Ayesha | Page 3

or not as you
like. I care nothing who know that it is true.
"Who and what was Ayesha, nay, what /is/ Ayesha? An incarnate
essence, a materialised spirit of Nature the unforeseeing, the lovely, the
cruel and the immortal; ensouled alone, redeemable only by Humanity
and its piteous sacrifice? Say you! I have done with speculations who
depart to solve these mysteries.
"/I/ wish you happiness and good fortune. Farewell to you and to all.
"L. Horace Holly."
I laid the letter down, and, filled with sensations that it is useless to
attempt to analyse or describe, opened the second envelope, of which I
also print the contents, omitting only certain irrelevant portions, and the
name of the writer as, it will be noted, he requests me to do.
This epistle, that was dated from a remote place upon the shores of
Cumberland, ran as follows:--
"Dear sir,--As the doctor who attended Mr. Holly in his last illness I am
obliged, in obedience to a promise that I made to him, to become an
intermediary in a some what strange business, although in truth it is one
of which I know very little, however much it may have interested me.
Still I do so only on the strict understanding that no mention is to be
made of my name in connexion with the matter, or of the locality in
which I practise.
"About ten days ago I was called in to see Mr. Holly at an old house
upon the Cliff that for many years remained untenanted except by the
caretakers, which house was his property, and had been in his family
for generations. The housekeeper who summoned me told me that her
master had but just returned from abroad, somewhere in Asia, she said,

and that he was very ill with his heart--dying, she believed; both of
which suppositions proved to be accurate.
"I found the patient sitting up in bed (to ease his heart), and a
strange-looking old man he was. He had dark eyes, small but full of fire
and intelligence, a magnificent and snowy-white beard that covered a
chest of extraordinary breadth, and hair also white, which encroached
upon his forehead and face so much that it met the whiskers upon his
cheeks. His arms were remarkable for their length and strength, though
one of them seemed to have been much torn by some animal. He told
me that a dog had done this, but if so it must have been a dog of
unusual power. He was a very ugly man, and yet, forgive the bull,
beautiful. I cannot describe what I mean better than by saying that his
face was not like the face of any ordinary mortal whom I have met in
my limited experience. Were I an artist who wished to portray a wise
and benevolent, but rather grotesque spirit, I should take that
countenance as a model.
"Mr. Holly was somewhat vexed at my being called in, which had been
done without his knowledge. Soon we became friendly enough,
however, and he expressed gratitude for the relief that I was able to
give him, though I could not hope to do more. At different times he
talked a good deal of the various countries in which he had travelled,
apparently for very many years, upon some strange quest that he never
clearly denned to me. Twice also he became light-headed, and spoke,
for the most part in languages that I identified as Greek and Arabic;
occasionally in English also, when he appeared to be addressing
himself to a being who was the object of his veneration, I might almost
say of his worship. What he said then, however, I prefer not to repeat,
for I heard it in my professional capacity.
"One day he pointed to a rough box made of some foreign wood (the
same that I have now duly despatched to you by train), and, giving me
your name and address, said that without fail it was to be forwarded to
you after his death. Also he asked me to do up a manuscript, which,
like the box, was to be sent to you.
"He saw me looking at the last sheets, which had been burned away,
and said (I repeat his exact words)--
"'Yes, yes, that can't be helped now, it must go as it is. You see I made
up my mind to destroy it after all, and it was already on the fire when

the command came--the clear, unmistakable command-- and I snatched
it off again.'
"What Mr. Holly meant by this 'command' I do not know, for he would
speak no more of the matter.
"I pass on to the last scene. One night about eleven o'clock, knowing
that my patient's end was near, I went