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05 - Nightmare Tales by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky · Nightmare Tales

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  Speaker 1: Section four of Nightmare Tales by Helena P. Bolovatsky. This
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Read by Ben
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  Speaker 1: Tucker The Luminous Shield. We were a small and select
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  Speaker 1: party of light hearted travelers. We had arrived at Constantinople
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  Speaker 1: a week before from Greece, and had devoted fourteen hours
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  Speaker 1: a day ever since to toiling up and down the
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  Speaker 1: steep heights of Pera, visiting bazaars, climbing to the tops
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  Speaker 1: of minarets, and fighting our way through armies of hungry
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  Speaker 1: dogs the traditional masters of the streets of Stamboul. Nomadic
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  Speaker 1: life is infectious, they say, and no civilization is strong
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  Speaker 1: enough to destroy the charm of unrestrained freedom. When it
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  Speaker 1: has once been tasted. The gypsy cannot be tempted from
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  Speaker 1: his tint, and even the common tramp finds a fascination
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  Speaker 1: in his comfortless and precarious existence that prevents him from
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  Speaker 1: taking to any fixed abode in occupation. To guard my
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  Speaker 1: spaniel Ralph from falling a victim to this infection, enjoining
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  Speaker 1: the canine bedouins that infested the streets was my chief
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  Speaker 1: care during our stay in Constantinople. He was a fine fellow,
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  Speaker 1: my constant companion and cherished friend. Afraid of losing him,
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  Speaker 1: I kept a strict watch over his movements for the
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  Speaker 1: first three days. However, he behaved like a tolerably well
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  Speaker 1: educated quadruped and remained faithfully at my heels. At every
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  Speaker 1: impudent attack from his Mahomedan cousins, whether intended as a
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  Speaker 1: hostile demonstration or an overture of friendship, his only reply
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  Speaker 1: would be to draw in his tail between his legs, and,
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  Speaker 1: with an air of dignified modesty, seek protection under the
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  Speaker 1: wing of one or other of our party, as he
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  Speaker 1: had thus from the first shown so decided an aversion
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  Speaker 1: to bad company. I began to feel assured of his discretion,
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  Speaker 1: and by the end of the third day I had
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  Speaker 1: considerably relaxed my vigilance. This carelessness on my part, however,
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  Speaker 1: was soon punished, and I was made to regret my
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  Speaker 1: misplaced confidence. In an unguarded moment, he listened to the
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  Speaker 1: voice of some four footed siren, and the last I
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  Speaker 1: saw of him the end of his bushy tail, vanishing
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  Speaker 1: round the corner of a dirty, winding little back street.
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  Speaker 1: Greatly annoyed, I passed the remainder of the day in
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  Speaker 1: a vain search. After my dumb companion, I offered twenty
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  Speaker 1: thirty forty francs reward for him. About as many vagabond
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  Speaker 1: Maltese began a regular chase, and towards evening we were
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  Speaker 1: invaded in our hotel by the whole troop. Every man
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  Speaker 1: of them with a more or less mangy cur in
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  Speaker 1: his arms, which he tried to persuade me was my
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  Speaker 1: lost dog. The more I denied, the more solemnly they insisted,
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  Speaker 1: one of them actually going down on his knees, snatching
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  Speaker 1: from his bosom and old corroded metal image of the Virgin,
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  Speaker 1: and swearing a solemn oath that the Queen of Heaven
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  Speaker 1: herself had kindly appeared to him to point out the
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  Speaker 1: right animal. The tumult had increased to such an extent
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  Speaker 1: that it looked as if Ralph's disappearance was going to
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  Speaker 1: be the cause of a small riot, and finally our
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  Speaker 1: landlord had to send for a couple of cavasses from
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  Speaker 1: the nearest police station and have this regiment of bipeds
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  Speaker 1: and quadrupeds expelled by main force. It began to be
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  Speaker 1: convinced that I should never see my dog again, and
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  Speaker 1: I was the more despondent, since the porter of the hotel,
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  Speaker 1: a semi respectable old brigand who, to judge by appearances,
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  Speaker 1: had not passed more than half a dozen years at
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  Speaker 1: the galleys, gravely assured me that all my pains were useless,
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  Speaker 1: as my spaniel was undoubtedly dead and devoured too by
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  Speaker 1: this time, the Turkish dogs being very fond of their
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  Speaker 1: more toothsome English brothers. All this discussion had taken place
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  Speaker 1: in the street at the door of the hotel, and
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  Speaker 1: I was about to give up the search for the
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  Speaker 1: night at least and enter the hotel, when an old
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  Speaker 1: Greek lady, Fanneroiyote, who had been hearing the fracas from
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  Speaker 1: the steps of a door close by, approached our disconsolate
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  Speaker 1: group and suggested to Miss h one of our party
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  Speaker 1: that we should inquire of the dervishes concerning the fate
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  Speaker 1: of Ralph. And what can the dervishes know about my dog?
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  Speaker 1: Said I, in no mood to joke, ridiculous as the
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  Speaker 1: proposition appeared. The holy Men know all. Kyrea Madam, said
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  Speaker 1: she somewhat mysteriously. Last week I robbed of my new
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  Speaker 1: satin pelisse, that my son had just brought me from Brussa,
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  Speaker 1: and as you all see, I have recovered it and
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  Speaker 1: have it on my back now. Indeed, then the Holy
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  Speaker 1: Men have also managed to metamorphose your new police into
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  Speaker 1: an old one, by all appearances, said one of the
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  Speaker 1: gentlemen who accompanied us, pointing as he spoke to a
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  Speaker 1: large rent in the back which had been clumsily repaired
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  Speaker 1: with pins. And that is just the most wonderful part
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  Speaker 1: of the whole story, quietly answered the Fanariote, not in
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  Speaker 1: the least disconcerted. They showed me in the Shining Circle,
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  Speaker 1: the quarter of the town, the house, and even the
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  Speaker 1: room in which the jew who had stolen my police
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  Speaker 1: was just about to rip it up and cut it
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  Speaker 1: into pieces. My son and I had barely time to
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  Speaker 1: run over to the Kalinjukulu second quarter and to save
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  Speaker 1: my property. We caught the thief in the very act,
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  Speaker 1: and we both recognized him as the man shown to
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  Speaker 1: us by the dervishes in the Magic Moon. He confessed
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  Speaker 1: the theft and is now in prison. Although none of
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  Speaker 1: us had the least comprehension of what she meant by
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  Speaker 1: the Magic Moon and the Shining Circle, and we were
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  Speaker 1: all thoroughly mystified by her account of the divining powers
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  Speaker 1: of the Holy Men, we still felt somehow satisfied from
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  Speaker 1: her manner that the story was not altogether a fabrication,
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  Speaker 1: And since she had, at all events apparently succeeded in
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  Speaker 1: recovering her property through being somehow assisted by the dervishes,
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  Speaker 1: we determined to go the following morning and see for ourselves,
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  Speaker 1: for what had helped her might help us Likewise. The
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  Speaker 1: monotonous cry of the mousins from the tops of the
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  Speaker 1: minarets had just proclaimed the hour of noon. As we,
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  Speaker 1: descending from the heights of Pira to the port of Galata,
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  Speaker 1: with difficulty, managed to elbow our way through the unsavory
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  Speaker 1: crowds of the commercial quarter of the town. Before we
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  Speaker 1: reached the docks, we had been half deafened by the
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  Speaker 1: shouts and incessant ear piercing cries, and the babbel like
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  Speaker 1: confusion of tongues. In this part of the city, it
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  Speaker 1: is useless to expect to be guided by either house
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  Speaker 1: numbers or names of streets. The location of any desired
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  Speaker 1: places indicated by its proximity to some other conspicuous building,
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  Speaker 1: such as a mosque, bath or European shop. For the
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  Speaker 1: rest one has to trust to Allah and his profit.
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  Speaker 1: It was with greatest difficulty, therefore, that we finally discovered
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  Speaker 1: the British ship Chandler's Store, at the rear of which
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  Speaker 1: we were to find the place of our destination. Our
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  Speaker 1: hotel guide was as ignorant of the dervish's abode as
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  Speaker 1: we were ourselves, But at last, a small Greek in
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  Speaker 1: all the simplicity of primitive undress, consented for a modest
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  Speaker 1: copper back sheeesh to lead us to the dancers. When
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  Speaker 1: we were arrived, we were shown into a vast and
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  Speaker 1: gloomy hall that looked like a deserted stable. It was
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  Speaker 1: long and narrow, the floor was thickly strewn with sand,
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  Speaker 1: as in a riding school, and it was lighted only
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  Speaker 1: by small windows placed at some height from the ground.
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  Speaker 1: The dervishes had finished their morning performances and were evidently
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  Speaker 1: resting from their exhausting labors. They looked completely prostrated, some
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  Speaker 1: lying about in corners, others sitting on their heels, staring
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  Speaker 1: vacantly into space, engaged, as we were informed, in meditation
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  Speaker 1: on their invisible deity. They appeared to have lost all
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  Speaker 1: power of sight and hearing, for none of them responded
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  Speaker 1: to our questions, until a great, gaunt figure wearing a
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  Speaker 1: tall cap that made him look at least seven feet high,
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  Speaker 1: emerged from an obscure corner, informing us that he was
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  Speaker 1: their chief. The giant gave us to understand that the
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  Speaker 1: saintly Brethren, being in the habit of receiving orders for
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  Speaker 1: additional ceremonies from Allah himself, must on no account be disturbed.
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  Speaker 1: But when our interpreter had explained to him the object
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  Speaker 1: of our visit, which concerned himself alone, as he was
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  Speaker 1: the sole custodian of the Divining Rod, his objections vanished,
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  Speaker 1: and he extended his hand for alms. Upon being gratified,
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  Speaker 1: he intimated that only two of our party could be
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  Speaker 1: admitted at one time into the confidence of the Future,
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  Speaker 1: and led the way, followed by miss h and myself.
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  Speaker 1: Plunging after him into what seemed to be a half
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  Speaker 1: subterranean passage, we were led to the foot of a
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  Speaker 1: tall ladder leading to a chamber under the roof. We
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  Speaker 1: scrambled up after our guide, and at the top we
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  Speaker 1: found ourselves in a wretched garret of moderate size, with
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  Speaker 1: bare walls and destitute of furniture. The floor was carpeted
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  Speaker 1: with a thick layer of dust, and cobwebs festooned the
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  Speaker 1: walls in neglected confusion. In the corner we saw something
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  Speaker 1: that I at first mistook for a bundle of old rags.
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  Speaker 1: But the heap presently moved and got on its legs,
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  Speaker 1: advanced to the middle of the room, and stood before
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  Speaker 1: us the most extraordinary looking creature that I ever beheld.
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  Speaker 1: Its sex was female, but whether she was a woman
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  Speaker 1: or child, it was impossible to decide. She was a
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  Speaker 1: hideous looking dwarf with an enormous head the shoulders of
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  Speaker 1: a grenadier, with a waist and proportion, the whole supported
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  Speaker 1: by two short, lean, spider like legs that seemed unequal
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  Speaker 1: to the task of bearing the weight of the monstrous body.
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  Speaker 1: She had a grinning countenance, like the face of a satyr,
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  Speaker 1: and it was ornamented with letters and signs from the Koran.
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  Speaker 1: Painted in bright yellow. On her forehead was a blood
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  Speaker 1: red crescent. Her head was crowned with a dusty tarboush
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  Speaker 1: or fez. Her legs were arrayed in large Turkish trousers
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  Speaker 1: and some dirty white muslin wrapped round her body, barely
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  Speaker 1: sufficed to conceal its hideous deformities. This creature rather let
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  Speaker 1: herself drop than sat down in the middle of the floor,
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  Speaker 1: and as her weight descended on the rickety boards, it
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  Speaker 1: sent up a cloud of dust that set us coughing
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  Speaker 1: and sneezing. This was the famous Totmos known as the
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  Speaker 1: Damascus Oracle. Without losing time in idle talk, the dervish
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  Speaker 1: produced a piece of chalk and traced around the girl
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  Speaker 1: a circle about six feet in diameter. Fetching from behind
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  Speaker 1: the door twelve small copper lamps, which he filled with
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  Speaker 1: some dark liquid from a small bottle which he drew
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  Speaker 1: from his bosom, he placed them symmetrically round the magic circle.
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  Speaker 1: He then broke a chip of wood from a panel
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  Speaker 1: of the half ruined door, which bore the marks of
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  Speaker 1: many a similar depredation, and holding the chip between his
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  Speaker 1: thumb and finger, he began blowing on it at regular intervals,
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  Speaker 1: alternating the blowing with mutterings of some kind of weird incantation,
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  Speaker 1: till suddenly, and without any apparent cause for its ignition,
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  Speaker 1: there appeared a spark on the chip, and it blazed
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  Speaker 1: up like a dry match. The dervish then lit the
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  Speaker 1: twelve lamps at this self generated flame. During this process, Totmos,
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  Speaker 1: who had sat till then altogether unconcerned and motionless, removed
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  Speaker 1: her yellow slippers from her naked feet, and, throwing them
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  Speaker 1: into a corner, disclosed an additional beauty, a sixth toe
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  Speaker 1: on each deformed foot. The dervish now reached over into
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  Speaker 1: the circle, and, seizing the dwarf's ankles, gave her a
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  Speaker 1: jerk as if he had been lifting a bag of corn,
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  Speaker 1: and raised her clear off the ground. Then, stepping back
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  Speaker 1: a pace, held her head downward. He shook her as
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  Speaker 1: one might a sack to pack its contents, the motion
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  Speaker 1: being regular and easy. He then swung her to and
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  Speaker 1: fro like a pendulum until the necessary momentum was acquired.
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  Speaker 1: When letting go one foot and seizing the other with
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  Speaker 1: both hands, he made a powerful muscular effort and whirled
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  Speaker 1: her round in the air, as if she had been
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  Speaker 1: an Indian club. My companion had shrunken back in alarm
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  Speaker 1: to the farthest corner. Round and round, the dervish swung
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  Speaker 1: his living burden. She remained perfectly passive. The motion increased
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  Speaker 1: in rapidity, until the eye could hardly follow the body
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  Speaker 1: in its circuit. This continued for perhaps two or three minutes, until,
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  Speaker 1: gradually slackening the motion, he at length stopped it altogether,
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  Speaker 1: and in an instant had landed the girl on her
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  Speaker 1: knees in the middle of the lamp lit circle. Such
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  Speaker 1: was the Eastern mode of mesmerization, as practiced among the dervishes.
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  Speaker 1: And now the dwarf seemed entirely oblivious of external objects,
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  Speaker 1: and in a deep trance, her head and jaw dropped
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  Speaker 1: on her chest. Her eyes were glazed and staring, and
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  Speaker 1: altogether her appearance was even more hideous than before. The
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  Speaker 1: dervish then carefully closed the shutters of the only window,
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  Speaker 1: and we should have been in total obscurity, but that
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  Speaker 1: there was a whole board in it, through which entered
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  Speaker 1: a bright ray of sunlight that shot through the darkened
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  Speaker 1: room and shone upon the girl. He arranged her drooping
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  Speaker 1: head so that the ray should fall upon the crown,
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  Speaker 1: after which, motioning us to remain silent, he folded his
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  Speaker 1: arms upon his bosom, and, fixing his gaze upon the
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  Speaker 1: bright spot, became as motionless as a stone image. I too,
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  Speaker 1: riveted my eyes on the same spot, wondering what was
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  Speaker 1: to happen next, and how all this strange ceremony was
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  Speaker 1: to help me find Ralph By degrees, the bright patch,
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  Speaker 1: as if it had been drawn through the sunbeam a
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  Speaker 1: greater splendor from without, and condensed it within its own area,
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  Speaker 1: shaped itself into a brilliant star, sending out rays in
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  Speaker 1: every direction as from a focus. A curious optical effect
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  Speaker 1: then occurred. The room, which had been previously partially lighted
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  Speaker 1: by the sunbeam, grew darker and darker as the star
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  Speaker 1: increased in radiance, until we found ourselves in an Egyptian gloom.
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  Speaker 1: The star twinkled, trembled, and turned, at first with a
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  Speaker 1: slow gyratory motion, then faster and faster, increasing its circumference
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  Speaker 1: at every ris rotation, until it formed a brilliant disk,
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  Speaker 1: and we no longer saw the dwarf, who seemed absorbed
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  Speaker 1: into its light, having gradually attained an extremely rapid velocity,
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  Speaker 1: as the girl had done when whirled by the dervish.
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  Speaker 1: The motion began to decrease and finally merged into a
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  Speaker 1: feeble vibration, like the shimmer of moonbeams on rippling water.
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  Speaker 1: Then it flickered for a moment, longer emitted a few
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  Speaker 1: last flashes, and assuming the density and iridescence of an
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  Speaker 1: immense opal, it remained motionless. The disk now radiated a
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  Speaker 1: moonlike luster, soft and silvery, but instead of illuminating the garret,
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  Speaker 1: it seemed only to intensify the darkness. The edge of
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  Speaker 1: the circle was not penumbrous, but on the contrary, sharply defined,
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  Speaker 1: like that of a silver shield. All being now ready,
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  Speaker 1: the dervish, without uttering a word or removing his gaze
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  Speaker 1: from the disk, stretched out a hand, and taking hold
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  Speaker 1: of mine, he drew me to his side and pointed
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  Speaker 1: to the luminous shield. Looking at the place indicated, we
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  Speaker 1: saw large patches appear like those on the moon. These
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  Speaker 1: gradually formed themselves into figures that began moving about in
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  Speaker 1: high relief. In their natural colors, they neither appeared like
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  Speaker 1: a photograph nor an engraving, still less like the reflection
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  Speaker 1: of images on a mirror, but as if the disk
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  Speaker 1: were a cameo, and they were raised above its surface
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  Speaker 1: and then endowed with life and motion. To my astonishment
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  Speaker 1: and my friend's consternation, we recognized the bridge leading from
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  Speaker 1: Galata to Stamboul spanning the Golden Horn from the new
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  Speaker 1: to the old city. There were the people hurrying to
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  Speaker 1: and fro, steamers and gay kikes gliding on the Blue Bosphorus,
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  Speaker 1: the many colored buildings, villas and palaces reflected in the water,
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  Speaker 1: and the whole picture illuminated by the noonday sun. It
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  Speaker 1: passed like a panorama, but so vivid was the impression
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  Speaker 1: that we could not tell whether it or ourselves were
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  Speaker 1: in motion. All was bustle in life, but not a
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  Speaker 1: sound broke the oppressive stillness. It was noiseless as a
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  Speaker 1: dre It was a phantom picture. Street after street and
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  Speaker 1: quarter after quarter succeeded one another. There was the bazaar
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  Speaker 1: with its narrow roofed passages, the small shops on either side,
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  Speaker 1: the coffee houses with gravelly smoking turks, and as either
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  Speaker 1: they glided past us or we passed them, one of
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  Speaker 1: the smokers upset the nargilee and coffee of another, and
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  Speaker 1: a volley of soundless invectives caused us great amusement. So
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  Speaker 1: we traveled with the picture until we came to a
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  Speaker 1: large building that I recognized as the palace of the
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  Speaker 1: Minister of Finance. In a ditch behind the house, and
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  Speaker 1: close to a mosque, lying in a pool of mud
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  Speaker 1: with a silken coat, all bedraggled. Lay my poor Ralph,
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  Speaker 1: panting and crouching down as if exhausted. He seemed to
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  Speaker 1: be in a dying condition, and near him were gathered
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  Speaker 1: some sorry looking curs, who lay blinking in the sun
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  Speaker 1: and snapping at the flies. I had seen all that
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  Speaker 1: I desired, although I had not breathed a word about
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  Speaker 1: the dog to the dervish, and had come more out
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  Speaker 1: of curiosity than with the idea of any success. I
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  Speaker 1: was impatient to leave at once and recover Ralph, But
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  Speaker 1: as my companion besought me to remain a little while longer,
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  Speaker 1: I reluctantly consented. The scene faded away, and Miss h
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  Speaker 1: placed herself in turn by the side of the dervish.
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  Speaker 1: I will think of him, she whispered in my ear,
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  Speaker 1: with the eager tone that young ladies generally assume when
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  Speaker 1: talking of the worshiped him. There is a long stretch
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  Speaker 1: of sand and a blue sea, with white waves dancing
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  Speaker 1: in the sun, and a great steamer is plowing her
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  Speaker 1: way along past a desolate shore, leaving a milky track
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  Speaker 1: behind her. The deck is full of life, the men
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  Speaker 1: are busy forward. The cook with the white cap and
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  Speaker 1: apron is coming out of the galley. Uniformed officers are
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  Speaker 1: moving about. Passengers fill the quarter deck, lounging, flirting or reading,
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  Speaker 1: And a young man we both recognize comes forward and
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  Speaker 1: leans over the taffrail. It is him. Miss h gives
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  Speaker 1: a little gasp, blushes and smiles, and concentrates her thoughts Again.
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  Speaker 1: The pictures of the steamer vanishes. The magic moon remains
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  Speaker 1: for a few moments blank, but new spots appear on
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  Speaker 1: its luminous face. We see a library slowly emerging from
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  Speaker 1: its depths, a library with green carpet and hangings and
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  Speaker 1: book shelves round the sides of the room. Seated in
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  Speaker 1: an arm chair at the table under a hanging lamp
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  Speaker 1: is an old gentleman writing, his gray hairs brushed back
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  Speaker 1: from his forehead. His face is smooth shaven, and his
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  Speaker 1: countenance has an expression of benignity. The dervish made a
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  Speaker 1: hasty motion to enjoin silence. The light on the disc quivers,
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  Speaker 1: but resumes its steady brilliancy, and again its surface is
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  Speaker 1: imageless for a second. We are back in Constantinople now
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: and out of the pearly depths of the shield forms
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: our own apartment in the hotel. There are our papers
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: and books on the bureau, my friend's traveling hat in
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: a corner, her ribbons hanging on the glass, and lying
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: on the bed, the very dress she had changed when
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: starting out on her expedition. No detail was lacking to
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: make the identification complete, And as if to prove that
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: we were not seeing something conjured up in our own imagination,
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: there lay upon the dressing table two unopened letters, the
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: handwriting on which was clearly recognized by my friend. They
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: were from a very dear relative of hers, from whom
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: she had expected to hear when in Athens, but had
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: been disappointed. The scene faded away, and we now saw
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: her brother's room, with himself lying upon the lounge, and
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: a servant bathing his head. Whence, to our horror, blood
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: was trickling. We had left the boy in perfect health
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: but an hour before, and upon seeing this picture, my
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: companion uttered a cry of alarm, and, seizing me by
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: the hand, dragged me to the door. We rejoined our
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: guide and friends in the long hall and hurried back
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: to the hotel. Young h had fallen down the stairs,
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: and cut his forehead rather badly. In our room, on
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: the dressing table were the two letters which had arrived
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: in our absence. They had been forwarded from Athens. Ordering
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: a carriage, I at once drove to the Ministry of Finance, and,
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: alighting with the guide, hurriedly made for the ditch I
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: had seen for the first time in the shining disk
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: in the middle of the pool, badly mangled, half vamished,
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: but still alive, lay my beautiful spaniel, Ralph. And near
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: him were the blinking curs, unconcernedly snapping at the flies.
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: End of Section four