, loved and venerated mother of Mary Bolt, M.D., in her 69th year.

Drowned in her bath. And all the Angels wept!

CUSHMAN.--On July 27, at No. ---- Sheep Street, Northampton, Sarah Elizabeth, adored mother of Josiah Cushman, Plymouth Brother, in her 88th year. Run over by a taxi. Joy in Heaven!