The St. Charles herald. [volume], February 17, 1917, Image 4

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The Tracer of Egos
Chronicles of Dr. Phileas Immanuel. Soul Specialist
Bg VICTOR ROUSSEAU
THE AMULET OF MARDUK
1 REMEMBER vividly the conversa
tion in Doctor Immanuel's library,
because that evening was the be
ginning of my association with
him, and the conversation was, so to
suy, the starting point of my own in
vestigations.
There were five of us there. Dr.
Pbileas Immanuel, Doctor Maine, Paul
Tarrant, the millionaire whose price
less art collections passed to the na
tion recently under the terms of his
will, and another man whose name I
have forgotten. We had been discuss
ing the case of Helen Blythe, Mr. Tar
rant's governess, who had been dis
missed for stealing, after the court had
passed a suspended sentence upon
her by grace of a defense of kleptoma
nla -
"You say," said Doctor Maine, the
eminent neurologist, "that you believe
in reincarnation upon the analogy of
the plant—the lilac plant, you used for
an example. The lilac, as I understand
you to say, flowers during some two
weeks in the year and, having faded,
reviews its earthly experiences in
some paradise of dreamy somnolence
until, in due season, the soul of the
flower incarnates itself in another
cluster of petals. So, you say, man
comes to birth again after he has
passed through the gates of death.
That's not a bad simile, Immanuel,
but that's not biology. How do you
justify your belief biologically—or, let
us say, by any laws of inductive rea
soning?'
"You are, of course, acquainted with
the researches of Freud?" asked the
Greek doctor of Maine.
"Well, I should say so," the other
responded. "A big man—one of the
biggest in his line of today."
"How would you sum up his discov
eries?" asked Doctor Immanuel.
Doctor Maine did not hesitate for an |
instant. "Freud's great work," he ;
said, "has been the proof that our sub
conscious or dream life is continuous,
that every dream accurately corre
sponds to some ungratifled physical or
mental need and is, one may say, Its
fulfilment For instance, take the man
who has always wanted, but never
owned, a motor car. His dreams will
show a more or less continuous experi
ence—not of motoring, for they will be
veiled under some symbol, but of fly
ing, or aeroplaning, or holding the
throttle of an engine. He may even
he a fly on a wheel, or a swimmer
clinging to an upturned boat in a
whirlpool; but in some manner the
dream life will reflect the waking
wish."
"Precisely," answered Doctor Im
manuel. "Well, now, let us carry the
Bimlle further. The condition after
death represents to the full this dream
life, magnified to the nth power.
There, in that paradise of bliss, every
ungratifled wish that was ever experi
enced in life comes true—generally.
But suppose that the Impulse to re
birth cuts short the experiences of
heaven prematurely. What then?" He
paused and, looking round at us, raised j
his hand impressively. "Then, gentle
men, you have a soul reborn on earth
which, instead of holding these past
memories securely tucked away in the
innermost recesses of its being, flow
ering as gifts of character and natural
ability, is built upon shifting sands.
The submerged consciousness of these
unsatisfied needs of its past life
haunts it and drives it to unlawful
I.
deeda All our criminals, for example, ;
are merely persons who failed to ful
fill their destinies ; and, in proof of my
contention, are not all criminals—
criminals by instinct, of course I mean,
not the starving beggar who snatches
a loaf—are they not all physically un
stable, mentally unbalanced, and easy
subjects for the hypnotist? Yes, my
dear Maine, and I believe that when
hypnotised they can be made to yield
up these past memories."
The subject was changed soon af
terward by Doctor Maine. Like many
medicos of the old school, he held opin
ions rooted in the barren sands of ma
terialism. Such theories as Immanu
el's savored to him of the charlatan.
But for the eminence of the Greek
a
in
physician he would, I am sure, have j
broken forth in angry protest. He took ;
his leave soon after, and Tarrant and
the fifth man also departed, leaving
Paul Tarrant, the doctor and myself
alone.
"Now take the case of Helen
Blythe," said Mr. Tarrant, when we
had settled ourselves in our chairs
again. "Do you suppose that you could
rove your contention in her case?"
"I didn't read the account," answered
ctor Immanuel. "All reports of
me distress me exceedingly. When
think how futile it is to put these
happy creatures in prison, instead
treating Umw medially, I become
raged at the world and disgusted
h my own . inability to convince
otogiste of their mistake.^ Bufc.tell
about her."
elen Blythe,' said Mr. Tarrant,
well-bred, good-looking, modest
g woman of, I should say, seven
ht and twenty. She came to me
excellent recommendations, to be
zry governess for our children.
if
aa
1 Mrs. Tarrant took a great fancy to her
and trusted her fully. Needless to say,
j neither of us was aware that Miss
{ Blythe had been dismissed from a for
to : mer situation for theft. As we discov
! ered afterwards, she had stolen four
; valuable rings, which, in spite of the
threat of prosecution, were never re
covered. The girl claimed that she
had forgotten where she had hidden
them, but fully acknowledged her of
fense and repaid the value of them out
I
of her savings. In spite of careful in
vestigation of all the pawnshops in the
city, however, the rings were never
found.
"A few weeks after we had engaged
' Miss Blythe my wife began to miss
valuables of hers. Rings seemed to
be the young woman's penchant. An
i opal, a diamond and sapphire, and a
j magnificent emerald in a fifteenth
century setting disappeared successive
jy. We changed our servants without
result. At last, by force of a con
stantly dwindling number of hypoth
eses, the suspicion came to rest upon
Miss Blythe's shoulders.
"However, as Mrs. Tarrant locked
away her valuables, nothing more was
taken, and we should probably have
kept the young woman in our employ
ment but for what happened. The gov
erness was a great student of antiqui
ties; in fact, she had a knowledge of
Hittite and Babylonian archaeology
which astonished me and was a pri
mary factor in the securing of her posi
tion. She had a half day's leave everj
week, and invariably spent it at the
museum. She became a well-known
figure there, for she always haunted
the Assyrian room, in which, as you
may know, are a number of engraved
gems, of immeasurable value, brought
from Babylonia by the expedition
which I sent there for the purpose of
| excavating the mounds of Nineveh,
; Some ten days ago the watchman, who
had somehow become suspicious of the
young woman, discovered her with the
half of a sacred amulet in her hand—
a ring supposed to have been worn by
the high priest of Marduk. As you may
know, that half amulet is one of the
most cherished possessions of the As
syrian department. The watchman ar
rested her and summoned the curator.
When he came it was discovered that
the half amulet still reposed in its
place inside the case. The half which
Helen Blythe held in her hand was
mine—the other half, and willed by me
to the museum. The young woman
made no resistance, but suffered her
self to be led away, as if in a comatose
state. She was brought to my house,
I identified the half of the charm,
and the girl was placed under arrest,
to be released under a suspended
sentence yesterday."
"Where is the girl?" asked Doctor
Immanuel.
"Why, doctor," said Mr. Tarrant,
flushing, "I am ashamed to say that 1
have taken her back."
"Good!" ejaculated the doctor, puff
'But she
ing vigorously at his cigar,
j will steal again."
Indeed, no," answered the million
aire with conviction. "We had a very
serious talk with her, Mrs. Tarrant and
I. We told her that we felt, under the
circumstances, which we had not fully
understood, that we ought not to turn
her adrift into the world. We thought
that by the force of example, perhaps,
we might cure her of her unfortunate
propensity. And so she was re-engaged
—not, of course, as governees, but as
a sort of aid to my wife.
"And she was penitent?"
"Entirely so. She protested that she
would conquer her weakness; she
vowed never to touch Jewelry again,
or to look at it. She pleaded earnestly
for our confidence, said it was only
rings which she felt an irrestible temp
tation to take, and—"
"And she will steal again," said Doc
tor Immanuel.
"Well, doctor, you have a poor faith
in human nature, considering your hu
manitarian profession," said the mil
lionaire.
'1 tell you, Mr. Tarrant, she will
steal again," persisted the doctor.
You cannot eradicate the instincts de
rived from a former incarnation with
kindness only. Doubtless sne was a
wealthy gem collector in Rome or
Athens—or Alexandria, more likely—
about the year 100 A. D."
Paul Tarrant smiled skeptically.
"Will you tell me how you arrive at
your date so exactly, doctor?" he
asked.
"By the analogy of the lilac tree,"
replied Doctor Immanuel. "The lilac
blooms for two weeks in every fifty
two—Is that not so? Then we may say
its sleeping life is twenty-six times as
long as its life in physical form. Now,
if we take vl^ normal human life to
be seventy years, each human item
will reappear after an interval of about
1,820 years—shorter or longer accord
ing to the individual idiosyncrasy, but
more or less upon time. Hannibal, for
Instance, whose discarnate life must
have been peculiarly rich In memories,
and therefore prolonged, was reborn
aa Napoleon after a little more than
2,000 years. Cicero reappeared as
Gladstone after some 1,860 rears; the
fabulous Queen Semlramfs after 2,000
years as Cleopatra, and
1,750 more as Catherine II. of Russia,
These mighty figures appear and re
appear through history with the regu
larity of comets, and, like them, are
recurrent phenomena which flash
•s
through a wondering world. Well, then,
some 1,820 years ago your Helen
Blythe was a gem collector or lapidary
or something similar in the classic
world, and it is the ungratified desire
for jewels which has made her a klep
tomaniac today."
"Perhaps you would like to see her,
doctor?" the millionaire suggested tol
erantly. "I confess I am not con
vinced as to the truth of your theo
ries, but I should immeasurably like to
know just how the ancient Romans
set their rings."
Doctor Immanuel accepted this seri
ously, and before we parted it was ar
ranged that we two should visit Mr.
Tarrant at his house after dinner on
the following evening. So we sep
arated, upon terms of the utmost good
will, and both Mr. Tarrant and myself,
I am sure, politely skeptical as to Doc
tor Immanuel's claims.
Doctor Immanuel was staying at my
house at this time. He had been sent
to America, where he had been edu
cated, by the Greek government, as
her most distinguished medical repre
sentative and publicist, to attend the
International Congress of Penologists
at Boston. But the first few days' sit
tings had so disheartened the doctor,
convincing him that his own theories
would never gain him a hearing, and
would, in fact, seriously prejudice his
country, that he had withdrawn from
the congress and was making my home
his headquarters during the period oc
cupied by some special researches,
about whose nature he had not enlight
ened me.
On the following morning we re
ceived two letters from Mr. Tarrant,
in which he apologized for his inabil
ity to ask us to dinner on account of
the death of a near relative of Mrs. i
Tarrant, and reiterated his desire that
we visit him that evening. According- !
ly, about eight o'clock we found our- j
selves in his library and received a
cordial greeting.
'Before we see Miss Blythe," said j
j opened obediently. With a cry
• «ft«
P
"OPEN YOUR HANDS!" YELLED TARRANT r "WHAT HAVE YOU GOT
THERE? OPEN THEM,! SAY!"
Mr. Tarrant, "perhaps you gentlemen
would care to inspect my antiquities?"
We knew that such an invitation
could not be refused without the pos
sibility of seriously affronting the mil
lionaire; furthermore we were both in
terested, in a limited way, in such mat
ters. We did anticipate a lengthy and
somewhat tedious round of the mu
seum, hut such proved not to be the
cat 3 . Mr. Tarrant's collection consist
ed mainly of works of art of the middle
ages; the Assyrian room was quite a
small chamber at the back of the
house, enclosed by concrete walls and
approachable only by the door leading
out of Mr. Tarrant's library. We en
tered, he switched on the electric
lights, and we found ourselves looking
up into the faces of btil 1-headed kings
with wings, broken-faced goddesses,
and colossi of black marble and gran
ite. At one end of the room were a
number of packing cases, forming a
barrier across one-third of its length;
down the center were the customary
glass cases filled with gems, stones of
all sorts, fragments of clay inscrip
tions, etc. We made the round slowly,
Mr. Tarrant expatiating upon his tro
phies.
"And now," he said, "I must show
you the gem of my collection in its lit
eral sense—I mean the half amulet
whose other part is In the museum. I
don't keep it here," he added, smiling.
"It is far too valuable, and pay one ex
perience of losing it has made me re
solved to run no more risks. It is—"
he paused and continued in a stage
whisper which certainly carried as far
as his natural voice—"under the Per
sian rug behind my desk, in a tiny
piece of false parquet work in the
floor. Simple, isn't It? Yet I am sore
f it is safer there than in any
steel safe.
re- "First, let me tell you something
about this treasure," he continued,
are waxing enthusiastic. •"The amulet iß
supposed to have been made for the
,
- -—- * *
high priest of Marduk, at Babylon.
According to the cuneiform inscription,
it was kept by the priestess of Ishtar
pending the completion of Marduk's
colossal temple, and it is believed
since it was discovered in the ruins of
the temple of Ishtar, that for some
cause the priestess never delivered it.
Perhaps it was hidden, perhaps the
! city was destroyed before the transfer
to
ar
on
as
could be made. At any rate, it was a
most sacred object and, from the fact
that it was made in two halves, it is
certain that the highest value was
placed upon it. But I am wearying
you, gentlemen. Come into the library,
and I will show it to you."
We passed into the library. Mr. Tar
rant switched off the lights in the mu
seum and, carefully closing and lock
ing the door, switched on the library
lights. As the room became illumina
ted we heard the door at the other end
close softly. There was the swishing
of skirts.
I was not prepared for what fol
lowed. With a yell the millionaire
leaped across the room, burst open
the door and reappeared, dragging
with him the figure of a woman. Of
course it was Miss Blythe. She stood
staring at him, looking like a sleep
walker. Her hands were tightly closed.
Open your hands!" yelled Mr. Tar
rant. "What have you got there? Open
them, I say!"
But the frail woman seemed to have
the strength of an athlete, for Mr. Tar
rant, powerful man though he waB,
could not open her hands. All the
while she stood and stared at him, and
she seemed to be utterly unconscious
of our presence.
Doctor Immanuel walked over to
her; he placed one hand on either
i shoulder and looked into her unwink
ing êyes.
!
j
a
"Helen," he said quietly, "open your
hands!"
There was a moment of uncertainty,
then the hard eyes closed and the
j hands opened obediently. With a cry
a
i
I
of exultation, Mr. Tarrant pounced
upon an. object held In one of them—a
massive ring containing an enormous
engraved stone which looked like a
sardonyx.
"Here it is!" he shouted. "Now, then,
will on« of you gentlemen go for an of
ficer?"
Doctor Immanuel turned round and
held up a finger In warning.
"She doesn't hear you." he said qui
etly. "She Is hypnotized."
"Nonsense!" exclaimed Mr. Tarrant,
angrily. "How could you hypnotize
her in that minute.
"She bas hypnotized herself." an
swered Doctor Immanuel. "She came
to you in a hypnotic condition, and in
her normal condition would he totally
ignorant of what she has dene. Helen,"
be added, softly, "you are in the hands
of your friends. Go over and sit down
on that sofa and sleep until 1 waken
you."
The girl crossed the room obedient
ly, walking just as a normal person
would have done. She found the sofa
and sat down; but all the while her
eyes were closed. Mr. Tarrant stood
by, still fuming.
"Have I your permission to pro
ceed ?" asked Doctor Immanuel. "I be
lieve you invited us here for this very
purpose, Mr. Tarrant."
"Oh, yes, by all means," Tarrant an
swered. "But you'll have to convince
me before I allow her to leave this
house except under police supervi
sion."
"I hope to," answered the doctor.
"But first let me assure you that this
young woman could never be convicted
of theft in any court Ignorant as our
police magistrates are, the understand
iß
the
I that there is such a thing as al
* äää "■!
äs sktt-ää"
of
it.
the
a
fact
is
was
mu
end
fol
Of
to
tose condition."
"Yes—yes."
"The fact is, Mr. Tarrant, that Miss
Blythe the governess is not in the least
the same personality as Miss Blythe
the kleptomaniac, and has no knowl
edge of her. She doubtless realizes
that, when these periods of forgetful
ness come on, she commits actions of
which she has no waking knowledge,
and it is the impossibility of explain
ing this to an incredulous world that
has led her to suffer in silence rather
than attempt to vindicate her reputa
tion. Now, with your permission, I
shall proceed."
Tarrant and I sat down. All this
while Miss Blythe had not moved a
muscle.
"Give me the amulet, please," said
Doctor Immanuel, and Mr. Tarrant
handed it to him with obvious reluc
tance. Had the situation been less
dramatic it would have been amusing
to see the intense gaze which the mil
lionaire kept upon the gem.
"Helen," said Doctor Immanuel,
holding up the gem before her, "can
you read the inscription on this?"
"No." she answered in a voice
which seemed disappointingly natural,
"It is in Assyrian cuneiform, is it
not?"
"Oh, yes, you can read it," said the
doctor coaxingly. "You are not half
asleep yet. Go to sleep completely,
now."
He stroked her forehead caressingly,
and when ire held up the amulet and
asked the question again, it was a to
tally different voice that answered him
—a woman's voice, but harsh and na
sal and strident.
"Why should I read it?" It asked
protestingly.
"Read it!" said Doctor Immanuel.
"No, read it in English"—for the voice
had begun to talk in a sort of gibber
ish totally unlike any language that I
had ever heard spoken, and bearing a
distant resemblance to what I imagine
Chinese must be.
"To the high priest of Marduk in
Babylon," whined the voice. "Made for
and donated by Asshur—Tiglath—Pi
leser, king in Nineveh—"
Paul Tarrant leaped out of his chair.
"That solves it," he shouted, and
sank down again and stared round him
like a man thoroughly bewildered.
"Solves what?'' asked Doctor Im
manuel quietly.
"That word Nineveh, doctor. The
translations read 'King of Bel's slave,'
and were utterly meaningless. If that
is correct—it must be, but the stone
was so rubbed none of us could de
cipher it—why, it places the date back
to the thirty-fifth century, B. C., In
stead of the twenty-seventh. And that
explains why the old cuneiform was
used by the engraver."
"Who has this stone?'' asked Doctor
Immanuel, and we all gripped our
seats more tightly at the snarling
monosyllable "I!"
Why did you not deliver it to the
high priest of Marduk?" the doctor
asked.
"I did. He would not receive it,"
shrilled the woman on the sofa. "In
stead, he sent soldiers to arrest me.
It is his. He does not know. He—"
Her voice ceased, her eyes were
open, and she was clinging desperately
round Doctor Immanuel's neck and
deathly pale. She shuddered and
quailed as though in intolerable fear;
and she would have screamed but that
she could not find her voice again.
Then she collapsed, a dead weight, in
the doctor's arms, and he placed her
in a supine posture upon the sofa.
"Call your housekeeper and we will
help carry her to her room," said Doc
tor Immanuel. "Noi"—for Mr. Tarrant
was protesting—"it will be all right
now. The strain was too intense for
her; the awakening too sadden, but she
will sleep peacefully and, but for a lit
tle nausea tomorrow, she will be quite
herself again. And she will have no
recollection of whait has occurred."
"I don't want to let the housekeeper
know," Mr. Thrrant answered. "Help
me, doctor, and we will take her up
stairs. I'm glad my wife is not at
home tonight,." ho added, grimly. "She
mightn't approve of this."
But Mr. Tarrant took good care to
secure and pocket the amulet before
he took Misa Blythe's head and shoul
ders into his. arms and led the way out
of the library. I sat there for three or
four minutee, wondering. I could, not
quite understand just what had oc
curred.
The two men came back arguing: vio
lently. Doctor Immanuel's voice rose
high and shrill above that of his
friend.
"She told you the Inscription on the
stone amd set you right some six centu
ries," he cried. "What other proof do
you want, Tarrant?"
"Oh, well, It's all rubbish, you know,"
answered the millionaire. "Of course,
now that I have the amulet, I don't
want to have the girl sent to jail. But
I can't keei a thief in my bouse—now
can I, doctor?'
"She need not be a thief," Doctor Im
manuel -answered. "It all depends up
on you."
"How so? Didn't you yourself tell
me that she would steal again?"
"Yes. As long as she was looking
for the opportunity to restore the lost
amulet to the high priest."
"Well, I guess she'll have to go on
looking for him," said Mr. Tarrant.
"What do you want me to do—take her
to Babylon and look for the incarna
tion of the old fellow among the desert
Bedouin?"
"Why, my dear Tarrant, you don't
suppose you'll find him there, do
you?" the doctor asked quizzically.
[ 'More probably in thin city. Do you
a
in
so
of
al- f nppose a man of that
Miss
least
of
that
I
this
a
said
less
mil
"can
it
the
half
and
to
him
na
I
a
in
for
Horans
old
Genoa and Pisa and
die ages.
"Now look here, Tarraat,"^ ..
ued. as they sat down, "herijgjJ 1 " 11 '
uation as I size it up.
not, as you please—it or
Your Helen Blythe w*»
priestess of Ishtar. It vi*t~
tion that called for any
it was a semi-servile '
and the priestess was
for her appearance and hirtlW
suppose that in her former^
had merited her good
erous deeds, but, once the rung ^
been enjoyed, she sank
grade of governess again—
aient in the ancient world. »I hid
the care of this amulet Shi «u
bound under the most sa cr oi mt 4
oaths to deliver It to the pritg g
Marduk. Fbr some cause she
to fulfil her task, and the ominka M
profoundly affected her that it lay Iks
an incubus on her soul during her not
incarnation. She stole rings, obwneg
solely by the desire to disco»« the
lost amulet again. At last shetnmd
it. She took it to the museum—fill in
her entranced condition—and wu
the point of placing it with the oth«
half when she was arrested, or. as ùa
rather confusedly interpreted the oc
currence when on the borderline be
tween sleep and waking, 'the king sent
soldiers to arrest her'—probably the
police and watchmen at the museum.
Now, Tarrant, send the half amulet te
the museum and you will find it per
fectly safe to keep Miss Blythe in your
house henceforward."
"Well, said Mr. Tarrant, "to be
frank, I have intended to present it to
the museum shortly, and after my ex
periences of the past few days I'll fol
low your advice. But *as for keeping
her in my employment—''
"Try it, Tarrant," pleaded Doctor
Immanuel.
"Suppose she steals—"
"She won't steal any more, when
once the amulet is in safekeeping."
Mr. Tarrant drummed his hands on
his knees.
"Oh, all right, have your way," he
said shortly. "But, by the way, Im
manuel, do you mean to insinuate that
Doctor Faust, our curator, is a reincar
nation of the high priest of Marduk?
He would be horrified to hear you say
that. Why, he is a director of two
Sunday schools and contributes liber
ally to foreign missions in^-" He
paused.
"Yes, where?" asked Doetor Im
manuel
"In Assyria and Mesopotamia," an
swered Mr. Tarrant sheepishly. '
And Doctor Immanuel forebore to
press his advantage home.
"But look here," said Mr. Tarrant,
presently, "how does your 1820 year
period work out, doctor? The amulet,
according to our revised estimate, was
made in the thirty-fifth century before
Christ."
Doctor Immanuel began to estimate.
"Our period takes us back to the
year 100, does it not?" he asked. 'The
birth before that, then, would have
been about 1750 B. C., probably in
Egypt. Add 1820 years and we have
the year 3570. Yes, there you are, Tar
rant. And if you can discover the pre
else age of the amulet you will be able
to estimate the exact age of your gov
erness."
"It must have been a mighty strong
influence to last over three incarna
tions, doctor," said the millionaire, ir
reverently. "Where do you suppose
she spent the last two—and how?"
"Expiating her crime," Doctor Im
manuel answered. "Doubtless as a
thief and outcast—faugh, don't let us
pursue that matter, Tarrant. She's
won through all of that, poor girl.
You're going to keep and help her, Tar
rant, aren't you?"
And Tarrant promised.
(Copyright, by W. G. Chapman.)
DISEASE CURED BY MACHINE
Apparatus for the Treatment of Cardi
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nent 8urgeon.
An eminent surgeon, connected with
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the point where the esophagus,
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esophagus a muscular ring, previously
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food is retained above the ring. In
some cases a huge pouch Is formed by
the accumulation of food, while the
patient sloirly starves to death.
The device which treats the disease
so successfully Is an expanding dila
tor, which, after being inserted to
the contracted point, is distended with
water to a point where it paralyzes the
muscle. A single treatment or, in
rare instances, a few treatments, com
pletely relieves the condition. No pain
accompanies the use of the dilator and
no anesthetic is given.
A Real Geniua.
"Is Professor Diggs a learned man?"
'He seems to have all the earmarks
of a savant."
"Yes?"
'He has located the sites of several
buried cities in ancient Assyria, but In
variably gets lost when he goes dowa
town to pay m 8 water bllL"