*CHAPTER XI*
*THE INCANTATION*
It was near the hour of midnight when a figure, muffled and concealed inan ample mantle left Castel San Angelo. The guards on duty did notchallenge it and after crossing the Aelian bridge, it traversed thedeserted thoroughfares until it reached the Flaminian way, which itentered. Avoiding the foot-path near the river, the figure movedstealthily along the farther side of the road, which, as far as could bediscerned by the glimpses of the moon which occasionally shone forthfrom a bank of heavy clouds, was deserted. A few sounds arose from thebanks of the river and there was now and then a splash in the water or adistant cry betokening some passing craft. Otherwise profound silencereigned. The low structures and wharfs on the opposite bank could bebut imperfectly discerned, but the moonlight fell clear upon themausoleum of Augustus and the adjacent church of St. Eufemia. The sameglimmer also ran like a silver-belt across the stream and revealed thegloomy walls of the Septizonium. The world of habitations beyond thismelancholy stronghold was buried in darkness.
After crossing Ponte Sisto the muffled rambler entered a churchyard,which seemed to have been abandoned for ages. The moon was now shiningbrightly and silvered the massive square watchtowers, the battlements,and pinnacles with gorgeous tracery. Crescentius had hardly set foot onthe moss-grown path, when two individuals wrapped in dark, flowingmantles, whose manner was as mysterious as their appearance, glidedstealthily past him.
They seemed not to have noticed his presence but pursued their waythrough the churchyard, creeping beneath the shadow of a wall in thedirection of some low structure, which appeared to be a charnel-housesituated at its north-western extremity. Before this building grew ablack and stunted yew-tree. Arrived at it, they paused to see whetherthey were observed. They did not notice the unbidden visitor, who hadconcealed himself behind a buttress. One of the two individuals whoseemed bent by great age then unlocked the door of the charnel-house andbrought out a pick-axe and a spade. Then both men proceeded some littledistance from the building and began to shovel out the mould from agrass-grown grave.
Determined to watch their proceeding, Crescentius crept towards theyew-tree, behind which he ensconced himself. The bent and decrepit oneof the two meanwhile continued to ply his spade with a vigour thatseemed incomprehensible in one so far stricken in years and of suchinfirm appearance. At length he paused, and kneeling within the shallowgrave endeavoured to drag something from it. His assistant, apparentlyyounger and possessed of greater vigour, knelt to lend his aid. Aftersome exertion they drew forth the corpse of a woman which had beeninterred without a coffin and apparently in the habiliments worn duringlife. Then the two men raised the corpse, and conveyed it to thecharnel-house. After having done so, one of them returned to the gravefor the lantern and, upon returning, entered the building and closed andfastened the door behind him.
Crescentius had chosen the moment when one of the two individuals leftthe lone house, to enter unobserved and to conceal himself in theshadows. What he had witnessed, had exercised a terrible fascinationover him, and he was determined to see to an end the devilish ritesabout to be performed by the personage, in quest of whom he had come.The chamber in which he found himself was in perfect keeping with thehorrible ceremonial about to be performed. In one corner lay amouldering heap of skulls, bones and other fragments of mortality; inthe other a pile of broken coffins, emptied of their tenants and rearedon end. But what chiefly attracted his attention, was a ghastlycollection of human limbs blackened with pitch, girded round with ironhoops and hung like meat in a shamble against the wall. There were twoheads, and although the features were scarcely distinguishable owing tothe liquid in which they had been immersed, they still retained aterrible expression of agony. These were the quarters of two priestsrecently executed for conspiracy against the Pontiff, which had beenleft there pending their final disposition. The implements of executionwere scattered about and mixed with the tools of the sexton, while inthe centre of the room stood a large wooden frame supported by rafters.On this frame, bespattered with blood and besmeared with pitch, the bodywas now placed. This done, the one who seemed to be the moving spiritof the two, placed the lantern beside it, and as the light fell upon itslivid features, sullied with earth, and exhibiting traces of decay,Crescentius was so appalled by the sight, that he revealed his presenceby a half suppressed outcry. Seeing the futility of furtherconcealment, he stepped into the light of the lantern and was about tospeak, when he heard the older address his assistant, neither of whomevinced the least surprise at his presence, while he pointed toward him:
"Look! It is the very face! The bronzed and strongly markedfeatures,--the fierce gray eye--the iron frame of the figure we beheldin the show-stone! Thus he looked, as we tracked his perilous course."
"You know me then?" asked the intruder uneasily.
"You are the Senator of Rome!"
"You spoke of my perilous course! How have you learned this?"
"By the art that reveals all things! And in proof that your thoughtsare known to me, I will tell you the inquiry you would make before it isuttered. You came here to learn whether the enterprise in which you areengaged will succeed."
"Such was my intent," replied Crescentius. "From the reports about you,I will freely admit, I regarded you as an impostor! Now I am convincedthat you are skilled in the occult science and would fain consult you onthe future. What is the meaning of this?" he continued pointing to thecorpse before him.
"I expected you!" was the conjurer's laconic reply.
"How is that possible?" exclaimed Crescentius. "It is only within thehour, that I conceived the thought,--and only the events of this eveningprompted it."
"I know all!" replied Dom Sabbat. "Yet I would caution you: beware, howyou pry into the future. You may repent of your rashness, when it istoo late."
"I have no fear! Let me know the worst!" replied Crescentius.
The conjurer pointed to the corpse.
"That carcass having been placed in the ground without the holy rites ofburial, I have power over it. As the witch of Endor called up Samuel,as is recorded in Holy Writ,--as Erichtho raised up a corpse, to revealto Sextus Pompejus the event of the Pharsalian war,--as the dead maidwas brought back to life by Appollonius of Thyana,--so I, by certainpowerful incantations will lure the soul of this corpse for a shortspace into its former abode, and compel it to answer my questions. Dareyou be present at the ceremony?"
"I dare!" replied the Senator of Rome.
"So it be!" replied Dom Sabbat. "You will need all your courage!" andhe extinguished the light.
An awful silence ensued in the charnel-house, broken only by a lowmurmur from the conjurer who appeared to be reciting an incantation. Ashe proceeded, his tones became louder and his voice that of command.Suddenly he paused and seemed to await a response. But as none wasmade, greatly to the disappointment of Crescentius, whose curiosity,despite his fears, was raised to the highest pitch, cried:
"Blood is wanting to complete the charm!"
"If that be all, I will speedily supply the deficiency," replied theSenator, bared his left arm and, drawing his poniard, pricked itslightly with the point of the weapon.
"I bleed now!" he cried.
"Sprinkle the corpse with the blood," commanded Dom Sabbat.
"The blood is flowing upon it!" replied Crescentius with a shudder.
Upon this the conjurer began to mutter an incantation in a louder andmore authoritative tone than before. His assistant added his voice, andboth joined in a sort of chorus, but in a jargon entirely unintelligibleto the Senator.
Suddenly a blue flame appeared above their heads, and slowly descending,settled upon the brow of the corpse, lighting up the sunken cavities ofthe eyes and the discoloured and distorted features.
"She moves! She moves!" shouted the Senator frantically. "She moves!She is alive."
"Be silent!" cried Dom Sabbat, "else mi
schief may ensue!"
And again he started his incantation.
"Down on your knees!" he exclaimed at length with terrible voice. "Thespirit is at hand."
There was a rushing sound and a stream of white, dazzling light shotdown upon the corpse, which emitted a hollow groan. In obedience to DomSabbat's demand Crescentius had prostrated himself on the ground, but hekept his gaze steadily fixed on the body, which, to his infiniteamazement, slowly arose until it stood erect upon the frame. There itremained perfectly motionless, with the arms close to the sides and thehabiliments torn and dishevelled. The blue light still retained itsposition upon the brow and communicated a horrible glimmer to thefeatures. The spectacle was so dreadful, that Crescentius would haveaverted his eyes, but he was unable to do so. The conjurer and hisfamiliar meanwhile continued their invocations, until, as it seemed tothe Senator, the lips of the corpse moved and a voice of despairexclaimed: "Why have you called me?"
"To question you about the future!" replied Dom Sabbat rising.
"Speak and I will answer," replied the corpse.
"Ask her,--but be brief;--her time is short," said Dom Sabbat,addressing the Senator. "Only as long as that flame burns, have I powerover her!"
"What is her name?" questioned the Senator.
"Marozia!"
The Senator's hand went to his forehead; he tottered and almost fell.But he caught himself.
"Spirit of Marozia," he cried, "if indeed thou standest before me, andsome demon has not entered thy frame to delude me,--by all that is holy,and by every blessed saint do I adjure thee to tell me, whether thescheme, on which I am now engaged for the glory of Rome, will prosper?"
"Thou art mistaken, Johannes Crescentius," returned the corpse. "Thyscheme is not for the glory of Rome!"
"I will not pause to argue this point," continued the Senator. "Will theend be successful?"
"The end will be death," replied the corpse.
"To the King--or to myself?"
"To both!"
"Ha!" ejaculated Crescentius, breathing hard. "To both!"
"Proceed if you have more to ask,--the flame is expiring," cried theconjurer.
"And--Stephania?" But he could not utter the question. He felt like onechoking.
But before the question was formed, the light vanished and a heavy soundwas heard, as of the body falling on the frame.
"It is over!" said Dom Sabbat
"Can you not summon her again?" asked Crescentius, in a tone of deepdisappointment. "I must know that other."
"Impossible," replied the conjurer. "The spirit has flown and cannot berecalled. We must commit the body to the earth!"
"My curiosity is excited,--not satisfied," said the Senator. "Would itwere to occur again!"
"Thus it is ever," replied Dom Sabbat. "We seek to know that which isforbidden, and quench our thirst at a fount, which but inflames ourcuriosity the more. You have embarked on a perilous enterprise;--bewarned, Senator of Rome! If you continue to pursue it, it will lead youto perdition."
"I cannot retreat," replied Crescentius. "And I would not, if I could.Death to both of us:--this at least is atonement!"
"I warn you again,--if you persist, you are lost!"
"Impossible,--I cannot retreat;--I could not, if I would! By nosophistry can I clear my conscience of the ties imposed upon it. I havesworn never to desist from the execution of this scheme, never--never!And so resolved am I, that if I stood alone in this very hour--I wouldgo on."
"You stand alone!"
No one knew whence the voice had come. The three stood appalled.
A deep groan issued from the corpse.
"For the last time,--be warned!" expostulated Dom Sabbat.
"Come forth!" cried Crescentius rushing towards the door. "This placestifles me!" And he unbolted the door and threw it wide open, steppingoutside.
The moon was shining brightly from a deep blue azure. Before him stoodthe old church of St. Damian bathed in the moonlight. The Senator gazedabstractedly at the venerable structure, then he re-entered thecharnel-house, where he found the conjurer and his companion employed inplacing the body of the excommunicated denizen of Castel San Angelo intoa coffin, which they had taken from a pile in the corner. He immediatelyproffered his assistance and in a short space the task was completed.The coffin was then borne toward the grave, at the edge of which it waslaid, while the Dom Sabbat mumbled a strange Requiem over the departed.
This ended, it was laid into its shallow resting place, and speedilycovered with earth.
When all was ready for their departure, Dom Sabbat turned to the Senatorof Rome, bidding him farewell. Declining the proffered gold, heobserved:
"If you are wise, my lord, you will profit by the awful warning you havethis night received."
"Who are you?" the Senator questioned abruptly, trying to peer throughthe cowl which the adept of the black arts had drawn over his face,"since the devils obey your beck?"
The conjurer laughed a soundless laugh.
"Of dominion over devils I am innocent--since I rule no men!"
At the entrance of the churchyard, Crescentius parted from the conjurerand his associate, about whose personality he had not troubled himself,and returned in deep rumination to Castel San Angelo.
No sooner had the Senator of Rome departed, than the conjurer's familiartore the trappings from his person and stood revealed to his companionas Benilo, the Chamberlain.
"Dog! Liar! Impostor," he hissed into Dom Sabbat's face, while kickingand buffeting him. "Marozia has been dead some fifty years. How dareyou perpetrate this monstrous fraud? Was it this I bade you tell theSenator of Rome?"
Dom Sabbat cringed before the blows and the flaming madness in theChamberlain's eyes. Folding his arms over his chest and bending low hereplied with feigned contrition:
"It was not for me to compel the spirit's answer! And as for thecorpse, 'twas Marozia's. Thus read you the devil's favour. Untilblessed by the holy rite, the body cannot return to its native dust."
"Then it was Marozia's spirit we beheld?" Benilo queried with a shudder,as they left the churchyard.
"Marozia's spirit," replied Dom Sabbat. "Yet who would raise a fabricon the memory of a lie?"