The Unparalleled Adventures of One Hans Pfaal


BY late accounts from Rotterdam, that city seems to be in a high state of philosophical excitement. Indeed,
phenomena have there occurred of a nature so completely unexpected −− so entirely novel −− so utterly at
variance with preconceived opinions −− as to leave no doubt on my mind that long ere this all Europe is in an
uproar, all physics in a ferment, all reason and astronomy together by the ears.
It appears that on the −− −− day of −− −− (I am not positive about the date), a vast crowd of people, for
purposes not specifically mentioned, were assembled in the great square of the Exchange in the
well−conditioned city of Rotterdam. The day was warm −− unusually so for the season −− there was hardly a
breath of air stirring; and the multitude were in no bad humor at being now and then besprinkled with friendly
showers of momentary duration, that fell from large white masses of cloud which chequered in a fitful manner
the blue vault of the firmament. Nevertheless, about noon, a slight but remarkable agitation became apparent
in the assembly: the clattering of ten thousand tongues succeeded; and, in an instant afterward, ten thousand
faces were upturned toward the heavens, ten thousand pipes descended simultaneously from the corners of ten
thousand mouths, and a shout, which could be compared to nothing but the roaring of Niagara, resounded
long, loudly, and furiously, through all the environs of Rotterdam.
The origin of this hubbub soon became sufficiently evident. From behind the huge bulk of one of those
sharply−defined masses of cloud already mentioned, was seen slowly to emerge into an open area of blue
space, a queer, heterogeneous, but apparently solid substance, so oddly shaped, so whimsically put together,
as not to be in any manner comprehended, and never to be sufficiently admired, by the host of sturdy burghers
who stood open−mouthed below. What could it be? In the name of all the vrows and devils in Rotterdam,
what could it possibly portend? No one knew, no one could imagine; no one −− not even the burgomaster
Mynheer Superbus Von Underduk −− had the slightest clew by which to unravel the mystery; so, as nothing
more reasonable could be done, every one to a man replaced his pipe carefully in the corner of his mouth, and
cocking up his right eye towards the phenomenon, puffed, paused, waddled about, and grunted significantly
−− then waddled back, grunted, paused, and finally −− puffed again.
In the meantime, however, lower and still lower toward the goodly city, came the object of so much curiosity,
and the cause of so much smoke. In a very few minutes it arrived near enough to be accurately discerned. It
appeared to be −− yes! it was undoubtedly a species of balloon; but surely no such balloon had ever been seen
in Rotterdam before. For who, let me ask, ever heard of a balloon manufactured entirely of dirty newspapers?
No man in Holland certainly; yet here, under the very noses of the people, or rather at some distance above
their noses was the identical thing in question, and composed, I have it on the best authority, of the precise
material which no one had ever before known to be used for a similar purpose. It was an egregious insult to
the good sense of the burghers of Rotterdam. As to the shape of the phenomenon, it was even still more
reprehensible. Being little or nothing better than a huge foolscap turned upside down. And this similitude was
regarded as by no means lessened when, upon nearer inspection, there was perceived a large tassel depending
from its apex, and, around the upper rim or base of the cone, a circle of little instruments, resembling
sheep−bells, which kept up a continual tinkling to the tune of Betty Martin. But still worse. Suspended by blue
ribbons to the end of this fantastic machine, there hung, by way of car, an enormous drab beaver bat, with a
brim superlatively broad, and a hemispherical crown with a black band and a silver buckle. It is, however,
somewhat remarkable that many citizens of Rotterdam swore to having seen the same hat repeatedly before;
and indeed the whole assembly seemed to regard it with eyes of familiarity; while the vrow Grettel Pfaall,
upon sight of it, uttered an exclamation of joyful surprise, and declared it to be the identical hat of her good
man himself. Now this was a circumstance the more to be observed, as Pfaall, with three companions, had
actually disappeared from Rotterdam about five years before, in a very sudden and unaccountable manner,
and up to the date of this narrative all attempts had failed of obtaining any intelligence concerning them
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whatsoever. To be sure, some bones which were thought to be human, mixed up with a quantity of
odd−looking rubbish, had been lately discovered in a retired situation to the east of Rotterdam, and some
people went so far as to imagine that in this spot a foul murder had been committed, and that the sufferers
were in all probability Hans Pfaall and his associates. But to return.
The balloon (for such no doubt it was) had now descended to within a hundred feet of the earth, allowing the
crowd below a sufficiently distinct view of the person of its occupant. This was in truth a very droll little
somebody. He could not have been more than two feet in height; but this altitude, little as it was, would have
been sufficient to destroy his equilibrium, and tilt him over the edge of his tiny car, but for the intervention of
a circular rim reaching as high as the breast, and rigged on to the cords of the balloon. The body of the little
man was more than proportionately broad, giving to his entire figure a rotundity highly absurd. His feet, of
course, could not be seen at all, although a horny substance of suspicious nature was occasionally protruded
through a rent in the bottom of the car, or to speak more properly, in the top of the hat. His hands were
enormously large. His hair was extremely gray, and collected in a cue behind. His nose was prodigiously long,
crooked, and inflammatory; his eyes full, brilliant, and acute; his chin and cheeks, although wrinkled with age,
were broad, puffy, and double; but of ears of any kind or character there was not a semblance to be discovered
upon any portion of his head. This odd little gentleman was dressed in a loose surtout of sky−blue satin, with
tight breeches to match, fastened with silver buckles at the knees. His vest was of some bright yellow
material; a white taffety cap was set jauntily on one side of his head; and, to complete his equipment, a
blood−red silk handkerchief enveloped his throat, and fell down, in a dainty manner, upon his bosom, in a
fantastic bow−knot of super−eminent dimensions.
Having descended, as I said before, to about one hundred feet from the surface of the earth, the little old
gentleman was suddenly seized with a fit of trepidation, and appeared disinclined to make any nearer
approach to terra firma. Throwing out, therefore, a quantity of sand from a canvas bag, which, he lifted with
great difficulty, he became stationary in an instant. He then proceeded, in a hurried and agitated manner, to
extract from a side−pocket in his surtout a large morocco pocket−book. This he poised suspiciously in his
hand, then eyed it with an air of extreme surprise, and was evidently astonished at its weight. He at length
opened it, and drawing there from a huge letter sealed with red sealing−wax and tied carefully with red tape,
let it fall precisely at the feet of the burgomaster, Superbus Von Underduk. His Excellency stooped to take it
up. But the aeronaut, still greatly discomposed, and having apparently no farther business to detain him in
Rotterdam, began at this moment to make busy preparations for departure; and it being necessary to discharge
a portion of ballast to enable him to reascend, the half dozen bags which he threw out, one after another,
without taking the trouble to empty their contents, tumbled, every one of them, most unfortunately upon the
back of the burgomaster, and rolled him over and over no less than one−and−twenty times, in the face of
every man in Rotterdam. It is not to be supposed, however, that the great Underduk suffered this impertinence
on the part of the little old man to pass off with impunity. It is said, on the contrary, that during each and
every one of his one−and twenty circumvolutions he emitted no less than one−and−twenty distinct and furious
whiffs from his pipe, to which he held fast the whole time with all his might, and to which he intends holding
fast until the day of his death.
In the meantime the balloon arose like a lark, and, soaring far away above the city, at length drifted quietly
behind a cloud similar to that from which it had so oddly emerged, and was thus lost forever to the wondering
eyes of the good citiezns of Rotterdam. All attention was now directed to the letter, the descent of which, and
the consequences attending thereupon, had proved so fatally subversive of both person and personal dignity to
his Excellency, the illustrious Burgomaster Mynheer Superbus Von Underduk. That functionary, however,
had not failed, during his circumgyratory movements, to bestow a thought upon the important subject of
securing the packet in question, which was seen, upon inspection, to have fallen into the most proper hands,
being actually addressed to himself and Professor Rub−a−dub, in their official capacities of President and
Vice−President of the Rotterdam College of Astronomy. It was accordingly opened by those dignitaries upon
the spot, and found to contain the following extraordinary, and indeed very serious, communications.
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To their Excellencies Von Underduk and Rub−a−dub, President and Vice−President of the States' College of
Astronomers, in the city of Rotterdam.
"Your Excellencies may perhaps be able to remember an humble artizan, by name Hans Pfaall, and by
occupation a mender of bellows, who, with three others, disappeared from Rotterdam, about five years ago, in
a manner which must have been considered by all parties at once sudden, and extremely unaccountable. If,
however, it so please your Excellencies, I, the writer of this communication, am the identical Hans Pfaall
himself. It is well known to most of my fellow citizens, that for the period of forty years I continued to occupy
the little square brick building, at the head of the alley called Sauerkraut, in which I resided at the time of my
disappearance. My ancestors have also resided therein time out of mind −− they, as well as myself, steadily
following the respectable and indeed lucrative profession of mending of bellows. For, to speak the truth, until
of late years, that the heads of all the people have been set agog with politics, no better business than my own
could an honest citizen of Rotterdam either desire or deserve. Credit was good, employment was never
wanting, and on all hands there was no lack of either money or good−will. But, as I was saying, we soon
began to feel the effects of liberty and long speeches, and radicalism, and all that sort of thing. People who
were formerly, the very best customers in the world, had now not a moment of time to think of us at all. They
had, so they said, as much as they could do to read about the revolutions, and keep up with the march of
intellect and the spirit of the age. If a fire wanted fanning, it could readily be fanned with a newspaper, and as
the government grew weaker, I have no doubt that leather and iron acquired durability in proportion, for, in a
very short time, there was not a pair of bellows in all Rotterdam that ever stood in need of a stitch or required
the assistance of a hammer. This was a state of things not to be endured. I soon grew as poor as a rat, and,
having a wife and children to provide for, my burdens at length became intolerable, and I spent hour after
hour in reflecting upon the most convenient method of putting an end to my life. Duns, in the meantime, left
me little leisure for contemplation. My house was literally besieged from morning till night, so that I began to
rave, and foam, and fret like a caged tiger against the bars of his enclosure. There were three fellows in
particular who worried me beyond endurance, keeping watch continually about my door, and threatening me
with the law. Upon these three I internally vowed the bitterest revenge, if ever I should be so happy as to get
them within my clutches; and I believe nothing in the world but the pleasure of this anticipation prevented me
from putting my plan of suicide into immediate execution, by blowing my brains out with a blunderbuss. I
thought it best, however, to dissemble my wrath, and to treat them with promises and fair words, until, by
some good turn of fate, an opportunity of vengeance should be afforded me.
"One day, having given my creditors the slip, and feeling more than usually dejected, I continued for a long
time to wander about the most obscure streets without object whatever, until at length I chanced to stumble
against the corner of a bookseller's stall. Seeing a chair close at hand, for the use of customers, I threw myself
doggedly into it, and, hardly knowing why, opened the pages of the first volume which came within my reach.
It proved to be a small pamphlet treatise on Speculative Astronomy, written either by Professor Encke of
Berlin or by a Frenchman of somewhat similar name. I had some little tincture of information on matters of
this nature, and soon became more and more absorbed in the contents of the book, reading it actually through
twice before I awoke to a recollection of what was passing around me. By this time it began to grow dark, and
I directed my steps toward home. But the treatise had made an indelible impression on my mind, and, as I
sauntered along the dusky streets, I revolved carefully over in my memory the wild and sometimes
unintelligible reasonings of the writer. There are some particular passages which affected my imagination in a
powerful and
extraordinary manner. The longer I meditated upon these the more intense grew the interest which had been
excited within me. The limited nature of my education in general, and more especially my ignorance on
subjects connected with natural philosophy, so far from rendering me diffident of my own ability to
comprehend what I had read, or inducing me to mistrust the many vague notions which had arisen in
consequence, merely served as a farther stimulus to imagination; and I was vain enough, or perhaps
reasonable enough, to doubt whether those crude ideas which, arising in ill−regulated minds, have all the
appearance, may not often in effect possess all the force, the reality, and other inherent properties, of instinct
or intuition; whether, to proceed a step farther, profundity itself might not, in matters of a purely speculative
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nature, be detected as a legitimate source of falsity and error. In other words, I believed, and still do believe,
that truth, is frequently of its own essence, superficial, and that, in many cases, the depth lies more in the
abysses where we seek her, than in the actual situations wherein she may be found. Nature herself seemed to
afford me corroboration of these ideas. In the contemplation of the heavenly bodies it struck me forcibly that I
could not distinguish a star with nearly as much precision, when I gazed on it with earnest, direct and
undeviating attention, as when I suffered my eye only to glance in its vicinity alone. I was not, of course, at
that time aware that this apparent paradox was occasioned by the center of the visual area being less
susceptible of feeble impressions of light than the exterior portions of the retina. This knowledge, and some of
another kind, came afterwards in the course of an eventful five years, during which I have dropped the
prejudices of my former humble situation in life, and forgotten the bellows−mender in far different
occupations. But at the epoch of which I speak, the analogy which a casual observation of a star offered to the
conclusions I had already drawn, struck me with the force of positive conformation, and I then finally made
up my mind to the course which I afterwards pursued.
"It was late when I reached home, and I went immediately to bed. My mind, however, was too much occupied
to sleep, and I lay the whole night buried in meditation. Arising early in the morning, and contriving again to
escape the vigilance of my creditors, I repaired eagerly to the bookseller's stall, and laid out what little ready
money I possessed, in the purchase of some volumes of Mechanics and Practical Astronomy. Having arrived
at home safely with these, I devoted every spare moment to their perusal, and soon made such proficiency in
studies of this nature as I thought sufficient for the execution of my plan. In the intervals of this period, I made
every endeavor to conciliate the three creditors who had given me so much annoyance. In this I finally
succeeded −− partly by selling enough of my household furniture to satisfy a moiety of their claim, and partly
by a promise of paying the balance upon completion of a little project which I told them I had in view, and for
assistance in which I solicited their services. By these means −− for they were ignorant men −− I found little
difficulty in gaining them over to my purpose.
"Matters being thus arranged, I contrived, by the aid of my wife and with the greatest secrecy and caution, to
dispose of what property I had remaining, and to borrow, in small sums, under various pretences, and without
paying any attention to my future means of repayment, no inconsiderable quantity of ready money. With the
means thus accruing I proceeded to procure at intervals, cambric muslin, very fine, in pieces of twelve yards
each; twine; a lot of the varnish of caoutchouc; a large and deep basket of wicker−work, made to order; and
several other articles necessary in the construction and equipment of a balloon of extraordinary dimensions.
This I directed my wife to make up as soon as possible, and gave her all requisite information as to the
particular method of proceeding. In the meantime I worked up the twine into a net−work of sufficient
dimensions; rigged it with a hoop and the necessary cords; bought a quadrant, a compass, a spy−glass, a
common barometer with some important modifications, and two astronomical instruments not so generally
known. I then took opportunities of conveying by night, to a retired situation east of Rotterdam, five
iron−bound casks, to contain about fifty gallons each, and one of a larger size; six tinned ware tubes, three
inches in diameter, properly shaped, and ten feet in length; a quantity of a particular metallic substance, or
semi−metal, which I shall not name, and a dozen demijohns of a very common acid. The gas to be formed
from these latter materials is a gas never yet generated by any other person than myself −− or at least never
applied to any similar purpose. The secret I would make no difficulty in disclosing, but that it of right belongs
to a citizen of Nantz, in France, by whom it was conditionally
communicated to myself. The same individual submitted to me, without being at all aware of my intentions, a
method of constructing balloons from the membrane of a certain animal, through which substance any escape
of gas was nearly an impossibility. I found it, however, altogether too expensive, and was not sure, upon the
whole, whether cambric muslin with a coating of gum caoutchouc, was not equally as good. I mention this
circumstance, because I think it probable that hereafter the individual in question may attempt a balloon
ascension with the novel gas and material I have spoken of, and I do not wish to deprive him of the honor of a
very singular invention.
"On the spot which I intended each of the smaller casks to occupy respectively during the inflation of the
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balloon, I privately dug a hole two feet deep; the holes forming in this manner a circle twenty−five feet in
diameter. In the centre of this circle, being the station designed for the large cask, I also dug a hole three feet
in depth. In each of the five smaller holes, I deposited a canister containing fifty pounds, and in the larger one
a keg holding one hundred and fifty pounds, of cannon powder. These −− the keg and canisters −− I
connected in a proper manner with covered trains; and having let into one of the canisters the end of about
four feet of slow match, I covered up the hole, and placed the cask over it, leaving the other end of the match
protruding about an inch, and barely visible beyond the cask. I then filled up the remaining holes, and placed
the barrels over them in their destined situation.
"Besides the articles above enumerated, I conveyed to the depot, and there secreted, one of M. Grimm's
improvements upon the apparatus for condensation of the atmospheric air. I found this machine, however, to
require considerable alteration before it could be adapted to the purposes to which I intended making it
applicable. But, with severe labor and unremitting perseverance, I at length met with entire success in all my
preparations. My balloon was soon completed. It would contain more than forty thousand cubic feet of gas;
would take me up easily, I calculated, with all my implements, and, if I managed rightly, with one hundred
and seventy−five pounds of ballast into the bargain. It had received three coats of varnish, and I found the
cambric muslin to answer all the purposes of silk itself, quite as strong and a good deal less expensive.
"Everything being now ready, I exacted from my wife an oath of secrecy in relation to all my actions from the
day of my first visit to the bookseller's stall; and promising, on my part, to return as soon as circumstances
would permit, I gave her what little money I had left, and bade her farewell. Indeed I had no fear on her
account. She was what people call a notable woman, and could manage matters in the world without my
assistance. I believe, to tell the truth, she always looked upon me as an idle boy, a mere make−weight, good
for nothing but building castles in the air, and was rather glad to get rid of me. It was a dark night when I bade
her good−bye, and taking with me, as aides−de−camp, the three creditors who had given me so much trouble,
we carried the balloon, with the car and accoutrements, by a roundabout way, to the station where the other
articles were deposited. We there found them all unmolested, and I proceeded immediately to business.
"It was the first of April. The night, as I said before, was dark; there was not a star to be seen; and a drizzling
rain, falling at intervals, rendered us very uncomfortable. But my chief anxiety was concerning the balloon,
which, in spite of the varnish with which it was defended, began to grow rather heavy with the moisture; the
powder also was liable to damage. I therefore kept my three duns working with great diligence, pounding
down ice around the central cask, and stirring the acid in the others. They did not cease, however, importuning
me with questions as to what I intended to do with all this apparatus, and expressed much dissatisfaction at the
terrible labor I made them undergo. They could not perceive, so they said, what good was likely to result from
their getting wet to the skin, merely to take a part in such horrible incantations. I began to get uneasy, and
worked away with all my might, for I verily believe the idiots supposed that I had entered into a compact with
the devil, and that, in short, what I was now doing was nothing better than it should be. I was, therefore, in
great fear of their leaving me altogether. I contrived, however, to pacify them by promises of payment of all
scores in full, as soon as I could bring the present business to a termination. To these speeches they gave, of
course, their own interpretation; fancying, no doubt, that at all events I should come into possession of vast
quantities of ready money; and provided I paid them all I owed, and a trifle more, in consideration of their
services, I dare say they cared very little what became of either my soul or my carcass.
"In about four hours and a half I found the balloon sufficiently inflated. I attached the car, therefore, and put
all my implements in it −− not forgetting the condensing apparatus, a copious supply of water, and a large
quantity of provisions, such as pemmican, in which much nutriment is contained in comparatively little bulk. I
also secured in the car a pair of pigeons and a cat. It was now nearly daybreak, and I thought it high time to
take my departure. Dropping a lighted cigar on the ground, as if by accident, I took the
opportunity, in stooping to pick it up, of igniting privately the piece of slow match, whose end, as I said
before, protruded a very little beyond the lower rim of one of the smaller casks. This manoeuvre was totally
unperceived on the part of the three duns; and, jumping into the car, I immediately cut the single cord which
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held me to the earth, and was pleased to find that I shot upward, carrying with all ease one hundred and
seventy−five pounds of leaden ballast, and able to have carried up as many more.
"Scarcely, however, had I attained the height of fifty yards, when, roaring and rumbling up after me in the
most horrible and tumultuous manner, came so dense a hurricane of fire, and smoke, and sulphur, and legs and
arms, and gravel, and burning wood, and blazing metal, that my very heart sunk within me, and I fell down in
the bottom of the car, trembling with unmitigated terror. Indeed, I now perceived that I had entirely overdone
the business, and that the main consequences of the shock were yet to be experienced. Accordingly, in less
than a second, I felt all the blood in my body rushing to my temples, and immediately thereupon, a
concussion, which I shall never forget, burst abruptly through the night and seemed to rip the very firmament
asunder. When I afterward had time for reflection, I did not fail to attribute the extreme violence of the
explosion, as regarded myself, to its proper cause −− my situation directly above it, and in the line of its
greatest power. But at the time, I thought only of preserving my life. The balloon at first collapsed, then
furiously expanded, then whirled round and round with horrible velocity, and finally, reeling and staggering
like a drunken man, hurled me with great force over the rim of the car, and left me dangling, at a terrific
height, with my head downward, and my face outwards, by a piece of slender cord about three feet in length,
which hung accidentally through a crevice near the bottom of the wicker−work, and in which, as I fell, my left
foot became most providentially entangled. It is impossible −− utterly impossible −− to form any adequate
idea of the horror of my situation. I gasped convulsively for breath −− a shudder resembling a fit of the ague
agitated every nerve and muscle of my frame −− I felt my eyes starting from their sockets −− a horrible
nausea overwhelmed me −− and at length I fainted away.
"How long I remained in this state it is impossible to say. It must, however, have been no inconsiderable time,
for when I partially recovered the sense of existence, I found the day breaking, the balloon at a prodigious
height over a wilderness of ocean, and not a trace of land to be discovered far and wide within the limits of the
vast horizon. My sensations, however, upon thus recovering, were by no means so rife with agony as might
have been anticipated. Indeed, there was much of incipient madness in the calm survey which I began to take
of my situation. I drew up to my eyes each of my hands, one after the other, and wondered what occurrence
could have given rise to the swelling of the veins, and the horrible blackness of the fingemails. I afterward
carefully examined my head, shaking it repeatedly, and feeling it with minute attention, until I succeeded in
satisfying myself that it was not, as I had more than half suspected, larger than my balloon. Then, in a
knowing manner, I felt in both my breeches pockets, and, missing therefrom a set of tablets and a toothpick
case, endeavored to account for their disappearance, and not being able to do so, felt inexpressibly chagrined.
It now occurred to me that I suffered great uneasiness in the joint of my left ankle, and a dim consciousness of
my situation began to glimmer through my mind. But, strange to say! I was neither astonished nor
horror−stricken. If I felt any emotion at all, it was a kind of chuckling satisfaction at the cleverness I was
about to display in extricating myself from this dilemma; and I never, for a moment, looked upon my ultimate
safety as a question susceptible of doubt. For a few minutes I remained wrapped in the profoundest
meditation. I have a distinct recollection of frequently compressing my lips, putting my forefinger to the side
of my nose, and making use of other gesticulations and grimaces common to men who, at ease in their
arm−chairs, meditate upon matters of intricacy or importance. Having, as I thought, sufficiently collected my
ideas, I now, with great caution and deliberation, put my hands behind my back, and unfastened the large iron
buckle which belonged to the waistband of my inexpressibles. This buckle had three teeth, which, being
somewhat rusty, turned with great difficulty on their axis. I brought them, however, after some trouble, at
right angles to the body of the buckle, and was glad to find them remain firm in that position. Holding the
instrument thus obtained within my teeth, I now proceeded to untie the knot of my cravat. I had to rest several
times before I could accomplish this manoeuvre, but it was at length accomplished. To one end of the cravat I
then made fast the buckle, and the other end I tied, for greater security, tightly around my wrist. Drawing now
my body upwards, with a prodigious exertion of muscular force, I succeeded, at the very first trial, in throwing
the buckle over the car, and entangling it, as I had anticipated, in the circular rim of the wicker−work.
"My body was now inclined towards the side of the car, at an angle of about forty−five degrees; but it must
24
not be understood that I was therefore only forty−five degrees below the perpendicular. So far from it, I still
lay nearly level with the plane of the horizon; for the change of situation which I had acquired, had forced the
bottom of the car considerably outwards from my position, which was accordingly one of the most imminent
and deadly peril. It should be remembered, however, that when I fell in the first instance, from the car, if I had
fallen with my face turned toward the balloon, instead of turned outwardly from it, as it actually was; or if, in
the second place, the cord by which I was suspended had chanced to hang over the upper edge, instead of
through a crevice near the bottom of the car, −− I say it may be readily conceived that, in either of these
supposed cases, I should have been unable to accomplish even as much as I had now accomplished, and the
wonderful adventures of Hans Pfaall would have been utterly lost to posterity, I had therefore every reason to
be grateful; although, in point of fact, I was still too stupid to be anything at all, and hung for, perhaps, a
quarter of an hour in that extraordinary manner, without making the slightest farther exertion whatsoever, and
in a singularly tranquil state of idiotic enjoyment. But this feeling did not fail to die rapidly away, and
thereunto succeeded horror, and dismay, and a chilling sense of utter helplessness and ruin. In fact, the blood
so long accumulating in the vessels of my head and throat, and which had hitherto buoyed up my spirits with
madness and delirium, had now begun to retire within their proper channels, and the distinctness which was
thus added to my perception of the danger, merely served to deprive me of the self−possession and courage to
encounter it. But this weakness was, luckily for me, of no very long duration. In good time came to my rescue
the spirit of despair, and, with frantic cries and struggles, I jerked my way bodily upwards, till at length,
clutching with a vise−like grip the long−desired rim, I writhed my person over it, and fell headlong and
shuddering within the car.
"It was not until some time afterward that I recovered myself sufficiently to attend to the ordinary cares of the
balloon. I then, however, examined it with attention, and found it, to my great relief, uninjured. My
implements were all safe, and, fortunately, I had lost neither ballast nor provisions. Indeed, I had so well
secured them in their places, that such an accident was entirely out of the question. Looking at my watch, I
found it six o'clock. I was still rapidly ascending, and my barometer gave a present altitude of three and
three−quarter miles. Immediately beneath me in the ocean, lay a small black object, slightly oblong in shape,
seemingly about the size, and in every way bearing a great resemblance to one of those childish toys called a
domino. Bringing my telescope to bear upon it, I plainly discerned it to be a British ninety four−gun ship,
close−hauled, and pitching heavily in the sea with her head to the W.S.W. Besides this ship, I saw nothing but
the ocean and the sky, and the sun, which had long arisen.
"It is now high time that I should explain to your Excellencies the object of my perilous voyage. Your
Excellencies will bear in mind that distressed circumstances in Rotterdam had at length driven me to the
resolution of committing suicide. It was not, however, that to life itself I had any, positive disgust, but that I
was harassed beyond endurance by the adventitious miseries attending my situation. In this state of mind,
wishing to live, yet wearied with life, the treatise at the stall of the bookseller opened a resource to my
imagination. I then finally made up my mind. I determined to depart, yet live −− to leave the world, yet
continue to exist −− in short, to drop enigmas, I resolved, let what would ensue, to force a passage, if I could,
to the moon. Now, lest I should be supposed more of a madman than I actually am, I will detail, as well as I
am able, the considerations which led me to believe that an achievement of this nature, although without
doubt difficult, and incontestably full of danger, was not absolutely, to a bold spirit, beyond the confines of
the possible.
"The moon's actual distance from the earth was the first thing to be attended to. Now, the mean or average
interval between the centres of the two planets is 59.9643 of the earth's equatorial radii, or only about 237,000
miles. I say the mean or average interval. But it must be borne in mind that the form of the moon's orbit being
an ellipse of eccentricity amounting to no less than 0.05484 of the major semi−axis of the ellipse itself, and
the earth's centre being situated in its focus, if I could, in any manner, contrive to meet the moon, as it were, in
its perigee, the above mentioned distance would be materially diminished. But, to say nothing at present of
this possibility, it was very certain that, at all events, from the 237,000 miles I would have to deduct the radius
of the earth, say 4,000, and the radius of the moon, say 1080, in all 5,080, leaving an actual interval to be
25
traversed, under average circumstances, of 231,920 miles. Now this, I reflected, was no very extraordinary
distance. Travelling on land has been repeatedly accomplished at the rate of thirty miles per hour, and indeed
a much greater speed may be anticipated. But even at this velocity, it would take me no more than 322 days to
reach the surface of the moon. There were, however, many particulars inducing me to believe that my average
rate of travelling might possibly very much exceed that of thirty miles per hour, and, as these considerations
did not fail to make a deep impression upon my mind, I will mention them more fully hereafter.
"The next point to be regarded was a matter of far greater
importance. From indications afforded by the barometer, we find that, in ascensions from the surface of the
earth we have, at the height of 1,000 feet, left below us about one−thirtieth of the entire mass of atmospheric
air, that at 10,600 we have ascended through nearly one−third; and that at 18,000, which is not far from the
elevation of Cotopaxi, we have surmounted one−half the material, or, at all events, one−half the ponderable,
body of air incumbent upon our globe. It is also calculated that at an altitude not exceeding the hundredth part
of the earth's diameter −− that is, not exceeding eighty miles −− the rarefaction would be so excessive that
animal life could in no manner be sustained, and, moreover, that the most delicate means we possess of
ascertaining the presence of the atmosphere would be inadequate to assure us of its existence. But I did not
fail to perceive that these latter calculations are founded altogether on our experimental knowledge of the
properties of air, and the mechanical laws regulating its dilation and compression, in what may be called,
comparatively speaking, the immediate vicinity of the earth itself; and, at the same time, it is taken for granted
that animal life is and must be essentially incapable of modification at any given unattainable distance from
the surface. Now, all such reasoning and from such data must, of course, be simply analogical. The greatest
height ever reached by man was that of 25,000 feet, attained in the aeronautic expedition of Messieurs
Gay−Lussac and Biot. This is a moderate altitude, even when compared with the eighty miles in question; and
I could not help thinking that the subject admitted room for doubt and great latitude for speculation.
"But, in point of fact, an ascension being made to any given altitude, the ponderable quantity of air
surmounted in any farther ascension is by no means in proportion to the additional height ascended (as may be
plainly seen from what has been stated before), but in a ratio constantly decreasing. It is therefore evident that,
ascend as high as we may, we cannot, literally speaking, arrive at a limit beyond which no atmosphere is to be
found. It must exist, I argued; although it may exist in a state of infinite rarefaction.
"On the other hand, I was aware that arguments have not been wanting to prove the existence of a real and
definite limit to the
atmosphere, beyond which there is absolutely no air whatsoever. But a circumstance which has been left out
of view by those who contend for such a limit seemed to me, although no positive refutation of their creed,
still a point worthy very serious investigation. On comparing the intervals between the successive arrivals of
Encke's comet at its perihelion, after giving credit, in the most exact manner, for all the disturbances due to
the attractions of the planets, it appears that the periods are gradually diminishing; that is to say, the major
axis of the comet's ellipse is growing shorter, in a slow but perfectly regular decrease. Now, this is precisely
what ought to be the case, if we suppose a resistance experienced from the comet from an extremely rare
ethereal medium pervading the regions of its orbit. For it is evident that such a medium must, in retarding the
comet's velocity, increase its centripetal, by weakening its centrifugal force. In other words, the sun's
attraction would be constantly attaining greater power, and the comet would be drawn nearer at every
revolution. Indeed, there is no other way of accounting for the variation in question. But again. The real
diameter of the same comet's nebulosity is observed to contract rapidly as it approaches the sun, and dilate
with equal rapidity in its departure towards its aphelion. Was I not justifiable in supposing with M. Valz, that
this apparent condensation of volume has its origin in the compression of the same ethereal medium I have
spoken of before, and which is only denser in proportion to its solar vicinity? The lenticular−shaped
phenomenon, also called the zodiacal light, was a matter worthy of attention. This radiance, so apparent in the
tropics, and which cannot be mistaken for any meteoric lustre, extends from the horizon obliquely upward,
and follows generally the direction of the sun's equator. It appeared to me evidently in the nature of a rare
atmosphere extending from the sun outward, beyond the orbit of Venus at least, and I believed indefinitely
26
farther.{*2} Indeed, this medium I could not suppose confined to the path of the comet's ellipse, or to the
immediate neighborhood of the sun. It was easy, on the contrary, to imagine it pervading the entire regions of
our planetary system, condensed into what we call atmosphere at the planets themselves, and perhaps at some
of them modified by considerations, so to speak, purely geological.
Having adopted this view of the subject, I had little further hesitation. Granting that on my passage I should
meet with atmosphere essentially the same as at the surface of the earth, I conceived that, by means of the
very ingenious apparatus of M. Grimm, I should readily be enabled to condense it in sufficient quantity for the
purposes of respiration. This would remove the chief obstacle in a journey to the moon. I had indeed spent
some money and great labor in adapting the apparatus to the object intended, and confidently looked forward
to its successful application, if I could manage to complete the voyage within any reasonable period. This
brings me back to the rate at which it might be possible to travel.
"It is true that balloons, in the first stage of their ascensions from the earth, are known to rise with a velocity
comparatively moderate. Now, the power of elevation lies altogether in the superior lightness of the gas in the
balloon compared with the atmospheric air; and, at first sight, it does not appear probable that, as the balloon
acquires altitude, and consequently arrives successively in atmospheric strata of densities rapidly diminishing
−− I say, it does not appear at all reasonable that, in this its progress upwards, the original velocity should be
accelerated. On the other hand, I was not aware that, in any recorded ascension, a diminution was apparent in
the absolute rate of ascent; although such should have been the case, if on account of nothing else, on account
of the escape of gas through balloons ill−constructed, and varnished with no better material than the ordinary
varnish. It seemed, therefore, that the effect of such escape was only sufficient to counterbalance the effect of
some accelerating power. I now considered that, provided in my passage I found the medium I had imagined,
and provided that it should prove to be actually and essentially what we denominate atmospheric air, it could
make comparatively little difference at what extreme state of rarefaction I should discover it −− that is to say,
in regard to my power of ascending −− for the gas in the balloon would not only be itself subject to rarefaction
partially similar (in proportion to the occurrence of which, I could suffer an escape of so much as would be
requisite to prevent explosion), but, being what it was, would, at all events, continue specifically lighter than
any compound whatever of mere nitrogen and oxygen. In the meantime, the force of gravitation would be
constantly diminishing, in proportion to the squares of the distances, and thus, with a velocity
prodigiously accelerating, I should at length arrive in those distant regions where the force of the earth's
attraction would be superseded by that of the moon. In accordance with these ideas, I did not think it worth
while to encumber myself with more provisions than would be sufficient for a period of forty days.
"There was still, however, another difficulty, which occasioned me some little disquietude. It has been
observed, that, in balloon ascensions to any considerable height, besides the pain attending respiration, great
uneasiness is experienced about the head and body, often accompanied with bleeding at the nose, and other
symptoms of an alarming kind, and growing more and more inconvenient in proportion to the altitude
attained.{*3} This was a reflection of a nature somewhat startling. Was it not probable that these symptoms
would increase indefinitely, or at least until terminated by death itself? I finally thought not. Their origin was
to be looked for in the progressive removal of the customary atmospheric pressure upon the surface of the
body, and consequent distention of the superficial blood−vessels −− not in any positive disorganization of the
animal system, as in the case of difficulty in breathing, where the atmospheric density is chemically
insufficient for the due renovation of blood in a ventricle of the heart. Unless for default of this renovation, I
could see no reason, therefore, why life could not be sustained even in a vacuum; for the expansion and
compression of chest, commonly called breathing, is action purely muscular, and the cause, not the effect, of
respiration. In a word, I conceived that, as the body should become habituated to the want of atmospheric
pressure, the sensations of pain would gradually diminish −− and to endure them while they continued, I
relied with confidence upon the iron hardihood of my constitution.

"Thus, may it please your Excellencies, I have detailed some, though by no means all, the considerations
which led me to form the project of a lunar voyage. I shall now proceed to lay before you the result of an
27
attempt so apparently audacious in conception, and, at all events, so utterly unparalleled in the annals of
mankind.
"Having attained the altitude before mentioned, that is to say three miles and three−quarters, I threw out from
the car a quantity of feathers, and found that I still ascended with sufficient rapidity; there was, therefore, no
necessity for discharging any ballast. I was glad of this, for I wished to retain with me as much weight as I
could carry, for reasons which will be explained in the sequel. I as yet suffered no bodily inconvenience,
breathing with great freedom, and feeling no pain whatever in the head. The cat was lying very demurely upon
my coat, which I had taken off, and eyeing the pigeons with an air of nonchalance. These latter being tied by
the leg, to prevent their escape, were busily employed in picking up some grains of rice scattered for them in
the bottom of the car.
"At twenty minutes past six o'clock, the barometer showed an elevation of 26,400 feet, or five miles to a
fraction. The prospect seemed unbounded. Indeed, it is very easily calculated by means of spherical geometry,
what a great extent of the earth's area I beheld. The convex surface of any segment of a sphere is, to the entire
surface of the sphere itself, as the versed sine of the segment to the diameter of the sphere. Now, in my case,
the versed sine −− that is to say, the thickness of the segment beneath me −− was about equal to my elevation,
or the elevation of the point of sight above the surface. "As five miles, then, to eight thousand," would express
the proportion of the earth's area seen by me. In other words, I beheld as much as a sixteen−hundredth part of
the whole surface of the globe. The sea appeared unruffled as a mirror, although, by means of the spy−glass, I
could perceive it to be in a state of violent agitation. The ship was no longer visible, having drifted away,
apparently to the eastward. I now began to experience, at intervals, severe pain in the head, especially about
the ears −− still, however, breathing with tolerable freedom. The cat and pigeons seemed to suffer no
inconvenience whatsoever.
"At twenty minutes before seven, the balloon entered a long series of dense cloud, which put me to great
trouble, by damaging my condensing apparatus and wetting me to the skin. This was, to be sure, a singular
recontre, for I had not believed it possible that a cloud of this nature could be sustained at so great an
elevation. I thought it best, however, to throw out two five−pound pieces of ballast, reserving still a weight of
one hundred and sixty−five pounds. Upon so doing, I soon rose above the difficulty, and perceived
immediately, that I had obtained a great increase in my rate of ascent. In a few seconds after my leaving the
cloud, a flash of vivid lightning shot from one end of it to the other, and caused it to kindle up, throughout its
vast extent, like a mass of ignited and glowing charcoal. This, it must be remembered, was in the broad light
of day. No fancy may picture the sublimity which might have been exhibited by a similar phenomenon taking
place amid the darkness of the night. Hell itself might have been found a fitting image. Even as it was, my hair
stood on end, while I gazed afar down within the yawning abysses, letting imagination descend, as it were,
and stalk about in the strange vaulted halls, and ruddy gulfs, and red ghastly chasms of the hideous and
unfathomable fire. I had indeed made a narrow escape. Had the balloon remained a very short while longer
within the cloud −− that is to say −− had not the inconvenience of getting wet, determined me to discharge the
ballast, inevitable ruin would have been the consequence. Such perils, although little considered, are perhaps
the greatest which must be encountered in balloons. I had by this time, however, attained too great an
elevation to be any longer uneasy on this head.
"I was now rising rapidly, and by seven o'clock the barometer indicated an altitude of no less than nine miles
and a half. I began to find great difficulty in drawing my breath. My head, too, was excessively painful; and,
having felt for some time a moisture about my cheeks, I at length discovered it to be blood, which was oozing
quite fast from the drums of my ears. My eyes, also, gave me great uneasiness. Upon passing the hand over
them they seemed to have protruded from their sockets in no inconsiderable degree; and all objects in the car,
and even the balloon itself, appeared distorted to my vision. These symptoms were more than I had expected,
and occasioned me some alarm. At this juncture, very imprudently, and without consideration, I threw out
from the car three five−pound pieces of ballast. The accelerated rate of ascent thus obtained, carried me too
rapidly, and without sufficient gradation, into a highly rarefied stratum of the atmosphere, and the result had
28
nearly proved fatal to my expedition and to myself. I was suddenly seized with a spasm which lasted for more
than five minutes, and even when this, in a measure, ceased, I could catch my breath only at long intervals,
and in a gasping manner −− bleeding all the while copiously at the nose and ears, and even slightly at the
eyes. The pigeons appeared distressed in the extreme, and struggled to escape; while the cat mewed piteously,
and, with her tongue hanging out of her mouth, staggered to and fro in the car as if under the influence of
poison. I now too late discovered the great rashness of which I had been guilty in discharging the ballast, and
my agitation was excessive. I anticipated nothing less than death, and death in a few minutes. The physical
suffering I underwent contributed also to render me nearly incapable of making any exertion for the
preservation of my life. I had, indeed, little power of reflection left, and the violence of the pain in my head
seemed to be greatly on the increase. Thus I found that my senses would shortly give way altogether, and I
had already clutched one of the valve ropes with the view of attempting a descent, when the recollection of the
trick I had played the three creditors, and the possible consequences to myself, should I return, operated to
deter me for the moment. I lay down in the bottom of the car, and endeavored to collect my faculties. In this I
so far succeeded as to determine upon the experiment of losing blood. Having no lancet, however, I was
constrained to perform the operation in the best manner I was able, and finally succeeded in opening a vein in
my right arm, with the blade of my penknife. The blood had hardly commenced flowing when I experienced a
sensible relief, and by the time I had lost about half a moderate basin full, most of the worst symptoms had
abandoned me entirely. I nevertheless did not think it expedient to attempt getting on my feet immediately;
but, having tied up my arm as well as I could, I lay still for about a quarter of an hour. At the end of this time I
arose, and found myself freer from absolute pain of any kind than I had been during the last hour and a quarter
of my ascension. The difficulty of breathing, however, was diminished in a very slight degree, and I found
that it would soon be positively necessary to make use of my condenser. In the meantime, looking toward the
cat, who was again snugly stowed away upon my coat, I discovered to my infinite surprise, that she had taken
the
opportunity of my indisposition to bring into light a litter of three little kittens. This was an addition to the
number of passengers on my part altogether unexpected; but I was pleased at the occurrence. It would afford
me a chance of bringing to a kind of test the truth of a surmise, which, more than anything else, had
influenced me in attempting this ascension. I had imagined that the habitual endurance of the atmospheric
pressure at the surface of the earth was the cause, or nearly so, of the pain attending animal existence at a
distance above the surface. Should the kittens be found to suffer uneasiness in an equal degree with their
mother, I must consider my theory in fault, but a failure to do so I should look upon as a strong confirmation
of my idea.
"By eight o'clock I had actually attained an elevation of seventeen miles above the surface of the earth. Thus it
seemed to me evident that my rate of ascent was not only on the increase, but that the progression would have
been apparent in a slight degree even had I not discharged the ballast which I did. The pains in my head and
ears returned, at intervals, with violence, and I still continued to bleed occasionally at the nose; but, upon the
whole, I suffered much less than might have been expected. I breathed, however, at every moment, with more
and more difficulty, and each inhalation was attended with a troublesome spasmodic action of the chest. I now
unpacked the condensing apparatus, and got it ready for immediate use.
"The view of the earth, at this period of my ascension, was beautiful indeed. To the westward, the northward,
and the southward, as far as I could see, lay a boundless sheet of apparently unruffled ocean, which every
moment gained a deeper and a deeper tint of blue and began already to assume a slight appearance of
convexity. At a vast distance to the eastward, although perfectly discernible, extended the islands of Great
Britain, the entire Atlantic coasts of France and Spain, with a small portion of the northern part of the
continent of Africa. Of individual edifices not a trace could be discovered, and the proudest cities of mankind
had utterly faded away from the face of the earth. From the rock of Gibraltar, now dwindled into a dim speck,
the dark Mediterranean sea, dotted with shining islands as the heaven is dotted with stars, spread itself out to
the eastward as far as my vision extended, until its entire mass of waters seemed at length to tumble headlong
over the abyss of the horizon, and I found myself listening on tiptoe for the echoes of the mighty cataract.
Overhead, the sky was of a jetty black, and the stars were
29
brilliantly visible.
"The pigeons about this time seeming to undergo much suffering, I determined upon giving them their liberty.
I first untied one of them, a beautiful gray−mottled pigeon, and placed him upon the rim of the wicker−work.
He appeared extremely uneasy, looking anxiously around him, fluttering his wings, and making a loud cooing
noise, but could not be persuaded to trust himself from off the car. I took him up at last, and threw him to
about half a dozen yards from the balloon. He made, however, no attempt to descend as I had expected, but
struggled with great vehemence to get back, uttering at the same time very shrill and piercing cries. He at
length succeeded in regaining his former station on the rim, but had hardly done so when his head dropped
upon his breast, and be fell dead within the car. The other one did not prove so unfortunate. To prevent his
following the example of his companion, and accomplishing a return, I threw him downward with all my
force, and was pleased to find him continue his descent, with great velocity, making use of his wings with
ease, and in a perfectly natural manner. In a very short time he was out of sight, and I have no doubt he
reached home in safety. Puss, who seemed in a great measure recovered from her illness, now made a hearty
meal of the dead bird and then went to sleep with much apparent satisfaction. Her kittens were quite lively,
and so far evinced not the slightest sign of any uneasiness whatever.
"At a quarter−past eight, being no longer able to draw breath without the most intolerable pain, I proceeded
forthwith to adjust around the car the apparatus belonging to the condenser. This apparatus will require some
little explanation, and your Excellencies will please to bear in mind that my object, in the first place, was to
surround myself and cat entirely with a barricade against the highly rarefied atmosphere in which I was
existing, with the intention of introducing within this barricade, by means of my condenser, a quantity of this
same atmosphere sufficiently condensed for the purposes of
respiration. With this object in view I had prepared a very strong perfectly air−tight, but flexible gum−elastic
bag. In this bag, which was of sufficient dimensions, the entire car was in a manner placed. That is to say, it
(the bag) was drawn over the whole bottom of the car, up its sides, and so on, along the outside of the ropes,
to the upper rim or hoop where the net−work is attached. Having pulled the bag up in this way, and formed a
complete enclosure on all sides, and at botttom, it was now necessary to fasten up its top or mouth, by passing
its material over the hoop of the net−work −− in other words, between the net−work and the hoop. But if the
net−work were separated from the hoop to admit this passage, what was to sustain the car in the meantime?
Now the net−work was not permanently fastened to the hoop, but attached by a series of running loops or
nooses. I therefore undid only a few of these loops at one time, leaving the car suspended by the remainder.
Having thus inserted a portion of the cloth forming the upper part of the bag, I refastened the loops −− not to
the hoop, for that would have been impossible, since the cloth now intervened −− but to a series of large
buttons, affixed to the cloth itself, about three feet below the mouth of the bag, the intervals between the
buttons having been made to correspond to the intervals between the loops. This done, a few more of the
loops were unfastened from the rim, a farther portion of the cloth introduced, and the disengaged loops then
connected with their proper buttons. In this way it was possible to insert the whole upper part of the bag
between the net−work and the hoop. It is evident that the hoop would now drop down within the car, while the
whole weight of the car itself, with all its contents, would be held up merely by the strength of the buttons.
This, at first sight, would seem an inadequate dependence; but it was by no means so, for the buttons were not
only very strong in themselves, but so close together that a very slight portion of the whole weight was
supported by any one of them. Indeed, had the car and contents been three times heavier than they were, I
should not have been at all uneasy. I now raised up the hoop again within the covering of gum−elastic, and
propped it at nearly its former height by means of three light poles prepared for the occasion. This was done,
of course, to keep the bag distended at the top, and to preserve the lower part of the net−work in its proper
situation. All that now remained was to fasten up the mouth of the enclosure; and this was readily
accomplished by gathering the folds of the material together, and twisting them up very tightly on the inside
by means of a kind of stationary tourniquet.
"In the sides of the covering thus adjusted round the car, had been inserted three circular panes of thick but
clear glass, through which I could see without difficulty around me in every horizontal direction. In that
30
portion of the cloth forming the bottom, was likewise, a fourth window, of the same kind, and corresponding
with a small aperture in the floor of the car itself. This enabled me to see perpendicularly down, but having
found it impossible to place any similar contrivance overhead, on account of the peculiar manner of closing up
the opening there, and the consequent wrinkles in the cloth, I could expect to see no objects situated directly
in my zenith. This, of course, was a matter of little consequence; for had I even been able to place a window at
top, the balloon itself would have prevented my making any use of it.
"About a foot below one of the side windows was a circular opening, eight inches in diameter, and fitted with
a brass rim adapted in its inner edge to the windings of a screw. In this rim was screwed the large tube of the
condenser, the body of the machine being, of course, within the chamber of gum−elastic. Through this tube a
quantity of the rare atmosphere circumjacent being drawn by means of a vacuum created in the body of the
machine, was thence discharged, in a state of condensation, to mingle with the thin air already in the chamber.
This operation being repeated several times, at length filled the chamber with atmosphere proper for all the
purposes of respiration. But in so confined a space it would, in a short time, necessarily become foul, and unfit
for use from frequent contact with the lungs. It was then ejected by a small valve at the bottom of the car −−
the dense air readily sinking into the thinner atmosphere below. To avoid the inconvenience of making a total
vacuum at any moment within the chamber, this purification was never accomplished all at once, but in a
gradual manner −− the valve being opened only for a few seconds, then closed again, until one or two strokes
from the pump of the condenser had supplied the place of the atmosphere ejected. For the sake of experiment I
had put the cat and kittens in a small basket, and suspended it outside the car to a button at the bottom, close
by the valve, through which I could feed them at any moment when necessary. I did this at some little risk,
and before closing the mouth of the chamber, by reaching under the car with one of the poles before
mentioned to which a hook had been attached.
"By the time I had fully completed these arrangements and filled the chamber as explained, it wanted only ten
minutes of nine o'clock. During the whole period of my being thus employed, I endured the most terrible
distress from difficulty of respiration, and bitterly did I repent the negligence or rather fool−hardiness, of
which I had been guilty, of putting off to the last moment a matter of so much importance. But having at
length accomplished it, I soon began to reap the benefit of my invention. Once again I breathed with perfect
freedom and ease −− and indeed why should I not? I was also agreeably surprised to find myself, in a great
measure, relieved from the violent pains which had hitherto tormented me. A slight headache, accompanied
with a sensation of fulness or distention about the wrists, the ankles, and the throat, was nearly all of which I
had now to complain. Thus it seemed evident that a greater part of the uneasiness attending the removal of
atmospheric pressure had actually worn off, as I had expected, and that much of the pain endured for the last
two hours should have been attributed altogether to the effects of a deficient respiration.
"At twenty minutes before nine o'clock −− that is to say, a short time prior to my closing up the mouth of the
chamber, the mercury attained its limit, or ran down, in the barometer, which, as I mentioned before, was one
of an extended construction. It then indicated an altitude on my part of 132,000 feet, or five−and−twenty
miles, and I consequently surveyed at that time an extent of the earth's area amounting to no less than the three
hundred−and−twentieth part of its entire superficies. At nine o'clock I had again lost sight of land to the
eastward, but not before I became aware that the balloon was drifting rapidly to the N. N. W. The convexity of
the ocean beneath me was very evident indeed, although my view was often interrupted by the masses of
cloud which floated to and fro. I observed now that even the lightest vapors never rose to more than ten miles
above the level of the sea.
"At half past nine I tried the experiment of throwing out a handful of feathers through the valve. They did not
float as I had expected; but dropped down perpendicularly, like a bullet, en masse, and with the greatest
velocity −− being out of sight in a very few seconds. I did not at first know what to make of this extraordinary
phenomenon; not being able to believe that my rate of ascent had, of a sudden, met with so prodigious an
acceleration. But it soon occurred to me that the atmosphere was now far too rare to sustain even the feathers;
that they actually fell, as they appeared to do, with great rapidity; and that I had been surprised by the united velocities of their descent and my own elevation.
"By ten o'clock I found that I had very little to occupy my immediate attention. Affairs went swimmingly, and
I believed the balloon to be going upward witb a speed increasing momently although I had no longer any
means of ascertaining the progression of the increase. I suffered no pain or uneasiness of any kind, and
enjoyed better spirits than I had at any period since my departure from Rotterdam, busying myself now in
examining the state of my various apparatus, and now in regenerating the atmosphere within the chamber.
This latter point I determined to attend to at regular intervals of forty minutes, more on account of the
preservation of my health, than from so frequent a renovation being absolutely necessary. In the meanwhile I
could not help making anticipations. Fancy revelled in the wild and dreamy regions of the moon. Imagination,
feeling herself for once unshackled, roamed at will among the ever−changing wonders of a shadowy and
unstable land. Now there were boary and time−honored forests, and craggy precipices, and waterfalls
tumbling with a loud noise into abysses without a bottom. Then I came suddenly into still noonday solitudes,
where no wind of heaven ever intruded, and where vast meadows of poppies, and slender, lily−looking
flowers spread themselves out a weary distance, all silent and motionless forever. Then again I journeyed far
down away into another country where it was all one dim and vague lake, with a boundary line of clouds. And
out of this melancholy water arose a forest of tall eastern trees, like a wilderness of dreams. And I have in
mind that the shadows of the trees which fell upon the lake remained not on the surface where they fell, but
sunk slowly and steadily down, and commingled with the waves, while from the trunks of the trees other
shadows were continually coming out, and taking the place of their brothers thus entombed. "This then," I said
thoughtfully, "is the very reason why the waters of this lake grow blacker with age, and more melancholy as
the hours run on." But fancies such as these were not the sole possessors of my brain. Horrors of a nature most
stern and most appalling would too frequently obtrude themselves upon my mind, and shake the innermost
depths of my soul with the bare supposition of their possibility. Yet I would not suffer my thoughts for any
length of time to dwell upon these latter speculations, rightly judging the real and palpable dangers of the
voyage sufficient for my undivided attention.
"At five o'clock, p.m., being engaged in regenerating the atmosphere within the chamber, I took that
opportunity of observing the cat and kittens through the valve. The cat herself appeared to suffer again very
much, and I had no hesitation in attributing her uneasiness chiefly to a difficulty in breathing; but my
experiment with the kittens had resulted very strangely. I had expected, of course, to see them betray a sense
of pain, although in a less degree than their mother, and this would have been sufficient to confirm my
opinion concerning the habitual endurance of atmospheric pressure. But I was not prepared to find them, upon
close examination, evidently enjoying a high degree of health, breathing with the greatest ease and perfect
regularity, and evincing not the slightest sign of any uneasiness whatever. I could only account for all this by
extending my theory, and supposing that the highly rarefied atmosphere around might perhaps not be, as I had
taken for granted, chemically insufficient for the purposes of life, and that a person born in such a medium
might, possibly, be unaware of any inconvenience attending its inhalation, while, upon removal to the denser
strata near the earth, he might endure tortures of a similar nature to those I had so lately experienced. It has
since been to me a matter of deep regret that an awkward accident, at this time, occasioned me the loss of my
little family of cats, and deprived me of the insight into this matter which a continued experiment might have
afforded. In passing my hand through the valve, with a cup of water for the old puss, the sleeves of my shirt
became entangled in the loop which sustained the basket, and thus, in a moment, loosened it from the bottom.
Had the whole actually vanished into air, it could not have shot from my sight in a more abrupt and
instantaneous manner. Positively, there could not have intervened the tenth part of a second between the
disengagement of the basket and its absolute and total disappearance with all that it contained. My good
wishes followed it to the earth, but of course, I had no hope that either cat or kittens would ever live to tell the
tale of their misfortune.
"At six o'clock, I perceived a great portion of the earth's visible area to the eastward involved in thick shadow,
which continued to advance with great rapidity, until, at five minutes before seven, the whole surface in view
was enveloped in the darkness of night. It was not, however, until long after this time that the rays of the setting sun ceased to illumine the balloon; and this circumstance, although of course fully anticipated, did not
fail to give me an infinite deal of pleasure. It was evident that, in the morning, I should behold the rising
luminary many hours at least before the citizens of Rotterdam, in spite of their situation so much farther to the
eastward, and thus, day after day, in proportion to the height ascended, would I enjoy the light of the sun for a
longer and a longer period. I now determined to keep a journal of my passage, reckoning the days from one to
twenty−four hours continuously, without taking into
consideration the intervals of darkness.
"At ten o'clock, feeling sleepy, I determined to lie down for the rest of the night; but here a difficulty
presented itself, which, obvious as it may appear, had escaped my attention up to the very moment of which I
am now speaking. If I went to sleep as I proposed, how could the atmosphere in the chamber be regenerated in
the interim? To breathe it for more than an hour, at the farthest, would be a matter of impossibility, or, if even
this term could be extended to an hour and a quarter, the most ruinous consequences might ensue. The
consideration of this dilemma gave me no little disquietude; and it will hardly be believed, that, after the
dangers I had undergone, I should look upon this business in so serious a light, as to give up all hope of
accomplishing my ultimate design, and finally make up my mind to the necessity of a descent. But this
hesitation was only momentary. I reflected that man is the veriest slave of custom, and that many points in the
routine of his existence are deemed essentially important, which are only so at all by his having rendered them
habitual. It was very certain that I could not do without sleep; but I might easily bring myself to feel no
inconvenience from being awakened at intervals of an hour during the whole period of my repose. It would
require but five minutes at most to regenerate the atmosphere in the fullest manner, and the only real difficulty
was to contrive a method of arousing myself at the proper moment for so doing. But this was a question
which, I am willing to confess, occasioned me no little trouble in its solution. To be sure, I had heard of the
student who, to prevent his falling asleep over his books, held in one hand a ball of copper, the din of whose
descent into a basin of the same metal on the floor beside his chair, served effectually to startle him up, if, at
any moment, he should be overcome with drowsiness. My own case, however, was very different indeed, and
left me no room for any similar idea; for I did not wish to keep awake, but to be aroused from slumber at
regular intervals of time. I at length hit upon the following expedient, which, simple as it may seem, was
hailed by me, at the moment of discovery, as an invention fully equal to that of the telescope, the
steam−engine, or the art of printing itself.
"It is necessary to premise, that the balloon, at the elevation now attained, continued its course upward with an
even and undeviating ascent, and the car consequently followed with a steadiness so perfect that it would have
been impossible to detect in it the slightest vacillation whatever. This circumstance favored me greatly in the
project I now determined to adopt. My supply of water had been put on board in kegs containing five gallons
each, and ranged very securely around the interior of the car. I unfastened one of these, and taking two ropes
tied them tightly across the rim of the wicker−work from one side to the other; placing them about a foot apart
and parallel so as to form a kind of shelf, upon which I placed the keg, and steadied it in a horizontal position.
About eight inches immediately below these ropes, and four feet from the bottom of the car I fastened another
shelf −− but made of thin plank, being the only similar piece of wood I had. Upon this latter shelf, and exactly
beneath one of the rims of the keg, a small earthern pitcher was deposited. I now bored a hole in the end of the
keg over the pitcher, and fitted in a plug of soft wood, cut in a tapering or conical shape. This plug I pushed in
or pulled out, as might happen, until, after a few experiments, it arrived at that exact degree of tightness, at
which the water, oozing from the hole, and falling into the pitcher below, would fill the latter to the brim in
the period of sixty minutes. This, of course, was a matter briefly and easily ascertained, by noticing the
proportion of the pitcher filled in any given time. Having arranged all this, the rest of the plan is obvious. My
bed was so contrived upon the floor of the car, as to bring my head, in lying down, immediately below the
mouth of the pitcher. It was evident, that, at the expiration of an hour, the pitcher, getting full, would be forced
to run over, and to run over at the mouth, which was somewhat lower than the rim. It was also evident, that
the water thus falling from a height of more than four feet, could not do otherwise than fall upon my face, and
that the sure consequences would be, to waken me up instantaneously, even from the soundest slumber in the
world.

"It was fully eleven by the time I had completed these arrangements, and I immediately betook myself to bed,
with full confidence in the efficiency of my invention. Nor in this matter was I disappointed. Punctually every
sixty minutes was I aroused by my trusty
chronometer, when, having emptied the pitcher into the bung−hole of the keg, and performed the duties of the
condenser, I retired again to bed. These regular interruptions to my slumber caused me even less discomfort
than I had anticipated; and when I finally arose for the day, it was seven o'clock, and the sun had attained
many degrees above the line of my horizon.
"April 3d. I found the balloon at an immense height indeed, and the earth's apparent convexity increased in a
material degree. Below me in the ocean lay a cluster of black specks, which undoubtedly were islands. Far
away to the northward I perceived a thin, white, and exceedingly brilliant line, or streak, on the edge of the
horizon, and I had no hesitation in supposing it to be the southern disk of the ices of the Polar Sea. My
curiosity was greatly excited, for I had hopes of passing on much farther to the north, and might possibly, at
some period, find myself placed directly above the Pole itself. I now lamented that my great elevation would,
in this case, prevent my taking as accurate a survey as I could wish. Much, however, might be ascertained.
Nothing else of an extraordinary nature occurred during the day. My apparatus all continued in good order,
and the balloon still ascended without any perceptible vacillation. The cold was intense, and obliged me to
wrap up closely in an overcoat. When darkness came over the earth, I betook myself to bed, although it was
for many hours afterward broad daylight all around my immediate situation. The water−clock was punctual in
its duty, and I slept until next morning soundly, with the exception of the periodical interruption.
"April 4th. Arose in good health and spirits, and was astonished at the singular change which had taken place
in the appearance of the sea. It had lost, in a great measure, the deep tint of blue it had hitherto worn, being
now of a grayish−white, and of a lustre dazzling to the eye. The islands were no longer visible; whether they
had passed down the horizon to the southeast, or whether my increasing elevation had left them out of sight, it
is impossible to say. I was inclined, however, to the latter opinion. The rim of ice to the northward was
growing more and more apparent. Cold by no means so intense. Nothing of importance occurred, and I passed
the day in reading, having taken care to supply myself with books.
"April 5th. Beheld the singular phenomenon of the sun rising while nearly the whole visible surface of the
earth continued to be involved in darkness. In time, however, the light spread itself over all, and I again saw
the line of ice to the northward. It was now very distinct, and appeared of a much darker hue than the waters
of the ocean. I was evidently approaching it, and with great rapidity. Fancied I could again distinguish a strip
of land to the eastward, and one also to the westward, but could not be certain. Weather moderate. Nothing of
any consequence happened during the day. Went early to bed.
"April 6th. Was surprised at finding the rim of ice at a very moderate distance, and an immense field of the
same material stretching away off to the horizon in the north. It was evident that if the balloon held its present
course, it would soon arrive above the Frozen Ocean, and I had now little doubt of ultimately seeing the Pole.
During the whole of the day I continued to near the ice. Toward night the limits of my horizon very suddenly
and materially increased, owing undoubtedly to the earth's form being that of an oblate spheroid, and my
arriving above the flattened regions in the vicinity of the Arctic circle. When darkness at length overtook me, I
went to bed in great anxiety, fearing to pass over the object of so much curiosity when I should have no
opportunity of observing it.
"April 7th. Arose early, and, to my great joy, at length beheld what there could be no hesitation in supposing
the northern Pole itself. It was there, beyond a doubt, and immediately beneath my feet; but, alas! I had now
ascended to so vast a distance, that nothing could with accuracy be discerned. Indeed, to judge from the
progression of the numbers indicating my various altitudes, respectively, at different periods, between six
A.M. on the second of April, and twenty minutes before nine A.M. of the same day (at which time the
barometer ran down), it might be fairly inferred that the balloon had now, at four o'clock in the morning of
April the seventh, reached a height of not less, certainly, than 7,254 miles above the surface of the sea. This elevation may appear immense, but the estimate upon which it is calculated gave a result in all probability far
inferior to the truth. At all events I undoubtedly beheld the whole of the earth's major diameter; the entire
northern hemisphere lay beneath me like a chart orthographically projected: and the great circle of the equator
itself formed the boundary line of my horizon. Your Excellencies may, however, readily imagine that the
confined regions hitherto unexplored within the limits of the Arctic circle, although situated directly beneath
me, and therefore seen without any appearance of being foreshortened, were still, in themselves,
comparatively too diminutive, and at too great a distance from the point of sight, to admit of any very accurate
examination.
Nevertheless, what could be seen was of a nature singular and exciting. Northwardly from that huge rim
before mentioned, and which, with slight qualification, may be called the limit of human discovery in these
regions, one unbroken, or nearly unbroken, sheet of ice continues to extend. In the first few degrees of this its
progress, its surface is very sensibly flattened, farther on depressed into a plane, and finally, becoming not a
little concave, it terminates, at the Pole itself, in a circular centre, sharply defined, wbose apparent diameter
subtended at the balloon an angle of about sixty−five seconds, and whose dusky hue, varying in intensity,
was, at all times, darker than any other spot upon the visible hemisphere, and occasionally deepened into the
most absolute and impenetrable blackness. Farther than this, little could be ascertained. By twelve o'clock the
circular centre had materially decreased in
circumference, and by seven P.M. I lost sight of it entirely; the balloon passing over the western limb of the
ice, and floating away rapidly in the direction of the equator.
"April 8th. Found a sensible diminution in the earth's apparent diameter, besides a material alteration in its
general color and appearance. The whole visible area partook in different degrees of a tint of pale yellow, and
in some portions had acquired a brilliancy even painful to the eye. My view downward was also considerably
impeded by the dense atmosphere in the vicinity of the surface being loaded with clouds, between whose
masses I could only now and then obtain a glimpse of the earth itself. This difficulty of direct vision had
troubled me more or less for the last forty−eight hours; but my present enormous elevation brought closer
together, as it were, the floating bodies of vapor, and the inconvenience became, of course, more and more
palpable in proportion to my ascent.
Nevertheless, I could easily perceive that the balloon now hovered above the range of great lakes in the
continent of North America, and was holding a course, due south, which would bring me to the tropics. This
circumstance did not fail to give me the most heartful satisfaction, and I hailed it as a happy omen of ultimate
success. Indeed, the direction I had hitherto taken, had filled me with uneasiness; for it was evident that, had I
continued it much longer, there would have been no possibility of my arriving at the moon at all, whose orbit
is inclined to the ecliptic at only the small angle of 5 degrees 8' 48".
"April 9th. To−day the earth's diameter was greatly diminished, and the color of the surface assumed hourly a
deeper tint of yellow. The balloon kept steadily on her course to the southward, and arrived, at nine P.M., over
the northern edge of the Mexican Gulf.
"April 10th. I was suddenly aroused from slumber, about five o'clock this morning, by a loud, crackling, and
terrific sound, for which I could in no manner account. It was of very brief duration, but, while it lasted
resembled nothing in the world of which I had any previous experience. It is needless to say that I became
excessively alarmed, having, in the first instance, attributed the noise to the bursting of the balloon. I
examined all my apparatus, however, with great attention, and could discover nothing out of order. Spent a
great part of the day in meditating upon an occurrence so extraordinary, but could find no means whatever of
accounting for it. Went to bed dissatisfied, and in a state of great anxiety and agitation.
"April 11th. Found a startling diminution in the apparent diameter of the earth, and a considerable increase,
now observable for the first time, in that of the moon itself, which wanted only a few days of being full. It
now required long and excessive labor to condense within the chamber sufficient atmospheric air for the
sustenance of life.
"April 12th. A singular alteration took place in regard to the direction of the balloon, and although fully
anticipated, afforded me the most unequivocal delight. Having reached, in its former course, about the
twentieth parallel of southern latitude, it turned off suddenly, at an acute angle, to the eastward, and thus
proceeded throughout the day, keeping nearly, if not altogether, in the exact plane of the lunar elipse. What
was worthy of remark, a very perceptible vacillation in the car was a consequence of this change of route −− a
vacillation which prevailed, in a more or less degree, for a period of many hours.
"April 13th. Was again very much alarmed by a repetition of the loud, crackling noise which terrified me on
the tenth. Thought long upon the subject, but was unable to form any satisfactory conclusion. Great decrease
in the earth's apparent diameter, which now subtended from the balloon an angle of very little more than
twenty−five degrees. The moon could not be seen at all, being nearly in my zenith. I still continued in the
plane of the elipse, but made little progress to the eastward.
"April 14th. Extremely rapid decrease in the diameter of the earth. To−day I became strongly impressed with
the idea, that the balloon was now actually running up the line of apsides to the point of perigee− in other
words, holding the direct course which would bring it immediately to the moon in that part of its orbit the
nearest to the earth. The moon iself was directly overhead, and consequently hidden from my view. Great and
long−continued labor necessary for the condensation of the atmosphere.
"April 15th. Not even the outlines of continents and seas could now be traced upon the earth with anything
approaching distinctness. About twelve o'clock I became aware, for the third time, of that appalling sound
which had so astonished me before. It now, however, continued for some moments, and gathered intensity as
it continued. At length, while, stupefied and terror−stricken, I stood in expectation of I knew not what hideous
destruction, the car vibrated with excessive violence, and a gigantic and flaming mass of some material which
I could not distinguish, came with a voice of a thousand thunders, roaring and booming by the balloon. When
my fears and astonishment had in some degree subsided, I had little difficulty in supposing it to be some
mighty volcanic fragment ejected from that world to which I was so rapidly approaching, and, in all
probability, one of that singular class of substances occasionally picked up on the earth, and termed meteoric
stones for want of a better
appellation.
"April 16th. To−day, looking upward as well as I could, through each of the side windows alternately, I
beheld, to my great delight, a very small portion of the moon's disk protruding, as it were, on all sides beyond
the huge circumference of the balloon. My agitation was extreme; for I had now little doubt of soon reaching
the end of my perilous voyage. Indeed, the labor now required by the condenser had increased to a most
oppressive degree, and allowed me scarcely any respite from exertion. Sleep was a matter nearly out of the
question. I became quite ill, and my frame trembled with exhaustion. It was impossible that human nature
could endure this state of intense suffering much longer. During the now brief interval of darkness a meteoric
stone again passed in my vicinity, and the frequency of these phenomena began to occasion me much
apprehension.
"April 17th. This morning proved an epoch in my voyage. It will be remembered that, on the thirteenth, the
earth subtended an angular breadth of twenty−five degrees. On the fourteenth this had greatly diminished; on
the fifteenth a still more remarkable decrease was observable; and, on retiring on the night of the sixteenth, I
had noticed an angle of no more than about seven degrees and fifteen minutes. What, therefore, must have
been my amazement, on awakening from a brief and disturbed slumber, on the morning of this day, the
seventeenth, at finding the surface beneath me so suddenly and wonderfully augmented in volume, as to
subtend no less than thirty−nine degrees in apparent angular diameter! I was
thunderstruck! No words can give any adequate idea of the extreme, the absolute horror and astonishment,
with which I was seized possessed, and altogether overwhelmed. My knees tottered beneath me −− my teeth
chattered −− my hair started up on end. "The balloon, then, had actually burst!" These were the first
tumultuous ideas that hurried through my mind: "The balloon had positively burst! −− I was falling −− falling with the most impetuous, the most unparalleled velocity! To judge by the immense distance already so
quickly passed over, it could not be more than ten minutes, at the farthest, before I should meet the surface of
the earth, and be hurled into
annihilation!" But at length reflection came to my relief. I paused; I considered; and I began to doubt. The
matter was impossible. I could not in any reason have so rapidly come down. Besides, although I was
evidently approaching the surface below me, it was with a speed by no means commensurate with the velocity
I had at first so horribly conceived. This consideration served to calm the perturbation of my mind, and I
finally succeeded in regarding the phenomenon in its proper point of view. In fact, amazement must have
fairly deprived me of my senses, when I could not see the vast difference, in
appearance, between the surface below me, and the surface of my mother earth. The latter was indeed over my
head, and completely hidden by the balloon, while the moon −− the moon itself in all its glory −− lay beneath
me, and at my feet.
"The stupor and surprise produced in my mind by this extraordinary change in the posture of affairs was
perhaps, after all, that part of the adventure least susceptible of explanation. For the
bouleversement in itself was not only natural and inevitable, but had been long actually anticipated as a
circumstance to be expected whenever I should arrive at that exact point of my voyage where the attraction of
the planet should be superseded by the attraction of the satellite −− or, more precisely, where the gravitation
of the balloon toward the earth should be less powerful than its gravitation toward the moon. To be sure I
arose from a sound slumber, with all my senses in confusion, to the contemplation of a very startling
phenomenon, and one which, although expected, was not expected at the moment. The revolution itself must,
of course, have taken place in an easy and gradual manner, and it is by no means clear that, had I even been
awake at the time of the occurrence, I should have been made aware of it by any internal evidence of an
inversion −− that is to say, by any inconvenience or disarrangement, either about my person or about my
apparatus.
"It is almost needless to say that, upon coming to a due sense of my situation, and emerging from the terror
which had absorbed every faculty of my soul, my attention was, in the first place, wholly directed to the
contemplation of the general physical appearance of the moon. It lay beneath me like a chart −− and although
I judged it to be still at no inconsiderable distance, the indentures of its surface were defined to my vision with
a most striking and altogether unaccountable distinctness. The entire absence of ocean or sea, and indeed of
any lake or river, or body of water whatsoever, struck me, at first glance, as the most extraordinary feature in
its geological condition. Yet, strange to say, I beheld vast level regions of a character decidedly alluvial,
although by far the greater portion of the hemisphere in sight was covered with innumerable volcanic
mountains, conical in shape, and having more the appearance of artificial than of natural protuberance. The
highest among them does not exceed three and three−quarter miles in perpendicular elevation; but a map of
the volcanic districts of the Campi Phlegraei would afford to your Excellencies a better idea of their general
surface than any unworthy description I might think proper to attempt. The greater part of them were in a state
of evident eruption, and gave me fearfully to understand their fury and their power, by the repeated thunders
of the miscalled meteoric stones, which now rushed upward by the balloon with a frequency more and more
appalling.
"April 18th. To−day I found an enormous increase in the moon's apparent bulk −− and the evidently
accelerated velocity of my descent began to fill me with alarm. It will be remembered, that, in the earliest
stage of my speculations upon the possibility of a passage to the moon, the existence, in its vicinity, of an
atmosphere, dense in proportion to the bulk of the planet, had entered largely into my calculations; this too in
spite of many theories to the contrary, and, it may be added, in spite of a general disbelief in the existence of
any lunar atmosphere at all. But, in addition to what I have already urged in regard to Encke's comet and the
zodiacal light, I had been strengthened in my opinion by certain observations of Mr. Schroeter, of Lilienthal.
He observed the moon when two days and a half old, in the evening soon after sunset, before the dark part
was visible, and continued to watch it until it became visible. The two cusps appeared tapering in a very sharp
faint prolongation, each exhibiting its farthest extremity faintly illuminated by the solar rays, before any part of the dark hemisphere was visible. Soon afterward, the whole dark limb became illuminated. This
prolongation of the cusps beyond the semicircle, I thought, must have arisen from the refraction of the sun's
rays by the moon's atmosphere. I computed, also, the height of the atmosphere (which could refract light
enough into its dark hemisphere to produce a twilight more luminous than the light reflected from the earth
when the moon is about 32 degrees from the new) to be 1,356 Paris feet; in this view, I supposed the greatest
height capable of refracting the solar ray, to be 5,376 feet. My ideas on this topic had also received
confirmation by a passage in the eighty−second volume of the Philosophical Transactions, in which it is stated
that at an occultation of Jupiter's satellites, the third disappeared after having been about 1" or 2" of time
indistinct, and the fourth became indiscernible near the limb.{*4}
"Cassini frequently observed Saturn, Jupiter, and the fixed stars, when approaching the moon to occultation,
to have their circular figure changed into an oval one; and, in other occultations, he found no alteration of
figure at all. Hence it might be supposed, that at some times and not at others, there is a dense matter
encompassing the moon wherein the rays of the stars are refracted.
"Upon the resistance or, more properly, upon the support of an atmosphere, existing in the state of density
imagined, I had, of course, entirely depended for the safety of my ultimate descent. Should I then, after all,
prove to have been mistaken, I had in consequence nothing better to expect, as a finale to my adventure, than
being dashed into atoms against the rugged surface of the satellite. And, indeed, I had now every reason to be
terrified. My distance from the moon was comparatively trifling, while the labor required by the condenser
was diminished not at all, and I could discover no indication whatever of a decreasing rarity in the air.
"April 19th. This morning, to my great joy, about nine o'clock, the surface of the moon being frightfully near,
and my apprehensions excited to the utmost, the pump of my condenser at length gave evident tokens of an
alteration in the atmosphere. By ten, I had reason to believe its density considerably increased. By eleven,
very little labor was necessary at the apparatus; and at twelve o'clock, with some hesitation, I ventured to
unscrew the tourniquet, when, finding no inconvenience from having done so, I finally threw open the
gum−elastic chamber, and unrigged it from around the car. As might have been expected, spasms and violent
headache were the immediate consequences of an experiment so precipitate and full of danger. But these and
other difficulties attending respiration, as they were by no means so great as to put me in peril of my life, I
determined to endure as I best could, in consideration of my leaving them behind me momently in my
approach to the denser strata near the moon. This approach, however, was still impetuous in the extreme; and
it soon became alarmingly certain that, although I had probably not been deceived in the expectation of an
atmosphere dense in proportion to the mass of the satellite, still I had been wrong in supposing this density,
even at the surface, at all adequate to the support of the great weight contained in the car of my balloon. Yet
this should have been the case, and in an equal degree as at the surface of the earth, the actual gravity of
bodies at either planet supposed in the ratio of the atmospheric condensation. That it was not the case,
however, my precipitous downfall gave testimony enough; why it was not so, can only be explained by a
reference to those possible geological disturbances to which I have formerly alluded. At all events I was now
close upon the planet, and coming down with the most terrible impetuosity. I lost not a moment, accordingly,
in throwing overboard first my ballast, then my water−kegs, then my condensing apparatus and gum−elastic
chamber, and finally every article within the car. But it was all to no purpose. I still fell with horrible rapidity,
and was now not more than half a mile from the surface. As a last resource, therefore, having got rid of my
coat, hat, and boots, I cut loose from the balloon the car itself, which was of no inconsiderable weight, and
thus, clinging with both hands to the net−work, I had barely time to observe that the whole country, as far as
the eye could reach, was thickly interspersed with diminutive habitations, ere I tumbled headlong into the very
heart of a fantastical−looking city, and into the middle of a vast crowd of ugly little people, who none of them
uttered a single syllable, or gave themselves the least trouble to render me assistance, but stood, like a parcel
of idiots, grinning in a ludicrous manner, and eyeing me and my balloon askant, with their arms set a−kimbo.
I turned from them in contempt, and, gazing upward at the earth so lately left, and left perhaps for ever, beheld
it like a huge, dull, copper shield, about two degrees in diameter, fixed immovably in the heavens overhead,
and tipped on one of its edges with a crescent border of the most brilliant gold. No traces of land or water
38
could be discovered, and the whole was clouded with variable spots, and belted with tropical and equatorial
zones.
"Thus, may it please your Excellencies, after a series of great anxieties, unheard of dangers, and unparalleled
escapes, I had, at length, on the nineteenth day of my departure from Rotterdam, arrived in safety at the
conclusion of a voyage undoubtedly the most extraordinary, and the most momentous, ever accomplished,
undertaken, or conceived by any denizen of earth. But my adventures yet remain to be related. And indeed
your Excellencies may well imagine that, after a residence of five years upon a planet not only deeply
interesting in its own peculiar character, but rendered doubly so by its intimate connection, in capacity of
satellite, with the world inhabited by man, I may have intelligence for the private ear of the States' College of
Astronomers of far more importance than the details, however wonderful, of the mere voyage which so
happily concluded. This is, in fact, the case. I have much −− very much which it would give me the greatest
pleasure to communicate. I have much to say of the climate of the planet; of its wonderful alternations of heat
and cold, of unmitigated and burning sunshine for one fortnight, and more than polar frigidity for the next; of
a constant transfer of moisture, by distillation like that in vacuo, from the point beneath the sun to the point
the farthest from it; of a variable zone of running water, of the people themselves; of their manners, customs,
and political institutions; of their peculiar physical construction; of their ugliness; of their want of ears, those
useless appendages in an atmosphere so peculiarly modified; of their consequent ignorance of the use and
properties of speech; of their substitute for speech in a singular method of inter−communication; of the
incomprehensible connection between each particular individual in the moon with some particular individual
on the earth −− a connection analogous with, and depending upon, that of the orbs of the planet and the
satellites, and by means of which the lives and destinies of the inhabitants of the one are interwoven with the
lives and destinies of the inhabitants of the other; and above all, if it so please your Excellencies −− above all,
of those dark and hideous mysteries which lie in the outer regions of the moon −− regions which, owing to the
almost miraculous accordance of the satellite's rotation on its own axis with its sidereal revolution about the
earth, have never yet been turned, and, by God's mercy, never shall be turned, to the scrutiny of the telescopes
of man. All this, and more− much more −− would I most willingly detail. But, to be brief, I must have my
reward. I am pining for a return to my family and to my home, and as the price of any farther communication
on my part −− in consideration of the light which I have it in my power to throw upon many very important
branches of physical and metaphysical science −− I must solicit, through the influence of your honorable
body, a pardon for the crime of which I have been guilty in the death of the creditors upon my departure from
Rotterdam. This, then, is the object of the present paper. Its bearer, an inhabitant of the moon, whom I have
prevailed upon, and properly instructed, to be my messenger to the earth, will await your Excellencies'
pleasure, and return to me with the pardon in question, if it can, in any manner, be obtained.
"I have the honor to be, etc., your Excellencies' very humble servant,

HANS PFAALL."
Upon finishing the perusal of this very extraordinary document, Professor Rub−a−dub, it is said, dropped his
pipe upon the ground in the extremity of his surprise, and Mynheer Superbus Von Underduk having taken off
his spectacles, wiped them, and deposited them in his pocket, so far forgot both himself and his dignity, as to
turn round three times upon his heel in the quintessence of astonishment and admiration. There was no doubt
about the matter −− the pardon should be obtained. So at least swore, with a round oath, Professor
Rub−a−dub, and so finally thought the illustrious Von Underduk, as he took the arm of his brother in science,
and without saying a word, began to make the best of his way home to deliberate upon the measures to be
adopted. Having reached the door, however, of the burgomaster's dwelling, the professor ventured to suggest
that as the messenger had thought proper to disappear −− no doubt frightened to death by the savage
appearance of the burghers of Rotterdam −− the pardon would be of little use, as no one but a man of the
moon would undertake a voyage to so vast a distance. To the truth of this observation the burgomaster
assented, and the matter was therefore at an end. Not so, however, rumors and speculations. The letter, having
been published, gave rise to a variety of gossip and opinion. Some of the over−wise even made themselves ridiculous by decrying the whole business; as nothing better than a hoax. But hoax, with these sort of people,
is, I believe, a general term for all matters above their comprehension. For my part, I cannot conceive upon
what data they have founded such an accusation. Let us see what they say:
Imprimus. That certain wags in Rotterdam have certain especial antipathies to certain burgomasters and
astronomers.
Don't understand at all.
Secondly. That an odd little dwarf and bottle conjurer, both of whose ears, for some misdemeanor, have been
cut off close to his head, has been missing for several days from the neighboring city of Bruges.
Well −− what of that?
Thirdly. That the newspapers which were stuck all over the little balloon were newspapers of Holland, and
therefore could not have been made in the moon. They were dirty papers −− very dirty −− and Gluck, the
printer, would take his Bible oath to their having been printed in Rotterdam.
He was mistaken −− undoubtedly −− mistaken.
Fourthly, That Hans Pfaall himself, the druken villain, and the three very idle gentlemen styled his creditors,
were all seen, no longer than two or three days ago, in a tippling house in the suburbs, having just returned,
with money in their pockets, from a trip beyond the sea.
Don't believe it −− don't believe a word of it.
Lastly. That it is an opinion very generally received, or which ought to be generally received, that the College
of Astronomers in the city of Rotterdam, as well as other colleges in all other parts of the world, −− not to
mention colleges and astronomers in general, −− are, to say the least of the matter, not a whit better, nor
greater, nor wiser than they ought to be.

The Gold Bug


What ho! what ho! this fellow is dancing mad !
He hath been bitten by the Tarantula.
_−−All in the Wrong._
MANY years ago, I contracted an intimacy with a Mr. William Legrand. He was of an ancient Huguenot
family, and had once been wealthy; but a series of misfortunes had reduced him to want. To avoid the
mortification consequent upon his disasters, he left New Orleans, the city of his forefathers, and took up his
residence at Sullivan's Island, near Charleston, South Carolina. This Island is a very singular one. It consists
of little else than the sea sand, and is about three miles long. Its breadth at no point exceeds a quarter of a
mile. It is separated from the main land by a scarcely perceptible creek, oozing its way through a wilderness
of reeds and slime, a favorite resort of the marsh hen. The vegetation, as might be supposed, is scant, or at
least dwarfish. No trees of any magnitude are to be seen. Near the western extremity, where Fort Moultrie
stands, and where are some miserable frame buildings, tenanted, during summer, by the fugitives from
Charleston dust and fever, may be found, indeed, the bristly palmetto; but the whole island, with the exception
of this western point, and a line of hard, white beach on the seacoast, is covered with a dense undergrowth of
the sweet myrtle, so much prized by the horticulturists of England. The shrub here often attains the height of
fifteen or twenty feet, and forms an almost impenetrable coppice, burthening the air with its fragrance.
In the inmost recesses of this coppice, not far from the eastern or more remote end of the island, Legrand had
built himself a small hut, which he occupied when I first, by mere accident, made his acquaintance. This soon
ripened into friendship − for there was much in the recluse to excite interest and esteem. I found him well
educated, with unusual powers of mind, but infected with misanthropy, and subject to perverse moods of
alternate enthusiasm and melancholy. He had with him many books, but rarely employed them. His chief
amusements were gunning and fishing, or sauntering along the beach and through the myrtles, in quest of
shells or entomological specimens; − his collection of the latter might have been envied by a Swammerdamm.
In these excursions he was usually accompanied by an old negro, called Jupiter, who had been manumitted
before the reverses of the family, but who could be induced, neither by threats nor by promises, to abandon
what he considered his right of attendance upon the footsteps of his young "Massa Will." It is not improbable
that the relatives of Legrand, conceiving him to be somewhat unsettled in intellect, had contrived to instil this
obstinacy into Jupiter, with a view to the supervision and guardianship of the wanderer.
The winters in the latitude of Sullivan's Island are seldom very severe, and in the fall of the year it is a rare
event indeed when a fire is considered necessary. About the middle of October, 18−, there occurred, however,
a day of remarkable chilliness. Just before sunset I scrambled my way through the evergreens to the hut of my
friend, whom I had not visited for several weeks − my residence being, at that time, in Charleston, a distance
of nine miles from the Island, while the facilities of passage and re−passage were very far behind those of the
present day. Upon reaching the hut I rapped, as was my custom, and getting no reply, sought for the key
44
where I knew it was secreted, unlocked the door and went in. A fine fire was blazing upon the hearth. It was a
novelty, and by no means an ungrateful one. I threw off an overcoat, took an arm−chair by the crackling
logs, and awaited patiently the arrival of my hosts.
Soon after dark they arrived, and gave me a most cordial welcome. Jupiter, grinning from ear to ear, bustled
about to prepare some marsh−hens for supper. Legrand was in one of his fits − how else shall I term them? −
of enthusiasm. He had found an unknown bivalve, forming a new genus, and, more than this, he had hunted
down and secured, with Jupiter's assistance, a scarabæus which he believed to be totally new, but in respect to
which he wished to have my opinion on the morrow.
"And why not to−night?" I asked, rubbing my hands over the blaze, and wishing the whole tribe of scarabæi at
the devil.
"Ah, if I had only known you were here!" said Legrand, "but it's so long since I saw you; and how could I
foresee that you would pay me a visit this very night of all others? As I was coming home I met Lieutenant
G−−, from the fort, and, very foolishly, I lent him the bug; so it will be impossible for you to see it until the
morning. Stay here to−night, and I will send Jup down for it at sunrise. It is the loveliest thing in creation!"
"What? − sunrise?"
"Nonsense! no! − the bug. It is of a brilliant gold color − about the size of a large hickory−nut − with two jet
black spots near one extremity of the back, and another, somewhat longer, at the other. The antennæ are − "
"Dey aint no tin in him, Massa Will, I keep a tellin on you," here interrupted Jupiter; "de bug is a goole bug,
solid, ebery bit of him, inside and all, sep him wing − neber feel half so hebby a bug in my life."
"Well, suppose it is, Jup," replied Legrand, somewhat more earnestly, it seemed to me, than the case
demanded, "is that any reason for your letting the birds burn? The color" − here he turned to me − "is really
almost enough to warrant Jupiter's idea. You never saw a more brilliant metallic lustre than the scales emit −
but of this you cannot judge till tomorrow. In the mean time I can give you some idea of the shape." Saying
this, he seated himself at a small table, on which were a pen and ink, but no paper. He looked for some in a
drawer, but found none.
"Never mind," said he at length, "this will answer;" and he drew from his waistcoat pocket a scrap of what I
took to be very dirty foolscap, and made upon it a rough drawing with the pen. While he did this, I retained
my seat by the fire, for I was still chilly. When the design was complete, he handed it to me without rising. As
I received it, a loud growl was heard, succeeded by a scratching at the door. Jupiter opened it, and a large
Newfoundland, belonging to Legrand, rushed in, leaped upon my shoulders, and loaded me with caresses; for
I had shown him much attention during previous visits. When his gambols were over, I looked at the paper,
and, to speak the truth, found myself not a little puzzled at what my friend had depicted.
"Well!" I said, after contemplating it for some minutes, "this is a strange scarabæus, I must confess: new to
me: never saw anything like it before − unless it was a skull, or a death's−head − which it more nearly
resembles than anything else that has come under my observation."
"A death's−head!" echoed Legrand −"Oh − yes − well, it has something of that appearance upon paper, no
doubt. The two upper black spots look like eyes, eh? and the longer one at the bottom like a mouth − and then
the shape of the whole is oval."
"Perhaps so," said I; "but, Legrand, I fear you are no artist. I must wait until I see the beetle itself, if I am to
form any idea of its personal appearance."
"Well, I don't know," said he, a little nettled, "I draw tolerably − should do it at least − have had good masters,
and flatter myself that I am not quite a blockhead."
"But, my dear fellow, you are joking then," said I, "this is a very passable skull − indeed, I may say that it is a
very excellent skull, according to the vulgar notions about such specimens of physiology − and your
scarabæus must be the queerest scarabæus in the world if it resembles it. Why, we may get up a very thrilling
bit of superstition upon this hint. I presume you will call the bug scarabæus caput hominis, or something of
that kind − there are many similar titles in the Natural Histories. But where are the antennæ you spoke of?"
"The antennæ!" said Legrand, who seemed to be getting
unaccountably warm upon the subject; "I am sure you must see the antennæ. I made them as distinct as they
are in the original insect, and I presume that is sufficient."
"Well, well," I said, "perhaps you have − still I don't see them;" and I handed him the paper without additional
remark, not wishing to ruffle his temper; but I was much surprised at the turn affairs had taken; his ill humor
puzzled me − and, as for the drawing of the beetle, there were positively no antennæ visible, and the whole
did bear a very close resemblance to the ordinary cuts of a death's−head.
He received the paper very peevishly, and was about to crumple it, apparently to throw it in the fire, when a
casual glance at the design seemed suddenly to rivet his attention. In an instant his face grew violently red − in
another as excessively pale. For some minutes he continued to scrutinize the drawing minutely where he sat.
At length he arose, took a candle from the table, and proceeded to seat himself upon a sea−chest in the farthest
corner of the room. Here again he made an anxious examination of the paper; turning it in all directions. He
said nothing, however, and his conduct greatly astonished me; yet I thought it prudent not to exacerbate the
growing moodiness of his temper by any comment. Presently he took from his coat pocket a wallet, placed the
paper carefully in it, and deposited both in a writing−desk, which he locked. He now grew more composed in
his demeanor; but his original air of enthusiasm had quite
disappeared. Yet he seemed not so much sulky as abstracted. As the evening wore away he became more and
more absorbed in reverie, from which no sallies of mine could arouse him. It had been my intention to pass
the night at the hut, as I had frequently done before, but, seeing my host in this mood, I deemed it proper to
take leave. He did not press me to remain, but, as I departed, he shook my hand with even more than his usual
cordiality.
It was about a month after this (and during the interval I had seen nothing of Legrand) when I received a visit,
at Charleston, from his man, Jupiter. I had never seen the good old negro look so dispirited, and I feared that
some serious disaster had befallen my friend.
"Well, Jup," said I, "what is the matter now? − how is your master?"
"Why, to speak de troof, massa, him not so berry well as mought be."
"Not well! I am truly sorry to hear it. What does he complain of?"
"Dar! dat's it! − him neber plain of notin − but him berry sick for all dat."
"Very sick, Jupiter! − why didn't you say so at once? Is he confined to bed?"
"No, dat he aint! − he aint find nowhar − dat's just whar de shoe pinch − my mind is got to be berry hebby
bout poor Massa Will."
"Jupiter, I should like to understand what it is you are talking about. You say your master is sick. Hasn't he
told you what ails him?"
"Why, massa, taint worf while for to git mad about de matter − Massa Will say noffin at all aint de matter wid
him − but den what make him go about looking dis here way, wid he head down and he soldiers up, and as
white as a gose? And den he keep a syphon all de time − "
"Keeps a what, Jupiter?"
"Keeps a syphon wid de figgurs on de slate − de queerest figgurs I ebber did see. Ise gittin to be skeered, I tell
you. Hab for to keep mighty tight eye pon him noovers. Todder day he gib me slip fore de sun up and was
gone de whole ob de blessed day. I had a big stick ready cut for to gib him deuced good beating when he did
come − but Ise sich a fool dat I hadn't de heart arter all − he look so berry poorly."
"Eh? − what? − ah yes! − upon the whole I think you had better not be too severe with the poor fellow − don't
flog him, Jupiter − he can't very well stand it − but can you form no idea of what has occasioned this illness,
or rather this change of conduct? Has anything unpleasant happened since I saw you?"
"No, massa, dey aint bin noffin unpleasant since den − 'twas fore den I'm feared − 'twas de berry day you was
dare."
"How? what do you mean?"
"Why, massa, I mean de bug − dare now."
"The what?"
"De bug, − I'm berry sartain dat Massa Will bin bit somewhere bout de head by dat goole−bug."
"And what cause have you, Jupiter, for such a supposition?"
"Claws enuff, massa, and mouth too. I nebber did see sick a deuced bug − he kick and he bite ebery ting what
cum near him. Massa Will cotch him fuss, but had for to let him go gin mighty quick, I tell you − den was de
time he must ha got de bite. I did n't like de look oh de bug mouff, myself, no how, so I would n't take hold ob
him wid my finger, but I cotch him wid a piece ob paper dat I found. I rap him up in de paper and stuff piece
ob it in he mouff − dat was de way."
"And you think, then, that your master was really bitten by the beetle, and that the bite made him sick?"
"I do n't tink noffin about it − I nose it. What make him dream bout de goole so much, if taint cause he bit by
de goole−bug? Ise heerd bout dem goole−bugs fore dis."
"But how do you know he dreams about gold?"
"How I know? why cause he talk about it in he sleep − dat's how I nose."
"Well, Jup, perhaps you are right; but to what fortunate circumstance am I to attribute the honor of a visit
from you to−day?"
"What de matter, massa?"
"Did you bring any message from Mr. Legrand "
"No, massa, I bring dis here pissel;" and here Jupiter handed me a note which ran thus:

MY DEAR −−
Why have I not seen you for so long a time? I hope you have not been so foolish as to take offence at any little
brusquerie of mine; but no, that is improbable. Since I saw you I have had great cause for anxiety. I have
something to tell you, yet scarcely know how to tell it, or whether I should tell it at all.
I have not been quite well for some days past, and poor old Jup annoys me, almost beyond endurance, by his
well−meant attentions Would you believe it? − he had prepared a huge stick, the other day, with which to
chastise me for giving him the slip, and spending the day, solus, among the hills on the main land. I verily
believe that my ill looks alone saved me a flogging.
I have made no addition to my cabinet since we met.
If you can, in any way, make it convenient, come over with Jupiter. Do_ come. I wish to see you to−_night,
upon business of importance. I assure you that it is of the highest importance.
Ever yours, WILLIAM LEGRAND.
There was something in the tone of this note which gave me great uneasiness. Its whole style differed
materially from that of Legrand. What could he be dreaming of? What new crotchet possessed his excitable
brain? What "business of the highest importance" could he possibly have to transact? Jupiter's account of him
boded no good. I dreaded lest the continued pressure of misfortune had, at length, fairly unsettled the reason
of my friend. Without a moment's hesitation, therefore, I prepared to accompany the negro.
Upon reaching the wharf, I noticed a scythe and three spades, all apparently new, lying in the bottom of the
boat in which we were to embark.
"What is the meaning of all this, Jup?" I inquired.
"Him syfe, massa, and spade."
"Very true; but what are they doing here?"
"Him de syfe and de spade what Massa Will sis pon my buying for him in de town, and de debbils own lot of
money I had to gib for em."
"But what, in the name of all that is mysterious, is your 'Massa Will' going to do with scythes and spades?"
"Dat's more dan I know, and debbil take me if I don't blieve 'tis more dan he know, too. But it's all cum ob do
bug."
Finding that no satisfaction was to be obtained of Jupiter, whose whole intellect seemed to be absorbed by "de
bug," I now stepped into the boat and made sail. With a fair and strong breeze we soon ran into the little cove
to the northward of Fort Moultrie, and a walk of some two miles brought us to the hut. It was about three in
the afternoon when we arrived. Legrand had been awaiting us in eager expectation. He grasped my hand with
a nervous empressement which alarmed me and strengthened the suspicions already entertained. His
countenance was pale even to ghastliness, and his deep−set eyes glared with unnatural lustre. After some
inquiries respecting his health, I asked him, not knowing what better to say, if he had yet obtained the
scarabæus from Lieutenant G −−.
"Oh, yes," he replied, coloring violently, "I got it from him the next morning. Nothing should tempt me to part
with that scarabæus. Do you know that Jupiter is quite right about it?"
"In what way?" I asked, with a sad foreboding at heart.
"In supposing it to be a bug of real gold." He said this with an air of profound seriousness, and I felt
inexpressibly shocked.
"This bug is to make my fortune," he continued, with a triumphant smile, "to reinstate me in my family
possessions. Is it any wonder, then, that I prize it? Since Fortune has thought fit to bestow it upon me, I have
only to use it properly and I shall arrive at the gold of which it is the index. Jupiter; bring me that scarabæus!"
"What! de bug, massa? I'd rudder not go fer trubble dat bug − you mus git him for your own self." Hereupon
Legrand arose, with a grave and stately air, and brought me the beetle from a glass case in which it was
enclosed. It was a beautiful scarabæus, and, at that time, unknown to naturalists − of course a great prize in a
scientific point of view. There were two round, black spots near one extremity of the back, and a long one
near the other. The scales were exceedingly hard and glossy, with all the appearance of burnished gold. The
weight of the insect was very remarkable, and, taking all things into consideration, I could hardly blame
Jupiter for his opinion respecting it; but what to make of Legrand's concordance with that opinion, I could not,
for the life of me, tell.
"I sent for you," said he, in a grandiloquent tone, when I had completed my examination of the beetle, "I sent
for you, that I might have your counsel and assistance in furthering the views of Fate and of the bug" −
"My dear Legrand," I cried, interrupting him, "you are certainly unwell, and had better use some little
precautions. You shall go to bed, and I will remain with you a few days, until you get over this. You are
feverish and" −
"Feel my pulse," said he.
I felt it, and, to say the truth, found not the slightest indication of fever.
"But you may be ill and yet have no fever. Allow me this once to prescribe for you. In the first place, go to
bed. In the next" −
"You are mistaken," he interposed, "I am as well as I can expect to be under the excitement which I suffer. If
you really wish me well, you will relieve this excitement."
"And how is this to be done?"
"Very easily. Jupiter and myself are going upon an expedition into the hills, upon the main land, and, in this
expedition we shall need the aid of some person in whom we can confide. You are the only one we can trust.
Whether we succeed or fail, the excitement which you now perceive in me will be equally allayed."
"I am anxious to oblige you in any way," I replied; "but do you mean to say that this infernal beetle has any
connection with your expedition into the hills?"
"It has."
"Then, Legrand, I can become a party to no such absurd
proceeding."
"I am sorry − very sorry − for we shall have to try it by ourselves."
"Try it by yourselves! The man is surely mad! − but stay! − how long do you propose to be absent?"
"Probably all night. We shall start immediately, and be back, at all events, by sunrise."
"And will you promise me, upon your honor, that when this freak of yours is over, and the bug business (good
God!) settled to your satisfaction, you will then return home and follow my advice implicitly, as that of your
physician?"
"Yes; I promise; and now let us be off, for we have no time to lose."
With a heavy heart I accompanied my friend. We started about four o'clock − Legrand, Jupiter, the dog, and
myself. Jupiter had with him the scythe and spades − the whole of which he insisted upon carrying − more
through fear, it seemed to me, of trusting either of the implements within reach of his master, than from any
excess of industry or complaisance. His demeanor was dogged in the extreme, and "dat deuced bug" were the
sole words which escaped his lips during the journey. For my own part, I had charge of a couple of dark
lanterns, while Legrand contented himself with the scarabæus, which he carried attached to the end of a bit of
whip−cord; twirling it to and fro, with the air of a conjuror, as he went. When I observed this last, plain
evidence of my friend's aberration of mind, I could scarcely refrain from tears. I thought it best, however, to
humor his fancy, at least for the present, or until I could adopt some more energetic measures with a chance of
success. In the mean time I endeavored, but all in vain, to sound him in regard to the object of the expedition.
Having succeeded in inducing me to accompany him, he seemed unwilling to hold conversation upon any
topic of minor importance, and to all my questions vouchsafed no other reply than "we shall see!"
We crossed the creek at the head of the island by means of a skiff; and, ascending the high grounds on the
shore of the main land, proceeded in a northwesterly direction, through a tract of country excessively wild and
desolate, where no trace of a human footstep was to be seen. Legrand led the way with decision; pausing only
for an instant, here and there, to consult what appeared to be certain landmarks of his own contrivance upon a
former occasion.
In this manner we journeyed for about two hours, and the sun was just setting when we entered a region
infinitely more dreary than any yet seen. It was a species of table land, near the summit of an almost
inaccessible hill, densely wooded from base to pinnacle, and interspersed with huge crags that appeared to lie
loosely upon the soil, and in many cases were prevented from precipitating themselves into the valleys below,
merely by the support of the trees against which they reclined. Deep ravines, in various directions, gave an air
of still sterner solemnity to the scene.
The natural platform to which we had clambered was thickly overgrown with brambles, through which we
soon discovered that it would have been impossible to force our way but for the scythe; and Jupiter, by
direction of his master, proceeded to clear for us a path to the foot of an enormously tall tulip−tree, which
stood, with some eight or ten oaks, upon the level, and far surpassed them all, and all other trees which I had
then ever seen, in the beauty of its foliage and form, in the wide spread of its branches, and in the general
majesty of its appearance. When we reached this tree, Legrand turned to Jupiter, and asked him if he thought
he could climb it. The old man seemed a little staggered by the question, and for some moments made no
reply. At length he approached the huge trunk, walked slowly around it, and examined it with minute
attention. When he had completed his scrutiny, he merely said,
"Yes, massa, Jup climb any tree he ebber see in he life."
"Then up with you as soon as possible, for it will soon be too dark to see what we are about."
"How far mus go up, massa?" inquired Jupiter.
"Get up the main trunk first, and then I will tell you which way to go − and here − stop! take this beetle with
you."
"De bug, Massa Will! − de goole bug!" cried the negro, drawing back in dismay − "what for mus tote de bug
way up de tree? − d−n if I do!"
"If you are afraid, Jup, a great big negro like you, to take hold of a harmless little dead beetle, why you can
carry it up by this string − but, if you do not take it up with you in some way, I shall be under the necessity of
breaking your head with this shovel."
"What de matter now, massa?" said Jup, evidently shamed into compliance; "always want for to raise fuss wid
old nigger. Was only funnin any how. Me feered de bug! what I keer for de bug?" Here he took cautiously
hold of the extreme end of the string, and, maintaining the insect as far from his person as circumstances
would permit, prepared to ascend the tree.
In youth, the tulip−tree, or Liriodendron Tulipferum, the most magnificent of American foresters, has a trunk
peculiarly smooth, and often rises to a great height without lateral branches; but, in its riper age, the bark
becomes gnarled and uneven, while many short limbs make their appearance on the stem. Thus the difficulty
of ascension, in the present case, lay more in semblance than in reality. Embracing the huge cylinder, as
closely as possible, with his arms and knees, seizing with his hands some projections, and resting his naked
toes upon others, Jupiter, after one or two narrow escapes from falling, at length wriggled himself into the first
great fork, and seemed to consider the whole business as virtually accomplished. The risk of the achievement
was, in fact, now over, although the climber was some sixty or seventy feet from the ground.
"Which way mus go now, Massa Will?" he asked.
"Keep up the largest branch − the one on this side," said Legrand. The negro obeyed him promptly, and
apparently with but little trouble; ascending higher and higher, until no glimpse of his squat figure could be
obtained through the dense foliage which enveloped it. Presently his voice was heard in a sort of halloo.
"How much fudder is got for go?"
"How high up are you?" asked Legrand.
"Ebber so fur," replied the negro; "can see de sky fru de top ob de tree."
"Never mind the sky, but attend to what I say. Look down the trunk and count the limbs below you on this
side. How many limbs have you passed?"
"One, two, tree, four, fibe − I done pass fibe big limb, massa, pon dis side."
"Then go one limb higher."
In a few minutes the voice was heard again, announcing that the seventh limb was attained.
"Now, Jup," cried Legrand, evidently much excited, "I want you to work your way out upon that limb as far as
you can. If you see anything strange, let me know." By this time what little doubt I might have entertained of
my poor friend's insanity, was put finally at rest. I had no alternative but to conclude him stricken with lunacy,
and I became seriously anxious about getting him home. While I was pondering upon what was best to be
done, Jupiter's voice was again heard.
"Mos feerd for to ventur pon dis limb berry far − tis dead limb putty much all de way."
"Did you say it was a dead limb, Jupiter?" cried Legrand in a quavering voice.
"Yes, massa, him dead as de door−nail − done up for sartain − done departed dis here life."
"What in the name heaven shall I do?" asked Legrand, seemingly in the greatest distress. "Do!" said I, glad of
an opportunity to interpose a word, "why come home and go to bed. Come now! − that's a fine fellow. It's
getting late, and, besides, you remember your promise."
"Jupiter," cried he, without heeding me in the least, "do you hear me?"
"Yes, Massa Will, hear you ebber so plain."
"Try the wood well, then, with your knife, and see if you think it very rotten."
"Him rotten, massa, sure nuff," replied the negro in a few moments, "but not so berry rotten as mought be.
Mought ventur out leetle way pon de limb by myself, dat's true."
"By yourself! − what do you mean?"
"Why I mean de bug. 'Tis berry hebby bug. Spose I drop him down fuss, and den de limb won't break wid just
de weight ob one nigger."
"You infernal scoundrel!" cried Legrand, apparently much relieved, "what do you mean by telling me such
nonsense as that? As sure as you drop that beetle I'll break your neck. Look here, Jupiter, do you hear me?"
"Yes, massa, needn't hollo at poor nigger dat style."
"Well! now listen! − if you will venture out on the limb as far as you think safe, and not let go the beetle, I'll
make you a present of a silver dollar as soon as you get down."
"I'm gwine, Massa Will − deed I is," replied the negro very promptly − "mos out to the eend now."
"Out to the end!" here fairly screamed Legrand, "do you say you are out to the end of that limb?"
"Soon be to de eend, massa, − o−o−o−o−oh! Lor−gol−a−marcy! what is dis here pon de tree?"
"Well!" cried Legrand, highly delighted, "what is it?"
"Why taint noffin but a skull − somebody bin lef him head up de tree, and de crows done gobble ebery bit ob
de meat off."
"A skull, you say! − very well! − how is it fastened to the limb? − what holds it on?"
"Sure nuff, massa; mus look. Why dis berry curous sarcumstance, pon my word − dare's a great big nail in de
skull, what fastens ob it on to de tree."
"Well now, Jupiter, do exactly as I tell you − do you hear?"
"Yes, massa."
"Pay attention, then! − find the left eye of the skull."
"Hum! hoo! dat's good! why dare aint no eye lef at all."
"Curse your stupidity! do you know your right hand from your left?"
"Yes, I nose dat − nose all bout dat − tis my lef hand what I chops de wood wid."
"To be sure! you are left−handed; and your left. eye is on the same side as your left hand. Now, I suppose, you
can find the left eye of the skull, or the place where the left eye has been. Have you found it?"
Here was a long pause. At length the negro asked,
"Is de lef eye of de skull pon de same side as de lef hand of de skull, too? − cause de skull aint got not a bit ob
a hand at all − nebber mind! I got de lef eye now − here de lef eye! what mus do wid it?"
"Let the beetle drop through it, as far as the string will reach − but he careful and not let go your hold of the
string."
"All dat done, Massa Will; mighty easy ting for to put de bug fru de hole − look out for him dare below!"
During this colloquy no portion of Jupiter's person could be seen; but the beetle, which he had suffered to
descend, was now visible at the end of the string, and glistened, like a globe of burnished gold, in the last rays
of the setting sun, some of which still faintly illumined the eminence upon which we stood. The scarabæus
hung quite clear of any branches, and, if allowed to fall, would have fallen at our feet. Legrand immediately
took the scythe, and cleared with it a circular space, three or four yards in diameter, just beneath the insect,
and, having accomplished this, ordered Jupiter to let go the string and come down from the tree.
Driving a peg, with great nicety, into the ground, at the precise spot where the beetle fell, my friend now
produced from his pocket a tape measure. Fastening one end of this at that point of the trunk, of the tree which
was nearest the peg, he unrolled it till it reached the peg, and thence farther unrolled it, in the direction already
established by the two points of the tree and the peg, for the distance of fifty feet − Jupiter clearing away the
brambles with the scythe. At the spot thus attained a second peg was driven, and about this, as a centre, a rude
circle, about four feet in diameter, described. Taking now a spade himself, and giving one to Jupiter and one
to me, Legrand begged us to set about digging as quickly as possible.
To speak the truth, I had no especial relish for such amusement at any time, and, at that particular moment,
would most willingly have declined it; for the night was coming on, and I felt much fatigued with the exercise
already taken; but I saw no mode of escape, and was fearful of disturbing my poor friend's equanimity by a
refusal. Could I have depended, indeed, upon Jupiter's aid, I would have had no hesitation in attempting to get
the lunatic home by force; but I was too well assured of the old negro's disposition, to hope that he would
assist me, under any circumstances, in a personal contest with his master. I made no doubt that the latter had
been infected with some of the innumerable Southern superstitions about money buried, and that his phantasy
had received confirmation by the finding of the scarabæus, or, perhaps, by Jupiter's obstinacy in maintaining it
to be "a bug of real gold." A mind disposed to lunacy would readily be led away by such suggestions −
especially if chiming in with favorite preconceived ideas − and then I called to mind the poor fellow's speech
about the beetle's being "the index of his fortune." Upon the whole, I was sadly vexed and puzzled, but, at
length, I concluded to make a virtue of necessity − to dig with a good will, and thus the sooner to convince the
visionary, by ocular demonstration, of the fallacy of the opinions he entertained.
The lanterns having been lit, we all fell to work with a zeal worthy a more rational cause; and, as the glare fell
upon our persons and implements, I could not help thinking how picturesque a group we composed, and how
strange and suspicious our labors must have appeared to any interloper who, by chance, might have stumbled
upon our whereabouts.
We dug very steadily for two hours. Little was said; and our chief embarrassment lay in the yelpings of the dog, who took exceeding interest in our proceedings. He, at length, became so obstreperous that we grew
fearful of his giving the alarm to some stragglers in the vicinity; − or, rather, this was the apprehension of
Legrand; − for myself, I should have rejoiced at any interruption which might have enabled me to get the
wanderer home. The noise was, at length, very effectually silenced by Jupiter, who, getting out of the hole
with a dogged air of deliberation, tied the brute's mouth up with one of his suspenders, and then returned, with
a grave chuckle, to his task.
When the time mentioned had expired, we had reached a depth of five feet, and yet no signs of any treasure
became manifest. A general pause ensued, and I began to hope that the farce was at an end. Legrand, however,
although evidently much disconcerted, wiped his brow thoughtfully and recommenced. We had excavated the
entire circle of four feet diameter, and now we slightly enlarged the limit, and went to the farther depth of two
feet. Still nothing appeared. The gold−seeker, whom I sincerely pitied, at length clambered from the pit, with
the bitterest disappointment imprinted upon every feature, and proceeded, slowly and reluctantly, to put on his
coat, which he had thrown off at the beginning of his labor. In the mean time I made no remark. Jupiter, at a
signal from his master, began to gather up his tools. This done, and the dog having been unmuzzled, we
turned in profound silence towards home.
We had taken, perhaps, a dozen steps in this direction, when, with a loud oath, Legrand strode up to Jupiter,
and seized him by the collar. The astonished negro opened his eyes and mouth to the fullest extent, let fall the
spades, and fell upon his knees.
"You scoundrel," said Legrand, hissing out the syllables from between his clenched teeth − "you infernal
black villain! − speak, I tell you! − answer me this instant, without prevarication! − which − which is your left
eye?"
"Oh, my golly, Massa Will! aint dis here my lef eye for sartain?" roared the terrified Jupiter, placing his hand
upon his right organ of vision, and holding it there with a desperate pertinacity, as if in immediate dread of his
master's attempt at a gouge.
"I thought so! − I knew it! hurrah!" vociferated Legrand, letting the negro go, and executing a series of curvets
and caracols, much to the astonishment of his valet, who, arising from his knees, looked, mutely, from his
master to myself, and then from myself to his master.
"Come! we must go back," said the latter, "the game's not up yet;" and he again led the way to the tulip−tree.
"Jupiter," said he, when we reached its foot, "come here! was the skull nailed to the limb with the face
outwards, or with the face to the limb?"
"De face was out, massa, so dat de crows could get at de eyes good, widout any trouble."
"Well, then, was it this eye or that through which you dropped the beetle?" − here Legrand touched each of
Jupiter's eyes.
"Twas dis eye, massa − de lef eye − jis as you tell me," and here it was his right eye that the negro indicated.
"That will do − must try it again."
Here my friend, about whose madness I now saw, or fancied that I saw, certain indications of method,
removed the peg which marked the spot where the beetle fell, to a spot about three inches to the westward of
its former position. Taking, now, the tape measure from the nearest point of the trunk to the peg, as before,
and continuing the extension in a straight line to the distance of fifty feet, a spot was indicated, removed, by
several yards, from the point at which we had been digging.
Around the new position a circle, somewhat larger than in the former instance, was now described, and we
again set to work with the spades. I was dreadfully weary, but, scarcely understanding what had occasioned
the change in my thoughts, I felt no longer any great aversion from the labor imposed. I had become most
unaccountably interested − nay, even excited. Perhaps there was something, amid all the extravagant
demeanor of Legrand − some air of forethought, or of deliberation, which impressed me. I dug eagerly, and
now and then caught myself actually looking, with something that very much resembled expectation, for the
fancied treasure, the vision of which had demented my unfortunate companion. At a period when such
vagaries of thought most fully possessed me, and when we had been at work perhaps an hour and a half, we
were again interrupted by the violent howlings of the dog. His uneasiness, in the first instance, had been,
evidently, but the result of playfulness or caprice, but he now assumed a bitter and serious tone. Upon Jupiter's
again attempting to muzzle him, he made furious resistance, and, leaping into the hole, tore up the mould
frantically with his claws. In a few seconds he had uncovered a mass of human bones, forming two complete
skeletons, intermingled with several buttons of metal, and what appeared to be the dust of decayed woollen.
One or two strokes of a spade upturned the blade of a large Spanish knife, and, as we dug farther, three or four
loose pieces of gold and silver coin came to light.
At sight of these the joy of Jupiter could scarcely be
restrained, but the countenance of his master wore an air of extreme disappointment He urged us, however, to
continue our exertions, and the words were hardly uttered when I stumbled and fell forward, having caught
the toe of my boot in a large ring of iron that lay half buried in the loose earth.
We now worked in earnest, and never did I pass ten minutes of more intense excitement. During this interval
we had fairly unearthed an oblong chest of wood, which, from its perfect preservation and wonderful
hardness, had plainly been subjected to some mineralizing process − perhaps that of the Bi−chloride of
Mercury. This box was three feet and a half long, three feet broad, and two and a half feet deep. It was firmly
secured by bands of wrought iron, riveted, and forming a kind of open trelliswork over the whole. On each
side of the chest, near the top, were three rings of iron − six in all − by means of which a firm hold could be
obtained by six persons. Our utmost united endeavors served only to disturb the coffer very slightly in its bed.
We at once saw the impossibility of removing so great a weight. Luckily, the sole fastenings of the lid
consisted of two sliding bolts. These we drew back − trembling and panting with anxiety. In an instant, a
treasure of incalculable value lay gleaming before us. As the rays of the lanterns fell within the pit, there
flashed upwards a glow and a glare, from a confused heap of gold and of jewels, that absolutely dazzled our
eyes.
I shall not pretend to describe the feelings with which I gazed. Amazement was, of course, predominant.
Legrand appeared exhausted with excitement, and spoke very few words. Jupiter's
countenance wore, for some minutes, as deadly a pallor as it is possible, in nature of things, for any negro's
visage to assume. He seemed stupified − thunderstricken. Presently he fell upon his knees in the pit, and,
burying his naked arms up to the elbows in gold, let them there remain, as if enjoying the luxury of a bath. At
length, with a deep sigh, he exclaimed, as if in a soliloquy,
"And dis all cum ob de goole−bug! de putty goole bug! de poor little goole−bug, what I boosed in dat sabage
kind ob style! Aint you shamed ob yourself, nigger? − answer me dat!"
It became necessary, at last, that I should arouse both master and valet to the expediency of removing the
treasure. It was growing late, and it behooved us to make exertion, that we might get every thing housed
before daylight. It was difficult to say what should be done, and much time was spent in deliberation − so
confused were the ideas of all. We, finally, lightened the box by removing two thirds of its contents, when we
were enabled, with some trouble, to raise it from the hole. The articles taken out were deposited among the
brambles, and the dog left to guard them, with strict orders from Jupiter neither, upon any pretence, to stir
from the spot, nor to open his mouth until our return. We then hurriedly made for home with the chest;
reaching the hut in safety, but after excessive toil, at one o'clock in the morning. Worn out as we were, it was not in human nature to do more immediately. We rested until two, and had supper; starting for the hills
immediately afterwards, armed with three stout sacks, which, by good luck, were upon the premises. A little
before four we arrived at the pit, divided the remainder of the booty, as equally as might be, among us, and,
leaving the holes unfilled, again set out for the hut, at which, for the second time, we deposited our golden
burthens, just as the first faint streaks of the dawn gleamed from over the tree−tops in the East.
We were now thoroughly broken down; but the intense excitement of the time denied us repose. After an
unquiet slumber of some three or four hours' duration, we arose, as if by preconcert, to make examination of
our treasure.
The chest had been full to the brim, and we spent the whole day, and the greater part of the next night, in a
scrutiny of its contents. There had been nothing like order or arrangement. Every thing had been heaped in
promiscuously. Having assorted all with care, we found ourselves possessed of even vaster wealth than we
had at first supposed. In coin there was rather more than four hundred and fifty thousand dollars − estimating
the value of the pieces, as accurately as we could, by the tables of the period. There was not a particle of
silver. All was gold of antique date and of great variety − French, Spanish, and German money, with a few
English guineas, and some counters, of which we had never seen specimens before. There were several very
large and heavy coins, so worn that we could make nothing of their inscriptions. There was no American
money. The value of the jewels we found more difficulty in estimating. There were diamonds − some of them
exceedingly large and fine − a hundred and ten in all, and not one of them small; eighteen rubies of
remarkable brilliancy; − three hundred and ten emeralds, all very beautiful; and twenty−one sapphires, with an
opal. These stones had all been broken from their settings and thrown loose in the chest. The settings
themselves, which we picked out from among the other gold, appeared to have been beaten up with hammers,
as if to prevent identification. Besides all this, there was a vast quantity of solid gold ornaments; − nearly two
hundred massive finger and earrings; − rich chains − thirty of these, if I remember; − eighty−three very large
and heavy crucifixes; − five gold censers of great value; − a prodigious golden punch bowl, ornamented with
richly chased vine−leaves and
Bacchanalian figures; with two sword−handles exquisitely embossed, and many other smaller articles which I
cannot recollect. The weight of these valuables exceeded three hundred and fifty pounds
avoirdupois; and in this estimate I have not included one hundred and ninety−seven superb gold watches;
three of the number being worth each five hundred dollars, if one. Many of them were very old, and as time
keepers valueless; the works having suffered, more or less, from corrosion − but all were richly jewelled and
in cases of great worth. We estimated the entire contents of the chest, that night, at a million and a half of
dollars; and upon the subsequent disposal of the trinkets and jewels (a few being retained for our own
use), it was found that we had greatly undervalued the treasure. When, at length, we had concluded our
examination, and the intense excitement of the time had, in some measure, subsided, Legrand, who saw that I
was dying with impatience for a solution of this most extraordinary riddle, entered into a full detail of all the
circumstances connected with it.
"You remember;" said he, "the night when I handed you the rough sketch I had made of the scarabæus. You
recollect also, that I became quite vexed at you for insisting that my drawing resembled a death's−head. When
you first made this assertion I thought you were jesting; but afterwards I called to mind the peculiar spots on
the back of the insect, and admitted to myself that your remark had some little foundation in fact. Still, the
sneer at my graphic powers irritated me − for I am considered a good artist − and, therefore, when you handed
me the scrap of parchment, I was about to crumple it up and throw it angrily into the fire."
"The scrap of paper, you mean," said I.
"No; it had much of the appearance of paper, and at first I supposed it to be such, but when I came to draw
upon it, I discovered it, at once, to be a piece of very thin parchment. It was quite dirty, you remember. Well,
as I was in the very act of crumpling it up, my glance fell upon the sketch at which you had been looking, and
you may imagine my astonishment when I perceived, in fact, the figure of a death's−head just where, it seemed to me, I had made the drawing of the beetle. For a moment I was too much amazed to think with
accuracy. I knew that my design was very different in detail from this − although there was a certain similarity
in general outline. Presently I took a candle, and seating myself at the other end of the room, proceeded to
scrutinize the parchment more closely. Upon turning it over, I saw my own sketch upon the reverse, just as I
had made it. My first idea, now, was mere surprise at the really remarkable similarity of outline − at the
singular coincidence involved in the fact, that unknown to me, there should have been a skull upon the other
side of the parchment, immediately beneath my figure of the scarabæus, and that this skull, not only in
outline, but in size, should so closely resemble my drawing. I say
the singularity of this coincidence absolutely stupified me for a time. This is the usual effect of such
coincidences. The mind struggles to establish a connexion − a sequence of cause and effect − and, being
unable to do so, suffers a species of temporary paralysis. But, when I recovered from this stupor, there dawned
upon me gradually a conviction which startled me even far more than the coincidence. I began distinctly,
positively, to remember that there had been no drawing upon the parchment when I made my sketch of the
scarabæus. I became perfectly certain of this; for I recollected turning up first one side and then the other, in
search of the cleanest spot. Had the skull been then there, of course I could not have failed to notice it. Here
was indeed a mystery which I felt it impossible to explain; but, even at that early moment, there seemed to
glimmer, faintly, within the most remote and secret chambers of my intellect, a glow−worm−like conception
of that truth which last night's adventure brought to so magnificent a demonstration. I arose at once, and
putting the parchment securely away, dismissed all farther reflection until I should be alone.

"When you had gone, and when Jupiter was fast asleep, I betook myself to a more methodical investigation of
the affair. In the first place I considered the manner in which the parchment had come into my possession. The
spot where we discovered the scarabaeus was on the coast of the main land, about a mile eastward of the
island, and but a short distance above high water mark. Upon my taking hold of it, it gave me a sharp bite,
which caused me to let it drop. Jupiter, with his accustomed caution, before seizing the insect, which had
flown towards him, looked about him for a leaf, or something of that nature, by which to take hold of it. It was
at this moment that his eyes, and mine also, fell upon the scrap of parchment, which I then supposed to be
paper. It was lying half buried in the sand, a corner sticking up. Near the spot where we found it, I observed
the remnants of the hull of what appeared to have been a ship's long boat. The wreck seemed to have been
there for a very great while; for the resemblance to boat timbers could scarcely be traced.
"Well, Jupiter picked up the parchment, wrapped the beetle in it, and gave it to me. Soon afterwards we turned
to go home, and on the way met Lieutenant G−. I showed him the insect, and he begged me to let him take it
to the fort. Upon my consenting, he thrust it forthwith into his waistcoat pocket, without the parchment in
which it had been wrapped, and which I had continued to hold in my hand during his inspection. Perhaps he
dreaded my changing my mind, and thought it best to make sure of the prize at once − you know how
enthusiastic he is on all subjects connected with Natural History. At the same time, without being conscious of
it, I must have deposited the parchment in my own pocket.
"You remember that when I went to the table, for the purpose of making a sketch of the beetle, I found no
paper where it was usually kept. I looked in the drawer, and found none there. I searched my pockets, hoping
to find an old letter, when my hand fell upon the parchment. I thus detail the precise mode in which it came
into my possession; for the circumstances impressed me with peculiar force.
"No doubt you will think me fanciful − but I had already established a kind of connexion. I had put together
two links of a great chain. There was a boat lying upon a sea−coast, and not far from the boat was a
parchment − not a paper − with a skull depicted upon it. You will, of course, ask 'where is the connexion?' I
reply that the skull, or death's−head, is the well−known emblem of the pirate. The flag of the death's head is
hoisted in all engagements.
"I have said that the scrap was parchment, and not paper. Parchment is durable − almost imperishable. Matters
of little moment are rarely consigned to parchment; since, for the mere ordinary purposes of drawing or writing, it is not nearly so well adapted as paper. This reflection suggested some meaning − some relevancy −
in the death's−head. I did not fail to observe, also, the form of the parchment. Although one of its corners had
been, by some accident, destroyed, it could be seen that the original form was oblong. It was just such a slip,
indeed, as might have been chosen for a memorandum − for a record of something to be long remembered and
carefully preserved."
"But," I interposed, "you say that the skull was not upon the parchment when you made the drawing of the
beetle. How then do you trace any connexion between the boat and the skull − since this latter, according to
your own admission, must have been designed (God only knows how or by whom) at some period subsequent
to your sketching the scarabæus?"
"Ah, hereupon turns the whole mystery; although the secret, at this point, I had comparatively little difficulty
in solving. My steps were sure, and could afford but a single result. I reasoned, for example, thus: When I
drew the scarabæus, there was no skull apparent upon the parchment. When I had completed the drawing I
gave it to you, and observed you narrowly until you returned it. You, therefore, did not design the skull, and
no one else was present to do it. Then it was not done by human agency. And nevertheless it was done. "At
this stage of my reflections I endeavored to remember, and did remember, with entire distinctness, every
incident which occurred about the period in question. The weather was chilly (oh rare and happy accident!),
and a fire was blazing upon the hearth. I was heated with exercise and sat near the table. You, however, had
drawn a chair close to the chimney. Just as I placed the parchment in your hand, and as you were in the act of
in. inspecting it, Wolf, the Newfoundland, entered, and leaped upon your shoulders. With your left hand you
caressed him and kept him off, while your right, holding the parchment, was permitted to fall listlessly
between your knees, and in close proximity to the fire. At one moment I thought the blaze had caught it, and
was about to caution you, but, before I could speak, you had withdrawn it, and were engaged in its
examination. When I considered all these particulars, I doubted not for a moment that heat had been the agent
in bringing to light, upon the parchment, the skull which I saw designed upon it. You are well aware that
chemical preparations exist, and have existed time out of mind, by means of which it is possible to write upon
either paper or vellum, so that the characters shall become visible only when subjected to the action of fire.
Zaffre, digested in aqua regia, and diluted with four times its weight of water, is sometimes employed; a green
tint results. The regulus of cobalt, dissolved in spirit of nitre, gives a red. These colors disappear at longer or
shorter intervals after the material written upon cools, but again become apparent upon the
re−application of heat.
"I now scrutinized the death's−head with care. Its outer edges − the edges of the drawing nearest the edge of
the vellum − were far more distinct than the others. It was clear that the action of the caloric had been
imperfect or unequal. I immediately kindled a fire, and subjected every portion of the parchment to a glowing
heat. At first, the only effect was the strengthening of the faint lines in the skull; but, upon persevering in the
experiment, there became visible, at the corner of the slip, diagonally opposite to the spot in which the
death's−head was delineated, the figure of what I at first supposed to be a goat. A closer scrutiny, however,
satisfied me that it was intended for a kid."
"Ha! ha!" said I, "to be sure I have no right to laugh at you − a million and a half of money is too serious a
matter for mirth − but you are not about to establish a third link in your chain − you will not find any especial
connexion between your pirates and a goat − pirates, you know, have nothing to do with goats; they appertain
to the farming interest."
"But I have just said that the figure was not that of a goat."
"Well, a kid then − pretty much the same thing."
"Pretty much, but not altogether," said Legrand. "You may have heard of one Captain Kidd. I at once looked
upon the figure of the animal as a kind of punning or hieroglyphical signature. I say signature; because its position upon the vellum suggested this idea. The death's−head at the corner diagonally opposite, had, in the
same manner, the air of a stamp, or seal. But I was sorely put out by the absence of all else − of the body to
my imagined instrument − of the text for my context."
"I presume you expected to find a letter between the stamp and the signature."
"Something of that kind. The fact is, I felt irresistibly impressed with a presentiment of some vast good
fortune impending. I can scarcely say why. Perhaps, after all, it was rather a desire than an actual belief; − but
do you know that Jupiter's silly words, about the bug being of solid gold, had a remarkable effect upon my
fancy? And then the series of accidents and coincidences − these were so very extraordinary. Do you observe
how mere an accident it was that these events should have occurred upon the sole day of all the year in which
it has been, or may be, sufficiently cool for fire, and that without the fire, or without the intervention of the
dog at the precise moment in which he appeared, I should never have become aware of the death's−head, and
so never the possessor of the treasure?"
"But proceed − I am all impatience."
"Well; you have heard, of course, the many stories current − the thousand vague rumors afloat about money
buried, somewhere upon the Atlantic coast, by Kidd and his associates. These rumors must have had some
foundation in fact. And that the rumors have existed so long and so continuous, could have resulted, it
appeared to me, only from the circumstance of the buried treasure still remaining entombed. Had Kidd
concealed his plunder for a time, and afterwards reclaimed it, the rumors would scarcely have reached us in
their present unvarying form. You will observe that the stories told are all about
money−seekers, not about money−finders. Had the pirate recovered his money, there the affair would have
dropped. It seemed to me that some accident − say the loss of a memorandum indicating its locality − had
deprived him of the means of recovering it, and that this accident had become known to his followers, who
otherwise might never have heard that treasure had been concealed at all, and who, busying themselves in
vain, because unguided attempts, to regain it, had given first birth, and then universal currency, to the reports
which are now so common. Have you ever heard of any important treasure being unearthed along the coast?"
"Never."
"But that Kidd's accumulations were immense, is well known. I took it for granted, therefore, that the earth
still held them; and you will scarcely be surprised when I tell you that I felt a hope, nearly amounting to
certainty, that the parchment so strangely found, involved a lost record of the place of deposit."
"But how did you proceed?"
"I held the vellum again to the fire, after increasing the heat; but nothing appeared. I now thought it possible
that the coating of dirt might have something to do with the failure; so I carefully rinsed the parchment by
pouring warm water over it, and,
having done this, I placed it in a tin pan, with the skull downwards, and put the pan upon a furnace of lighted
charcoal. In a few minutes, the pan having become thoroughly heated, I removed the slip, and, to my
inexpressible joy, found it spotted, in several places, with what appeared to be figures arranged in lines. Again
I placed it in the pan, and suffered it to remain another minute. Upon taking it off, the whole was just as you
see it now." Here Legrand, having re−heated the parchment, submitted it to my inspection. The following
characters were rudely traced, in a red tint, between the
death's−head and the goat:

"53‡‡†305))6*;4826)4‡)4‡;806*;48‡8¶60))85;1−(;:*8−83(88)5*‡
;46(;88*96*?;*‡(;485);5*†2:*‡(;4956*2(5*− 4)8¶8*;4069285);)6†8)4;1(‡9;48081;8:8‡1;48†85;4)485†528806*81(‡9;48;
(88;4(‡?34;48)4‡;161;:188;‡?;"

"But," said I, returning him the slip, "I am as much in the dark as ever. Were all the jewels of Golconda
awaiting me upon my solution of this enigma, I am quite sure that I should be unable to earn them."
"And yet," said Legrand, "the solution is by no means so difficult as you might be lead to imagine from the
first hasty inspection of the characters. These characters, as any one might readily guess, form a cipher − that
is to say, they convey a meaning; but then, from what is known of Kidd, I could not suppose him capable of
constructing any of the more abstruse cryptographs. I made up my mind, at once, that this was of a simple
species − such, however, as would appear, to the crude intellect of the sailor, absolutely insoluble without the
key."
"And you really solved it?"
"Readily; I have solved others of an abstruseness ten thousand times greater. Circumstances, and a certain bias
of mind, have led me to take interest in such riddles, and it may well be doubted whether human ingenuity can
construct an enigma of the kind which human ingenuity may not, by proper application, resolve. In fact,
having once established connected and legible characters, I scarcely gave a thought to the mere difficulty of
developing their import.
"In the present case − indeed in all cases of secret writing − the first question regards the language of the
cipher; for the principles of solution, so far, especially, as the more simple ciphers are concerned, depend
upon, and are varied by, the genius of the particular idiom. In general, there is no alternative but experiment
(directed by probabilities) of every tongue known to him who attempts the solution, until the true one be
attained. But, with the cipher now before us, all difficulty was removed by the signature. The pun upon the
word 'Kidd' is appreciable in no other language than the English. But for this consideration I should have
begun my attempts with the Spanish and French, as the tongues in which a secret of this kind would most
naturally have been written by a pirate of the Spanish main. As it was, I assumed the cryptograph to be
English.
"You observe there are no divisions between the words. Had there been divisions, the task would have been
comparatively easy. In such case I should have commenced with a collation and analysis of the shorter words,
and, had a word of a single letter occurred, as is most likely, (a or I, for example,) I should have considered
the solution as assured. But, there being no division, my first step was to ascertain the predominant letters, as
well as the least frequent. Counting all, I constructed a table, thus:
Of the character 8 there are 33.
; " 26.
4 " 19.
‡ ) " 16.
" 13. ·
5 " 12.
6 " 11.
† 1 " 8.
0 " 6.
9 2 " 5.
: 3 " 4.
? " 3.
¶ " 2.
−. " 1.
"Now, in English, the letter which most frequently occurs is e. Afterwards, succession runs thus: _a o i d h n r
s t u y c f g l m w b k p q x z_. _E_ predominates so remarkably that an individual sentence of any length is
rarely seen, in which it is not the prevailing character.
"Here, then, we leave, in the very beginning, the groundwork for something more than a mere guess. The
general use which may be made of the table is obvious − but, in this particular cipher, we shall only very
partially require its aid. As our predominant character is 8, we will commence by assuming it as the _e_ of the
natural alphabet. To verify the supposition, let us observe if the 8 be seen often in couples − for _e_ is doubled
with great frequency in English − in such words, for example, as 'meet,' '.fleet,' 'speed,' 'seen,' been,' 'agree,'
&c. In the present instance we see it doubled no less than five times, although the cryptograph is brief.
"Let us assume 8, then, as e_. Now, of all _words in the language, 'the' is most usual; let us see, therefore,
whether there are not repetitions of any three characters, in the same order of collocation, the last of them
being 8. If we discover repetitions of such letters, so arranged, they will most probably represent the word
'the.' Upon inspection, we find no less than seven such arrangements, the characters being ;48. We may,
therefore, assume that ; represents t_, 4 represents _h_, and 8 represents _e − the last being now well
confirmed. Thus a great step has been taken.
"But, having established a single word, we are enabled to establish a vastly important point; that is to say,
several commencements and terminations of other words. Let us refer, for example, to the last instance but
one, in which the combination ;48 occurs − not far from the end of the cipher. We know that the ; immediately
ensuing is the commencement of a word, and, of the six characters succeeding this 'the,' we are cognizant of
no less than five. Let us set these characters down, thus, by the letters we know them to represent, leaving a
space for the unknown −
t eeth.
"Here we are enabled, at once, to discard the 'th,' as forming no portion of the word commencing with the first
t; since, by experiment of the entire alphabet for a letter adapted to the vacancy, we perceive that no word can
be formed of which this th can be a part. We are thus narrowed into
t ee,
and, going through the alphabet, if necessary, as before, we arrive at the word 'tree,' as the sole possible
reading. We thus gain another letter, _r_, represented by (, with the words 'the tree' in juxtaposition.
"Looking beyond these words, for a short distance, we again see the combination ;48, and employ it by way of
termination to what immediately precedes. We have thus this arrangement:
the tree ;4(‡?34 the,
or, substituting the natural letters, where known, it reads thus:
the tree thr‡?3h the.
"Now, if, in place of the unknown characters, we leave blank spaces, or substitute dots, we read thus:
the tree thr...h the,
when the word 'through' makes itself evident at once. But this discovery gives us three new letters, o_, _u_
and _g, represented by ‡ ? and 3.
"Looking now, narrowly, through the cipher for combinations of known characters, we find, not very far from
the beginning, this arrangement,
83(88, or egree,
which, plainly, is the conclusion of the word 'degree,' and gives us another letter, _d_, represented by †.
"Four letters beyond the word 'degree,' we perceive the combination
;46(;88.
"Translating the known characters, and representing the unknown by dots, as before, we read thus: th rtee. an
arrangement immediately suggestive of the word 'thirteen,' and again furnishing us with two new characters,
i_ and _n, represented by 6 and *.
"Referring, now, to the beginning of the cryptograph, we find the combination,
53‡‡†.
"Translating, as before, we obtain
good,
which assures us that the first letter is _A_, and that the first two words are 'A good.'
"It is now time that we arrange our key, as far as discovered, in a tabular form, to avoid confusion. It will
stand thus:
5 represents a
† " d
8 " e
3 " g
4 " h
6 " i
·
‡ " o
( " r
; " t
"We have, therefore, no less than ten of the most important letters represented, and it will be unnecessary to
proceed with the details of the solution. I have said enough to convince you that ciphers of this nature are
readily soluble, and to give you some insight into the rationale of their development. But be assured that the
specimen before us appertains to the very simplest species of cryptograph. It now only remains to give you the
full translation of the characters upon the parchment, as unriddled. Here it is:
" '_A good glass in the bishop's hostel in the devil's seat forty−one degrees and thirteen minutes northeast and
by north main branch seventh limb east side shoot from the left eye of the death's−head a bee line from the
tree through the shot fifty feet out_.' "
"But," said I, "the enigma seems still in as bad a condition as ever. How is it possible to extort a meaning from
all this jargon about 'devil's seats,' 'death's heads,' and 'bishop's hotels?' "
"I confess," replied Legrand, "that the matter still wears a serious aspect, when regarded with a casual glance.
My first endeavor was to divide the sentence into the natural division intended by the cryptographist."
"You mean, to punctuate it?"
"Something of that kind."
"But how was it possible to effect this?"
"I reflected that it had been a point with the writer to run his words together without division, so as to increase
the difficulty of solution. Now, a not over−acute man, in pursuing such an object would be nearly certain to
overdo the matter. When, in the course of his composition, he arrived at a break in his subject which would
naturally require a pause, or a point, he would be exceedingly apt to run his characters, at this place, more than
usually close together. If you will observe the MS., in the present instance, you will easily detect five such
cases of unusual crowding. Acting upon this hint, I made the division thus: 'A good glass in the Bishop's
hostel in the Devil's seat − forty−one degrees and thirteen minutes − northeast and by north − main branch
seventh limb east side − shoot from the left eye of the death's−head − a bee−line from the tree through the
shot fifty feet out.' "
"Even this division," said I, "leaves me still in the dark."
"It left me also in the dark," replied Legrand, "for a few days; during which I made diligent inquiry, in the
neighborhood of Sullivan's Island, for any building which went by the name of the 'Bishop's Hotel;' for, of
course, I dropped the obsolete word 'hostel.' Gaining no information on the subject, I was on the point of
extending my sphere of search, and proceeding in a more systematic manner, when, one morning, it entered
into my head, quite suddenly, that this 'Bishop's Hostel' might have some reference to an old family, of the
name of Bessop, which, time out of mind, had held possession of an ancient manor−house, about four miles to
the northward of the Island. I accordingly went over to the plantation, and re−instituted my inquiries among
the older negroes of the place. At length one of the most aged of the women said that she had heard of such a
place as Bessop's Castle, and thought that she could guide me to it, but that it was not a castle nor a tavern, but
a high rock.
"I offered to pay her well for her trouble, and, after some demur, she consented to accompany me to the spot.
We found it without much difficulty, when, dismissing her, I proceeded to examine the place. The 'castle'
consisted of an irregular assemblage of cliffs and rocks − one of the latter being quite remarkable for its height
as well as for its insulated and artificial appearance I clambered to its apex, and then felt much at a loss as to
what should be next done.
"While I was busied in reflection, my eyes fell upon a narrow ledge in the eastern face of the rock, perhaps a
yard below the summit upon which I stood. This ledge projected about eighteen inches, and was not more than
a foot wide, while a niche in the cliff just above it, gave it a rude resemblance to one of the hollow−backed
chairs used by our ancestors. I made no doubt that here was the 'devil's seat' alluded to in the MS., and now I
seemed to grasp the full secret of the riddle.
"The 'good glass,' I knew, could have reference to nothing but a telescope; for the word 'glass' is rarely
employed in any other sense by seamen. Now here, I at once saw, was a telescope to be used, and a definite
point of view, admitting no variation, from which to use it. Nor did I hesitate to believe that the phrases,
"forty−one degrees and thirteen minutes,' and 'northeast and by north,' were intended as directions for the
levelling of the glass. Greatly excited by these discoveries, I hurried home, procured a telescope, and returned
to the rock.
"I let myself down to the ledge, and found that it was impossible to retain a seat upon it except in one
particular position. This fact confirmed my preconceived idea. I proceeded to use the glass. Of course, the
'forty−one degrees and thirteen minutes' could allude to nothing but elevation above the visible horizon, since
the horizontal direction was clearly indicated by the words, 'northeast and by north.' This latter direction I at
once established by means of a pocket−compass; then, pointing the glass as nearly at an angle of forty−one
degrees of elevation as I could do it by guess, I moved it cautiously up or down, until my attention was
arrested by a circular rift or opening in the foliage of a large tree that overtopped its fellows in the distance. In
the centre of this rift I perceived a white spot, but could not, at first, distinguish what it was. Adjusting the
focus of the telescope, I again looked, and now made it out to be a human skull.
"Upon this discovery I was so sanguine as to consider the enigma solved; for the phrase 'main branch, seventh
limb, east side,' could refer only to the position of the skull upon the tree, while 'shoot from the left eye of the
death's head' admitted, also, of but one interpretation, in regard to a search for buried treasure. I perceived that
the design was to drop a bullet from the left eye of the skull, and that a bee−line, or, in other words, a straight
line, drawn from the nearest point of the trunk through 'the shot,' (or the spot where the bullet fell,) and thence
extended to a distance of fifty feet, would indicate a definite point − and beneath this point I thought it at least
possible that a deposit of value lay
concealed."
"All this," I said, "is exceedingly clear, and, although ingenious, still simple and explicit. When you left the
Bishop's Hotel, what then?"
"Why, having carefully taken the bearings of the tree, I turned homewards. The instant that I left 'the devil's
seat,' however, the circular rift vanished; nor could I get a glimpse of it afterwards, turn as I would. What
seems to me the chief ingenuity in this whole business, is the fact (for repeated experiment has convinced me
it is a fact) that the circular opening in question is visible from no other attainable point of view than that
afforded by the narrow ledge upon the face of the rock.
"In this expedition to the 'Bishop's Hotel' I had been attended by Jupiter, who had, no doubt, observed, for
some weeks past, the abstraction of my demeanor, and took especial care not to leave me alone. But, on the
next day, getting up very early, I contrived to give him the slip, and went into the hills in search of the tree.
After much toil I found it. When I came home at night my valet proposed to give me a flogging. With the rest
of the adventure I believe you are as well acquainted as myself."
"I suppose," said I, "you missed the spot, in the first attempt at digging, through Jupiter's stupidity in letting
the bug fall through the right instead of through the left eye of the skull."
"Precisely. This mistake made a difference of about two inches and a half in the 'shot' − that is to say, in the
position of the peg nearest the tree; and had the treasure been beneath the 'shot,' the error would have been of
little moment; but 'the shot,' together with the nearest point of the tree, were merely two points for the
establishment of a line of direction; of course the error, however trivial in the beginning, increased as we
proceeded with the line, and by the time we had gone fifty feet, threw us quite off the scent. But for my
deep−seated impressions that treasure was here somewhere actually buried, we might have had all our labor in
vain."
"But your grandiloquence, and your conduct in swinging the beetle − how excessively odd! I was sure you
were mad. And why did you insist upon letting fall the bug, instead of a bullet, from the skull?"
"Why, to be frank, I felt somewhat annoyed by your evident suspicions touching my sanity, and so resolved to
punish you quietly, in my own way, by a little bit of sober mystification. For this reason I swung the beetle,
and for this reason I let it fall it from the tree. An observation of yours about its great weight suggested the
latter idea."
"Yes, I perceive; and now there is only one point which puzzles me. What are we to make of the skeletons
found in the hole?"
"That is a question I am no more able to answer than yourself. There seems, however, only one plausible way
of accounting for them − and yet it is dreadful to believe in such atrocity as my suggestion would imply. It is
clear that Kidd − if Kidd indeed secreted this treasure, which I doubt not − it is clear that he must have had
assistance in the labor. But this labor concluded, he may have thought it expedient to remove all participants
in his secret. Perhaps a couple of blows with a mattock were sufficient, while his coadjutors were busy in the
pit; perhaps it required a dozen − who shall tell?"

Four Beasts in One

The Homo−Cameleopard


Chacun a ses vertus.
−−Crebillon's Xerxes.

Antiochus Epiphanes is very generally looked upon as the Gog of the prophet Ezekiel. This honor is,
however, more properly attributable to Cambyses, the son of Cyrus. And, indeed, the character of the Syrian
monarch does by no means stand in need of any adventitious embellishment. His accession to the throne, or
rather his usurpation of the sovereignty, a hundred and seventy−one years before the coming of Christ; his
attempt to plunder the temple of Diana at Ephesus; his implacable hostility to the Jews; his pollution of the
Holy of Holies; and his miserable death at Taba, after a tumultuous reign of eleven years, are circumstances of
a prominent kind, and therefore more generally noticed by the historians of his time than the impious,
dastardly, cruel, silly, and whimsical achievements which make up the sum total of his private life and
reputation.
Let us suppose, gentle reader, that it is now the year of the world three thousand eight hundred and thirty, and
let us, for a few minutes, imagine ourselves at that most grotesque habitation of man, the remarkable city of
Antioch. To be sure there were, in Syria and other countries, sixteen cities of that appellation, besides the one
to which I more particularly allude. But ours is that which went by the name of Antiochia Epidaphne, from its
vicinity to the little village of Daphne, where stood a temple to that divinity. It was built (although about this
matter there is some dispute) by Seleucus Nicanor, the first king of the country after Alexander the Great, in
memory of his father Antiochus, and became immediately the residence of the Syrian monarchy. In the
flourishing times of the Roman Empire, it was the ordinary station of the prefect of the eastern provinces; and
many of the emperors of the queen city (among whom may be mentioned, especially, Verus and Valens) spent
here the greater part of their time. But I perceive we have arrived at the city itself. Let us ascend this
battlement, and throw our eyes upon the town and neighboring country.
"What broad and rapid river is that which forces its way, with innumerable falls, through the mountainous
wilderness, and finally through the wilderness of buildings?"
That is the Orontes, and it is the only water in sight, with the exception of the Mediterranean, which stretches,
like a broad mirror, about twelve miles off to the southward. Every one has seen the Mediterranean; but let me
tell you, there are few who have had a peep at Antioch. By few, I mean, few who, like you and me, have had,
at the same time, the advantages of a modern education. Therefore cease to regard that sea, and give your
whole attention to the mass of houses that lie beneath us. You will remember that it is now the year of the
world three thousand eight hundred and thirty. Were it later −− for example, were it the year of our Lord
eighteen hundred and forty−five, we should be deprived of this extraordinary spectacle. In the nineteenth
century Antioch is −− that is to say, Antioch will be −− in a lamentable state of decay. It will have been, by
that time, totally destroyed, at three different periods, by three successive earthquakes. Indeed, to say the truth,
what little of its former self may then remain, will be found in so desolate and ruinous a state that the patriarch
shall have removed his residence to Damascus. This is well. I see you profit by my advice, and are making the
most of your time in inspecting the premises −− in
−satisfying your eyes
With the memorials and the things of fame
That most renown this city.−
I beg pardon; I had forgotten that Shakespeare will not flourish for seventeen hundred and fifty years to come.
But does not the appearance of Epidaphne justify me in calling it grotesque?
"It is well fortified; and in this respect is as much indebted to nature as to art."
Very true.
"There are a prodigious number of stately palaces."
There are.
"And the numerous temples, sumptuous and magnificent, may bear comparison with the most lauded of
antiquity."
All this I must acknowledge. Still there is an infinity of mud huts, and abominable hovels. We cannot help
perceiving abundance of filth in every kennel, and, were it not for the over−powering fumes of idolatrous
incense, I have no doubt we should find a most intolerable stench. Did you ever behold streets so insufferably
narrow, or houses so miraculously tall? What gloom their shadows cast upon the ground! It is well the swinging lamps in those endless colonnades are kept burning throughout the day; we should otherwise have
the darkness of Egypt in the time of her desolation.
"It is certainly a strange place! What is the meaning of yonder singular building? See! it towers above all
others, and lies to the eastward of what I take to be the royal palace."
That is the new Temple of the Sun, who is adored in Syria under the title of Elah Gabalah. Hereafter a very
notorious Roman Emperor will institute this worship in Rome, and thence derive a cognomen, Heliogabalus. I
dare say you would like to take a peep at the divinity of the temple. You need not look up at the heavens; his
Sunship is not there −− at least not the Sunship adored by the Syrians. That deity will be found in the interior
of yonder building. He is worshipped under the figure of a large stone pillar terminating at the summit in a
cone or pyramid, whereby is denoted Fire.
"Hark −− behold! −− who can those ridiculous beings be, half naked, with their faces painted, shouting and
gesticulating to the rabble?"
Some few are mountebanks. Others more particularly belong to the race of philosophers. The greatest portion,
however −− those especially who belabor the populace with clubs −− are the principal courtiers of the palace,
executing as in duty bound, some laudable comicality of the king's.
"But what have we here? Heavens! the town is swarming with wild beasts! How terrible a spectacle! −− how
dangerous a peculiarity!"
Terrible, if you please; but not in the least degree dangerous. Each animal if you will take the pains to
observe, is following, very quietly, in the wake of its master. Some few, to be sure, are led with a rope about
the neck, but these are chiefly the lesser or timid species. The lion, the tiger, and the leopard are entirely
without restraint. They have been trained without difficulty to their present profession, and attend upon their
respective owners in the capacity of valets−de−chambre. It is true, there are occasions when Nature asserts her
violated dominions; −− but then the devouring of a man−at−arms, or the throttling of a consecrated bull, is a
circumstance of too little moment to be more than hinted at in Epidaphne.
"But what extraordinary tumult do I hear? Surely this is a loud noise even for Antioch! It argues some
commotion of unusual interest."
Yes −− undoubtedly. The king has ordered some novel spectacle −− some gladiatorial exhibition at the
hippodrome −− or perhaps the massacre of the Scythian prisoners −− or the conflagration of his new palace
−− or the tearing down of a handsome temple −− or, indeed, a bonfire of a few Jews. The uproar increases.
Shouts of laughter ascend the skies. The air becomes dissonant with wind instruments, and horrible with
clamor of a million throats. Let us descend, for the love of fun, and see what is going on! This way −− be
careful! Here we are in the principal street, which is called the street of Timarchus. The sea of people is
coming this way, and we shall find a difficulty in stemming the tide. They are pouring through the alley of
Heraclides, which leads directly from the palace; −− therefore the king is most probably among the rioters.
Yes; −− I hear the shouts of the herald proclaiming his approach in the pompous phraseology of the East. We
shall have a glimpse of his person as he passes by the temple of Ashimah. Let us ensconce ourselves in the
vestibule of the sanctuary; he will be here anon. In the meantime let us survey this image. What is it? Oh! it is
the god Ashimah in proper person. You perceive, however, that he is neither a lamb, nor a goat, nor a satyr,
neither has he much resemblance to the Pan of the Arcadians. Yet all these appearances have been given −− I
beg pardon −− will be given −− by the learned of future ages, to the Ashimah of the Syrians. Put on your
spectacles, and tell me what it is. What is it?
"Bless me! it is an ape!"
True −− a baboon; but by no means the less a deity. His name is a derivation of the Greek Simia −− what
great fools are antiquarians! But see! −− see! −− yonder scampers a ragged little urchin. Where is he going?
What is he bawling about? What does he say? Oh! he says the king is coming in triumph; that he is dressed in
state; that he has just finished putting to death, with his own hand, a thousand chained Israelitish prisoners!
For this exploit the ragamuffin is lauding him to the skies. Hark! here comes a troop of a similar description.
They have made a Latin hymn upon the valor of the king, and are singing it as they go:
Mille, mille, mille,
Mille, mille, mille,
Decollavimus, unus homo!
Mille, mille, mille, mille, decollavimus!
Mille, mille, mille,
Vivat qui mille mille occidit!
Tantum vini habet nemo
Quantum sanguinis effudit!{*1}
Which may be thus paraphrased:
A thousand, a thousand, a thousand,
A thousand, a thousand, a thousand,
We, with one warrior, have slain!
A thousand, a thousand, a thousand, a thousand.
Sing a thousand over again!
Soho! −− let us sing
Long life to our king,
Who knocked over a thousand so fine!
Soho! −− let us roar,
He has given us more
Red gallons of gore
Than all Syria can furnish of wine!
"Do you hear that flourish of trumpets?"
Yes: the king is coming! See! the people are aghast with admiration, and lift up their eyes to the heavens in reverence. He comes; −− he is coming; −− there he is!
"Who? −− where? −− the king? −− do not behold him −− cannot say that I perceive him."
Then you must be blind.
"Very possible. Still I see nothing but a tumultuous mob of idiots and madmen, who are busy in prostrating
themselves before a gigantic cameleopard, and endeavoring to obtain a kiss of the animal's hoofs. See! the
beast has very justly kicked one of the rabble over −− and another −− and another −− and another. Indeed, I
cannot help admiring the animal for the excellent use he is making of his feet."
Rabble, indeed! −− why these are the noble and free citizens of Epidaphne! Beasts, did you say? −− take care
that you are not overheard. Do you not perceive that the animal has the visage of a man? Why, my dear sir,
that cameleopard is no other than Antiochus Epiphanes, Antiochus the Illustrious, King of Syria, and the most
potent of all the autocrats of the East! It is true, that he is entitled, at times, Antiochus Epimanes −− Antiochus
the madman −− but that is because all people have not the capacity to appreciate his merits. It is also certain
that he is at present ensconced in the hide of a beast, and is doing his best to play the part of a cameleopard;
but this is done for the better sustaining his dignity as king. Besides, the monarch is of gigantic stature, and
the dress is therefore neither unbecoming nor over large. We may, however, presume he would not have
adopted it but for some occasion of especial state. Such, you will allow, is the massacre of a thousand Jews.
With how superior a dignity the monarch perambulates on all fours! His tail, you perceive, is held aloft by his
two principal concubines, Elline and Argelais; and his whole appearance would be infinitely prepossessing,
were it not for the protuberance of his eyes, which will certainly start out of his head, and the queer color of
his face, which has become nondescript from the quantity of wine he has swallowed. Let us follow him to the
hippodrome, whither he is proceeding, and listen to the song of triumph which he is commencing:
Who is king but Epiphanes?
Say −− do you know?
Who is king but Epiphanes?
Bravo! −− bravo!
There is none but Epiphanes,
No −− there is none:
So tear down the temples,
And put out the sun!
Well and strenuously sung! The populace are hailing him 'Prince of Poets,' as well as 'Glory of the East,'
'Delight of the Universe,' and 'Most Remarkable of Cameleopards.' They have encored his effusion, and do
you hear? −− he is singing it over again. When he arrives at the hippodrome, he will be crowned with the
poetic wreath, in anticipation of his victory at the approaching Olympics.
"But, good Jupiter! what is the matter in the crowd behind us?"
Behind us, did you say? −− oh! ah! −− I perceive. My friend, it is well that you spoke in time. Let us get into a
place of safety as soon as possible. Here! −− let us conceal ourselves in the arch of this aqueduct, and I will
inform you presently of the origin of the commotion. It has turned out as I have been anticipating. The singular appearance of the cameleopard and the head of a man, has, it seems, given offence to the notions of
propriety entertained, in general, by the wild animals domesticated in the city. A mutiny has been the result;
and, as is usual upon such occasions, all human efforts will be of no avail in quelling the mob. Several of the
Syrians have already been devoured; but the general voice of the four−footed patriots seems to be for eating
up the cameleopard. 'The Prince of Poets,' therefore, is upon his hinder legs, running for his life. His courtiers
have left him in the lurch, and his concubines have followed so excellent an example. 'Delight of the
Universe,' thou art in a sad predicament! 'Glory of the East,' thou art in danger of mastication! Therefore never
regard so piteously thy tail; it will undoubtedly be draggled in the mud, and for this there is no help. Look not
behind thee, then, at its unavoidable degradation; but take courage, ply thy legs with vigor, and scud for the
hippodrome! Remember that thou art Antiochus Epiphanes. Antiochus the
Illustrious! −− also 'Prince of Poets,' 'Glory of the East,' 'Delight of the Universe,' and 'Most Remarkable of
Cameleopards!' Heavens! what a power of speed thou art displaying! What a capacity for leg−bail thou art
developing! Run, Prince! −− Bravo, Epiphanes! Well done, Cameleopard! −− Glorious Antiochus! −− He
runs! −− he leaps! −− he flies! Like an arrow from a catapult he approaches the hippodrome! He leaps! −− he
shrieks! −− he is there! This is well; for hadst thou, 'Glory of the East,' been half a second longer in reaching
the gates of the Amphitheatre, there is not a bear's cub in Epidaphne that would not have had a nibble at thy
carcase. Let us be off −− let us take our departure! −− for we shall find our delicate modern ears unable to
endure the vast uproar which is about to commence in celebration of the king's escape! Listen! it has already
commenced. See! −− the whole town is topsy−turvy.
"Surely this is the most populous city of the East! What a wilderness of people! what a jumble of all ranks and
ages! what a multiplicity of sects and nations! what a variety of costumes! what a Babel of languages! what a
screaming of beasts! what a tinkling of
instruments! what a parcel of philosophers!"
Come let us be off.
"Stay a moment! I see a vast hubbub in the hippodrome; what is the meaning of it, I beseech you?"
That? −− oh, nothing! The noble and free citizens of Epidaphne being, as they declare, well satisfied of the
faith, valor, wisdom, and divinity of their king, and having, moreover, been eye−witnesses of his late
superhuman agility, do think it no more than their duty to invest his brows (in addition to the poetic crown)
with the wreath of victory in the footrace −− a wreath which it is evident he must obtain at the celebration of
the next Olympiad, and which, therefore, they now give him in advance.

The Murders in the Rue Morgue


What song the Syrens sang, or what name Achilles assumed when he hid himself among women, although
puzzling questions, are not beyond all conjecture.
−−Sir Thomas Browne.
The mental features discoursed of as the analytical, are, in themselves, but little susceptible of analysis. We
appreciate them only in their effects. We know of them, among other things, that they are always to their
possessor, when inordinately possessed, a source of the liveliest enjoyment. As the strong man exults in his physical ability, delighting in such exercises as call his muscles into action, so glories the analyst in that moral
activity which disentangles. He derives pleasure from even the most trivial occupations bringing his talent
into play. He is fond of enigmas, of conundrums, of hieroglyphics; exhibiting in his solutions of each a degree
of acumen which appears to the ordinary apprehension præternatural. His results, brought about by the very
soul and essence of method, have, in truth, the whole air of intuition.
The faculty of re−solution is possibly much invigorated by
mathematical study, and especially by that highest branch of it which, unjustly, and merely on account of its
retrograde operations, has been called, as if par excellence, analysis. Yet to calculate is not in itself to analyse.
A chess−player, for example, does the one without effort at the other. It follows that the game of chess, in its
effects upon mental character, is greatly misunderstood. I am not now writing a treatise, but simply prefacing
a somewhat peculiar narrative by observations very much at random; I will, therefore, take occasion to assert
that the higher powers of the reflective intellect are more decidedly and more usefully tasked by the
unostentatious game of draughts than by a the elaborate frivolity of chess. In this latter, where the pieces have
different and bizarre motions, with various and variable values, what is only complex is mistaken (a not
unusual error) for what is profound. The attention is here called powerfully into play. If it flag for an instant,
an oversight is committed resulting in injury or defeat. The possible moves being not only manifold but
involute, the chances of such oversights are multiplied; and in nine cases out of ten it is the more
concentrative rather than the more acute player who conquers. In draughts, on the contrary, where the moves
are unique and have but little variation, the probabilities of inadvertence are diminished, and the mere
attention being left comparatively unemployed, what advantages are obtained by either party are obtained by
superior acumen. To be less abstract − Let us suppose a game of draughts where the pieces are reduced to four
kings, and where, of course, no oversight is to be expected. It is obvious that here the victory can be decided
(the players being at all equal) only by some _recherché_ movement, the result of some strong exertion of the
intellect. Deprived of ordinary resources, the analyst throws himself into the spirit of his opponent, identifies
himself therewith, and not unfrequently sees thus, at a glance, the sole methods (sometime indeed absurdly
simple ones) by which he may seduce into error or hurry into miscalculation.
Whist has long been noted for its influence upon what is termed the calculating power; and men of the highest
order of intellect have been known to take an apparently unaccountable delight in it, while eschewing chess as
frivolous. Beyond doubt there is nothing of a similar nature so greatly tasking the faculty of analysis. The best
chess−player in Christendom may be little more than the best player of chess; but proficiency in whist implies
capacity for success in all those more important undertakings where mind struggles with mind. When I say
proficiency, I mean that perfection in the game which includes a comprehension of all the sources whence
legitimate advantage may be derived. These are not only manifold but multiform, and lie frequently among
recesses of thought altogether inaccessible to the ordinary understanding. To observe attentively is to
remember distinctly; and, so far, the concentrative chess−player will do very well at whist; while the rules of
Hoyle (themselves based upon the mere mechanism of the game) are sufficiently and generally
comprehensible. Thus to have a retentive memory, and to proceed by "the book," are points commonly
regarded as the sum total of good playing. But it is in matters beyond the limits of mere rule that the skill of
the analyst is evinced. He makes, in silence, a host of observations and inferences. So, perhaps, do his
companions; and the difference in the extent of the information obtained, lies not so much in the validity of
the inference as in the quality of the observation. The necessary knowledge is that of what to observe. Our
player confines himself not at all; nor, because the game is the object, does he reject deductions from things
external to the game. He examines the countenance of his partner, comparing it carefully with that of each of
his opponents. He considers the mode of assorting the cards in each hand; often counting trump by trump, and
honor by honor, through the glances bestowed by their holders upon each. He notes every variation of face as
the play progresses, gathering a fund of thought from the differences in the expression of certainty, of
surprise, of triumph, or of chagrin. From the manner of gathering up a trick he judges whether the person
taking it can make another in the suit. He recognises what is played through feint, by the air with which it is
thrown upon the table. A casual or inadvertent word; the accidental dropping or turning of a card, with the
accompanying anxiety or carelessness in regard to its concealment; the counting of the tricks, with the order of their arrangement; embarrassment, hesitation,
eagerness or trepidation − all afford, to his apparently intuitive perception, indications of the true state of
affairs. The first two or three rounds having been played, he is in full possession of the contents of each hand,
and thenceforward puts down his cards with as absolute a precision of purpose as if the rest of the party had
turned outward the faces of their own.
The analytical power should not be confounded with ample ingenuity; for while the analyst is necessarily
ingenious, the ingenious man is often remarkably incapable of analysis. The constructive or combining power,
by which ingenuity is usually manifested, and to which the phrenologists (I believe erroneously) have
assigned a separate organ, supposing it a primitive faculty, has been so frequently seen in those whose
intellect bordered otherwise upon idiocy, as to have attracted general observation among writers on morals.
Between ingenuity and the analytic ability there exists a difference far greater, indeed, than that between the
fancy and the imagination, but of a character very strictly analogous. It will be found, in fact, that the
ingenious are always fanciful, and the truly imaginative never otherwise than analytic.
The narrative which follows will appear to the reader somewhat in the light of a commentary upon the
propositions just advanced.
Residing in Paris during the spring and part of the summer of 18−−, I there became acquainted with a
Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin. This young gentleman was of an excellent − indeed of an illustrious family, but,
by a variety of untoward events, had been reduced to such poverty that the energy of his character succumbed
beneath it, and he ceased to bestir himself in the world, or to care for the retrieval of his fortunes. By courtesy
of his creditors, there still remained in his possession a small remnant of his patrimony; and, upon the income
arising from this, he managed, by means of a rigorous economy, to procure the necessaries of life, without
troubling himself about its superfluities. Books, indeed, were his sole luxuries, and in Paris these are easily
obtained.
Our first meeting was at an obscure library in the Rue Montmartre, where the accident of our both being in
search of the same very rare and very remarkable volume, brought us into closer communion. We saw each
other again and again. I was deeply interested in the little family history which he detailed to me with all that
candor which a Frenchman indulges whenever mere self is his theme. I was astonished, too, at the vast extent
of his reading; and, above all, I felt my soul enkindled within me by the wild fervor, and the vivid freshness of
his imagination. Seeking in Paris the objects I then sought, I felt that the societyof such a man would be to me
a treasure beyond price; and this feeling I frankly confided to him. It was at length arranged that we should
live together during my stay in the city; and as my worldly circumstances were somewhat less embarrassed
than his own, I was permitted to be at the expense of renting, and furnishing in a style which suited the rather
fantastic gloom of our common temper, a time−eaten and grotesque mansion, long deserted through
superstitions into which we did not inquire, and tottering to its fall in a retired and desolate portion of the
Faubourg St. Germain.
Had the routine of our life at this place been known to the world, we should have been regarded as madmen −
although, perhaps, as madmen of a harmless nature. Our seclusion was perfect. We admitted no visitors.
Indeed the locality of our retirement had been carefully kept a secret from my own former associates; and it
had been many years since Dupin had ceased to know or be known in Paris. We existed within ourselves
alone.
It was a freak of fancy in my friend (for what else shall I call it?) to be enamored of the Night for her own
sake; and into this bizarrerie, as into all his others, I quietly fell; giving myself up to his wild whims with a
perfect abandon. The sable divinity would not herself dwell with us always; but we could counterfeit her
presence. At the first dawn of the morning we closed all the messy shutters of our old building; lighting a
couple of tapers which, strongly perfumed, threw out only the ghastliest and feeblest of rays. By the aid of
these we then busied our souls in dreams − reading, writing, or conversing, until warned by the clock of the advent of the true Darkness. Then we sallied forth into the streets arm in arm, continuing the topics of the day,
or roaming far and wide until a late hour, seeking, amid the wild lights and shadows of the populous city, that
infinity of mental excitement which quiet observation can afford.
At such times I could not help remarking and admiring (although from his rich ideality I had been prepared to
expect it) a peculiar analytic ability in Dupin. He seemed, too, to take an eager delight in its exercise − if not
exactly in its display − and did not hesitate to confess the pleasure thus derived. He boastedto me, with a low
chuckling laugh, that most men, in respect to himself, wore windows in their bosoms, and was wont to follow
up such assertions by direct and very startling proofs of his intimate knowledge of my own. His manner at
these moments was frigid and abstract; his eyes were vacant in expression; while his voice, usually a rich
tenor, rose into a treble which would have sounded petulantly but for the deliberateness and entire distinctness
of the enunciation. Observing him in these moods, I often dwelt meditatively upon the old philosophy of the
Bi−Part Soul, and amused myself with the fancy of a double Dupin − the creative and the resolvent.
Let it not be supposed, from what I have just said, that I am detailing any mystery, or penning any romance.
What I have described in the Frenchman, was merely the result of an excited, or perhaps of a diseased
intelligence. But of the character of his remarks at the periods in question an example will best convey the
idea.
We were strolling one night down a long dirty street in the vicinity of the Palais Royal. Being both,
apparently, occupied with thought, neither of us had spoken a syllable for fifteen minutes at least. All at once
Dupin broke forth with these words:
"He is a very little fellow, that's true, and would do better for the _Théâtre des Variétés_."
"There can be no doubt of that," I replied unwittingly, and not at first observing (so much had I been absorbed
in reflection) the extraordinary manner in which the speaker had chimed in with my meditations. In an instant
afterward I recollected myself, and my astonishment was profound.
"Dupin," said I, gravely, "this is beyond my comprehension. I do not hesitate to say that I am amazed, and can
scarcely credit my senses. How was it possible you should know I was thinking of −−−−− ?" Here I paused, to
ascertain beyond a doubt whether he really knew of whom I thought.
"of Chantilly," said he, "why do you pause? You were remarking to yourself that his diminutive figure
unfitted him for tragedy."
·
This was precisely what had formed the subject of my reflections. Chantilly was a quondam cobbler of the
Rue St. Denis, who, becoming stage−mad, had attempted the _rôle_ of Xerxes, in Crébillon's tragedy so
called, and been notoriously Pasquinaded for his pains.
"Tell me, for Heaven's sake," I exclaimed, "the method − if method there is − by which you have been
enabled to fathom my soul in this matter." In fact I was even more startled than I would have been willing to
express.
"It was the fruiterer," replied my friend, "who brought you to the conclusion that the mender of soles was not
of sufficient height for Xerxes et id genus omne."
"The fruiterer! − you astonish me − I know no fruiterer whomsoever."
"The man who ran up against you as we entered the street − it may have been fifteen minutes ago."
I now remembered that, in fact, a fruiterer, carrying upon his head a large basket of apples, had nearly thrown me down, by accident, as we passed from the Rue C −−−− into the thoroughfare where we stood; but what
this had to do with Chantilly I could not possibly understand.
There was not a particle of _charlâtanerie_ about Dupin. "I will explain," he said, "and that you may
comprehend all clearly, we will first retrace the course of your meditations, from the moment in which I spoke
to you until that of the rencontre with the fruiterer in question. The larger links of the chain run thus −
Chantilly, Orion, Dr. Nichols, Epicurus, Stereotomy, the street stones, the fruiterer."
There are few persons who have not, at some period of their lives, amused themselves in retracing the steps by
which particular conclusions of their own minds have been attained. The occupation is often full of interest
and he who attempts it for the first time is astonished by the apparently illimitable distance and incoherence
between the starting−point and the goal. What, then, must have been my amazement when I heard the
Frenchman speak what he had just spoken, and when I could not help acknowledging that he had spoken the
truth. He continued:
"We had been talking of horses, if I remember aright, just before leaving the Rue C −−−− . This was the last
subject we discussed. As we crossed into this street, a fruiterer, with a large basket upon his head, brushing
quickly past us, thrust you upon a pile of paving stones collected at a spot where the causeway is undergoing
repair. You stepped upon one of the loose fragments, slipped, slightly strained your ankle, appeared vexed or
sulky, muttered a few words, turned to look at the pile, and then proceeded in silence. I was not particularly
attentive to what you did; but observation has become with me, of late, a species of necessity.
"You kept your eyes upon the ground − glancing, with a petulant expression, at the holes and ruts in the
pavement, (so that I saw you were still thinking of the stones,) until we reached the little alley called
Lamartine, which has been paved, by way of experiment, with the overlapping and riveted blocks. Here your
countenance brightened up, and, perceiving your lips move, I could not doubt that you murmured the word
'stereotomy,' a term very affectedly applied to this species of pavement. I knew that you could not say to
yourself 'stereotomy' without being brought to think of atomies, and thus of the theories of Epicurus; and
since, when we discussed this subject not very long ago, I mentioned to you how singularly, yet with how
little notice, the vague guesses of that noble Greek had met with confirmation in the late nebular cosmogony, I
felt that you could not avoid casting your eyes upward to the great nebula in Orion, and I certainly expected
that you would do so. You did look up; and I was now assured that I had correctly followed your steps. But in
that bitter tirade upon Chantilly, which appeared in yesterday's '_Musée_,' the satirist, making some
disgraceful allusions to the cobbler s change of name upon assuming the buskin, quoted a Latin line about
which we have often conversed. I mean the line
Perdidit antiquum litera sonum.
I had told you that this was in reference to Orion, formerly written Urion; and, from certain pungencies
connected with this explanation, I was aware that you could not have forgotten it. It was clear, therefore, that
you would not fail to combine the two ideas of Orion and Chantilly. That you did combine them I saw by the
character of the smile which passed over your lips. You thought of the poor cobbler's immolation. So far, you
had been stooping in your gait; but now I saw you draw yourself up to your full height. I was then sure that
you reflected upon the diminutive figure of Chantilly. At this point I interrupted your meditations to remark
that as, in fact, be was a very little fellow − that Chantilly − he would do better at the _Théâtre des Variétés_."
Not long after this, we were looking over an evening edition of the "Gazette des Tribunaux," when the
following paragraphs arrested our attention.
"EXTRAORDINARY MURDERS. − This morning, about three o'clock, the inhabitants of the Quartier St.
Roch were aroused from sleep by a succession of terrific shrieks, issuing, apparently, from the fourth story of
a house in the Rue Morgue, known to be in the sole occupancy of one Madame L'Espanaye, and her daughter
74
Mademoiselle Camille L'Espanaye. After some delay, occasioned by a fruitless attempt to procure admission
in the usual manner, the gateway was broken in with a crowbar, and eight or ten of the neighbors entered
accompanied by two gendarmes. By this time the cries had ceased; but, as the party rushed up the first flight
of stairs, two or more rough voices in angry contention were distinguished and seemed to proceed from the
upper part of the house. As the second landing was reached, these sounds, also, had ceased and everything
remained perfectly quiet. The party spread themselves and hurried from room to room. Upon arriving at a
large back chamber in the fourth story, (the door of which, being found locked, with the key inside, was
forced open,) a spectacle presented itself which struck every one present not less with horror than with
astonishment.
"The apartment was in the wildest disorder − the furniture broken and thrown about in all directions. There
was only one bedstead; and from this the bed had been removed, and thrown into the middle of the floor. On a
chair lay a razor, besmeared with blood. On the hearth were two or three long and thick tresses of grey human
hair, also dabbled in blood, and seeming to have been pulled out by the roots. Upon the floor were found four
Napoleons, an ear−ring of topaz, three large silver spoons, three smaller of_ métal d'Alger_, and two bags,
containing nearly four thousand francs in gold. The drawers of a bureau, which stood in one corner were
open, and had been, apparently, rifled, although many articles still remained in them. A small iron safe was
discovered under the bed (not under the bedstead). It was open, with the key still in the door. It had no
contents beyond a few old letters, and other papers of little consequence.
"Of Madame L'Espanaye no traces were here seen; but an unusual quantity of soot being observed in the
fire−place, a search was made in the chimney, and (horrible to relate!) the; corpse of the daughter, head
downward, was dragged therefrom; it having been thus forced up the narrow aperture for a considerable
distance. The body was quite warm. Upon examining it, many excoriations were perceived, no doubt
occasioned by the violence with which it had been thrust up and disengaged. Upon the face were many severe
scratches, and, upon the throat, dark bruises, and deep indentations of finger nails, as if the deceased had been
throttled to death.
"After a thorough investigation of every portion of the house, without farther discovery, the party made its
way into a small paved yard in the rear of the building, where lay the corpse of the old lady, with her throat so
entirely cut that, upon an attempt to raise her, the head fell off. The body, as well as the head, was fearfully
mutilated − the former so much so as scarcely to retain any semblance of humanity.
"To this horrible mystery there is not as yet, we believe, the slightest clew."
The next day's paper had these additional particulars.
"The Tragedy in the Rue Morgue. Many individuals have been examined in relation to this most extraordinary
and frightful affair. [The word 'affaire' has not yet, in France, that levity of import which it conveys with us,]
"but nothing whatever has transpired to throw light upon it. We give below all the material testimony elicited.
"Pauline Dubourg, laundress, deposes that she has known both the deceased for three years, having washed
for them during that period. The old lady and her daughter seemed on good terms − very
affectionate towards each other. They were excellent pay. Could not speak in regard to their mode or means of
living. Believed that Madame L. told fortunes for a living. Was reputed to have money put by. Never met any
persons in the house when she called for the clothes or took them home. Was sure that they had no servant in
employ. There appeared to be no furniture in any part of the building except in the fourth story.
"Pierre Moreau, tobacconist, deposes that he has been in the habit of selling small quantities of tobacco and
snuff to Madame L'Espanaye for nearly four years. Was born in the neighborhood, and has always resided
there. The deceased and her daughter had occupied the house in which the corpses were found, for more than
six years. It was formerly occupied by a jeweller, who under−let the upper rooms to various persons. The house was the property of Madame L. She became dissatisfied with the abuse of the premises by her tenant,
and moved into them herself, refusing to let any portion. The old lady was childish. Witness had seen the
daughter some five or six times during the six years. The two lived an exceedingly retired life − were reputed
to have money. Had heard it said among the neighbors that Madame L. told fortunes − did not believe it. Had
never seen any person enter the door except the old lady and her daughter, a porter once or twice, and a
physician some eight or ten times.
"Many other persons, neighbors, gave evidence to the same effect. No one was spoken of as frequenting the
house. It was not known whether there were any living connexions of Madame L. and her daughter. The
shutters of the front windows were seldom opened. Those in the rear were always closed, with the exception
of the large back room, fourth story. The house was a good house − not very old.
"Isidore Muset_, _gendarme, deposes that he was called to the house about three o'clock in the morning, and
found some twenty or thirty persons at the gateway, endeavoring to gain admittance. Forced it open, at length,
with a bayonet − not with a crowbar. Had but little difficulty in getting it open, on account of its being a
double or folding gate, and bolted neither at bottom not top. The shrieks were continued until the gate was
forced − and then suddenly ceased. They seemed to be screams of some person (or persons) in great agony −
were loud and drawn out, not short and quick. Witness led the way up stairs. Upon reaching the first landing,
heard two voices in loud and angry contention − the one a gruff voice, the other much shriller − a very strange
voice. Could distinguish some words of the former, which was that of a Frenchman. Was positive that it was
not a woman's voice. Could distinguish the words '_sacré' and '_diable.' The shrill voice was that of a
foreigner. Could not be sure whether it was the voice of a man or of a woman. Could not make out what was
said, but believed the language to be Spanish. The state of the room and of the bodies was described by this
witness as we described them yesterday.
"Henri Duval, a neighbor, and by trade a silver−smith, deposes that he was one of the party who first entered
the house. Corroborates the testimony of Musèt in general. As soon as they forced an entrance, they reclosed
the door, to keep out the crowd, which collected very fast, notwithstanding the lateness of the hour. The shrill
voice, this witness thinks, was that of an Italian. Was certain it was not French. Could not be sure that it was a
man's voice. It might have been a woman's. Was not acquainted with the Italian language. Could not
distinguish the words, but was convinced by the intonation that the speaker was an Italian. Knew Madame L.
and her daughter. Had conversed with both frequently. Was sure that the shrill voice was not that of either of
the deceased.
"−− Odenheimer, restaurateur. This witness volunteered his testimony. Not speaking French, was examined
through an interpreter. Is a native of Amsterdam. Was passing the house at the time of the shrieks. They lasted
for several minutes − probably ten. They were long and loud − very awful and distressing. Was one of those
who entered the building. Corroborated the previous evidence in every respect but one. Was sure that the
shrill voice was that of a man − of a Frenchman. Could not distinguish the words uttered. They were loud and
quick − unequal − spoken apparently in fear as well as in anger. The voice was harsh − not so much shrill as
harsh. Could not call it a shrill voice. The gruff voice said repeatedly '_sacré_,' 'diable_,' and once '_mon
Dieu.'
"Jules Mignaud, banker, of the firm of Mignaud et Fils, Rue Deloraine. Is the elder Mignaud. Madame
L'Espanaye had some property. Had opened an account with his banking house in the spring of the year −
(eight years previously). Made frequent deposits in small sums. Had checked for nothing until the third day
before her death, when she took out in person the sum of 4000 francs. This sum was paid in gold, and a clerk
went home with the money.
"Adolphe Le Bon, clerk to Mignaud et Fils, deposes that on the day in question, about noon, he accompanied
Madame L'Espanaye to her residence with the 4000 francs, put up in two bags. Upon the door being opened,
Mademoiselle L. appeared and took from his hands one of the bags, while the old lady relieved him of the
76
other. He then bowed and departed. Did not see any person in the street at the time. It is a bye−street − very
lonely.
"William Bird, tailor deposes that he was one of the party who entered the house. Is an Englishman. Has lived
in Paris two years. Was one of the first to ascend the stairs. Heard the voices in contention. The gruff voice
was that of a Frenchman. Could make out several words, but cannot now remember all. Heard distinctly
'_sacré' and '_mon Dieu.' There was a sound at the moment as if of several persons struggling − a scraping and
scuffling sound. The shrill voice was very loud − louder than the gruff one. Is sure that it was not the voice of
an Englishman. Appeared to be that of a German. Might have been a woman's voice. Does not understand
German.
"Four of the above−named witnesses, being recalled, deposed that the door of the chamber in which was
found the body of Mademoiselle L. was locked on the inside when the party reached it. Every thing was
perfectly silent − no groans or noises of any kind. Upon forcing the door no person was seen. The windows,
both of the back and front room, were down and firmly fastened from within. A door between the two rooms
was closed, but not locked. The door leading from the front room into the passage was locked, with the key on
the inside. A small room in the front of the house, on the fourth story, at the head of the passage was open, the
door being ajar. This room was crowded with old beds, boxes, and so forth. These were carefully removed and
searched. There was not an inch of any portion of the house which was not carefully searched. Sweeps were
sent up and down the chimneys. The house was a four story one, with garrets (mansardes.) A trap−door on the
roof was nailed down very securely − did not appear to have been opened for years. The time elapsing
between the hearing of the voices in contention and the breaking open of the room door, was variously stated
by the witnesses. Some made it as short as three minutes − some as long as five. The door was opened with
difficulty.
"Alfonzo Garcio, undertaker, deposes that he resides in the Rue Morgue. Is a native of Spain. Was one of the
party who entered the house. Did not proceed up stairs. Is nervous, and was apprehensive of the consequences
of agitation. Heard the voices in contention. The gruff voice was that of a Frenchman. Could not distinguish
what was said. The shrill voice was that of an Englishman − is sure of this. Does not understand the English
language, but judges by the intonation.
"Alberto Montani, confectioner, deposes that he was among the first to ascend the stairs. Heard the voices in
question. The gruff voice was that of a Frenchman. Distinguished several words. The speaker appeared to be
expostulating. Could not make out the words of the shrill voice. Spoke quick and unevenly. Thinks it the
voice of a Russian. Corroborates the general testimony. Is an Italian. Never conversed with a native of Russia.
"Several witnesses, recalled, here testified that the chimneys of all the rooms on the fourth story were too
narrow to admit the passage of a human being. By 'sweeps' were meant cylindrical sweeping brushes, such as
are employed by those who clean chimneys. These brushes were passed up and down every flue in the house.
There is no back passage by which any one could have descended while the party proceeded up stairs. The
body of Mademoiselle L'Espanaye was so firmly wedged in the chimney that it could not be got down until
four or five of the party united their strength.
"Paul Dumas, physician, deposes that he was called to view the bodies about day−break. They were both then
lying on the sacking of the bedstead in the chamber where Mademoiselle L. was found. The corpse of the
young lady was much bruised and excoriated. The fact that it had been thrust up the chimney would
sufficiently account for these appearances. The throat was greatly chafed. There were several deep scratches
just below the chin, together with a series of livid spots which were evidently the impression of fingers. The
face was fearfully discolored, and the eye−balls protruded. The tongue had been partially bitten through. A
large bruise was discovered upon the pit of the stomach, produced, apparently, by the pressure of a knee. In
the opinion of M. Dumas, Mademoiselle L'Espanaye had been throttled to death by some person or persons
unknown. The corpse of the mother was horribly mutilated. All the bones of the right leg and arm were more or less shattered. The left tibia much splintered, as well as all the ribs of the left side. Whole body dreadfully
bruised and discolored. It was not possible to say how the injuries had been inflicted. A heavy club of wood,
or a broad bar of iron − a chair − any large, heavy, and obtuse weapon would have produced such results, if
wielded by the hands of a very powerful man. No woman could have inflicted the blows with any weapon.
The head of the deceased, when seen by witness, was entirely separated from the body, and was also greatly
shattered. The throat had evidently been cut with some very sharp instrument − probably with a razor.
"Alexandre Etienne, surgeon, was called with M. Dumas to view the bodies. Corroborated the testimony, and
the opinions of M. Dumas.
"Nothing farther of importance was elicited, although several other persons were examined. A murder so
mysterious, and so perplexing in all its particulars, was never before committed in Paris − if indeed a murder
has been committed at all. The police are entirely at fault − an unusual occurrence in affairs of this nature.
There is not, however, the shadow of a clew apparent."
The evening edition of the paper stated that the greatest excitement still continued in the Quartier St. Roch −
that the premises in question had been carefully re−searched, and fresh examinations of witnesses instituted,
but all to no purpose. A postscript, however, mentioned that Adolphe Le Bon had been arrested and
imprisoned − although nothing appeared to criminate him, beyond the facts already detailed.
Dupin seemed singularly interested in the progress of this affair −− at least so I judged from his manner, for
he made no comments. It was only after the announcement that Le Bon had been imprisoned, that he asked
me my opinion respecting the murders.
I could merely agree with all Paris in considering them an insoluble mystery. I saw no means by which it
would be possible to trace the murderer.
"We must not judge of the means," said Dupin, "by this shell of an examination. The Parisian police, so much
extolled for acumen, are cunning, but no more. There is no method in their proceedings, beyond the method of
the moment. They make a vast parade of measures; but, not unfrequently, these are so ill adapted to the
objects proposed, as to put us in mind of Monsieur Jourdain's calling for his robe−de−chambre − pour mieux
entendre la musique. The results attained by them are not unfrequently surprising, but, for the most part, are
brought about by simple diligence and activity. When these qualities are unavailing, their schemes fail.
Vidocq, for example, was a good guesser and a persevering man. But, without educated thought, he erred
continually by the very intensity of his
investigations. He impaired his vision by holding the object too close. He might see, perhaps, one or two
points with unusual clearness, but in so doing he, necessarily, lost sight of the matter as a whole. Thus there is
such a thing as being too profound. Truth is not always in a well. In fact, as regards the more important
knowledge, I do believe that she is invariably superficial. The depth lies in the valleys where we seek her, and
not upon the mountain−tops where she is found. The modes and sources of this kind of error are well typified
in the contemplation of the heavenly bodies. To look at a star by glances − to view it in a side−long way, by
turning toward it the exterior portions of the retina (more susceptible of feeble impressions of light than the
interior), is to behold the star distinctly − is to have the best appreciation of its lustre − a lustre which grows
dim just in proportion as we turn our vision fully upon it. A greater number of rays actually fall upon the eye
in the latter case, but, in the former, there is the more refined capacity for comprehension. By undue
profundity we perplex and enfeeble thought; and it is possible to make even Venus herself vanish from the
firmanent by a scrutiny too sustained, too
concentrated, or too direct.
"As for these murders, let us enter into some examinations for ourselves, before we make up an opinion
respecting them. An inquiry will afford us amusement," [I thought this an odd term, so applied, but said
nothing] "and, besides, Le Bon once rendered me a service for which I am not ungrateful. We will go and see
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the premises with our own eyes. I know G−−−−, the Prefect of Police, and shall have no difficulty in
obtaining the necessary permission."
The permission was obtained, and we proceeded at once to the Rue Morgue. This is one of those miserable
thoroughfares which intervene between the Rue Richelieu and the Rue St. Roch. It was late in the afternoon
when we reached it; as this quarter is at a great distance from that in which we resided. The house was readily
found; for there were still many persons gazing up at the closed shutters, with an objectless curiosity, from the
opposite side of the way. It was an ordinary Parisian house, with a gateway, on one side of which was a glazed
watch−box, with a sliding panel in the window, indicating a loge de concierge. Before going in we walked up
the street, turned down an alley, and then, again turning, passed in the rear of the building − Dupin,
meanwhile examining the whole neighborhood, as well as the house, with a minuteness of attention for which
I could see no possible object.
Retracing our steps, we came again to the front of the dwelling, rang, and, having shown our credentials, were
admitted by the agents in charge. We went up stairs − into the chamber where the body of Mademoiselle
L'Espanaye had been found, and where both the deceased still lay. The disorders of the room had, as usual,
been suffered to exist. I saw nothing beyond what had been stated in the "Gazette des Tribunaux." Dupin
scrutinized every thing − not excepting the bodies of the victims. We then went into the other rooms, and into
the yard; a gendarme accompanying us throughout. The examination occupied us until dark, when we took
our departure. On our way home my companion stepped in for a moment at the office of one of the daily
papers.
I have said that the whims of my friend were manifold, and that _Je les ménagais_: − for this phrase there is
no English equivalent. It was his humor, now, to decline all conversation on the subject of the murder, until
about noon the next day. He then asked me, suddenly, if I had observed any thing peculiar at the scene of the
atrocity.
There was something in his manner of emphasizing the word "peculiar," which caused me to shudder, without
knowing why.
"No, nothing peculiar," I said; "nothing more, at least, than we both saw stated in the paper."
"The 'Gazette,' " he replied, "has not entered, I fear, into the unusual horror of the thing. But dismiss the idle
opinions of this print. It appears to me that this mystery is considered insoluble, for the very reason which
should cause it to be regarded as easy of solution − I mean for the _outré_ character of its features. The police
are confounded by the seeming absence of motive − not for the murder itself − but for the atrocity of the
murder. They are puzzled, too, by the seeming impossibility of reconciling the voices heard in contention,
with the facts that no one was discovered up stairs but the assassinated Mademoiselle L'Espanaye, and that
there were no means of egress without the notice of the party ascending. The wild disorder of the room; the
corpse thrust, with the head downward, up the chimney; the frightful mutilation of the body of the old lady;
these considerations, with those just mentioned, and others which I need not mention, have sufficed to
paralyze the powers, by putting completely at fault the boasted acumen, of the government agents. They have
fallen into the gross but common error of confounding the unusual with the abstruse. But it is by these
deviations from the plane of the ordinary, that reason feels its way, if at all, in its search for the true. In
investigations such as we are now pursuing, it should not be so much asked 'what has occurred,' as 'what has
occurred that has never occurred before.' In fact, the facility with which I shall arrive, or have arrived, at the
solution of this mystery, is in the direct ratio of its apparent insolubility in the eyes of the police."
I stared at the speaker in mute astonishment.
"I am now awaiting," continued he, looking toward the door of our apartment − "I am now awaiting a person
who, although perhaps not the perpetrator of these butcheries, must have been in some measure implicated in their perpetration. Of the worst portion of the crimes committed, it is probable that he is innocent. I hope that I
am right in this supposition; for upon it I build my expectation of reading the entire riddle. I look for the man
here − in this room − every moment. It is true that he may not arrive; but the probability is that he will. Should
he come, it will be necessary to detain him. Here are pistols; and we both know how to use them when
occasion demands their use."

I took the pistols, scarcely knowing what I did, or believing what I heard, while Dupin went on, very much as
if in a soliloquy. I have already spoken of his abstract manner at such times. His discourse was addressed to
myself; but his voice, although by no means loud, had that intonation which is commonly employed in
speaking to some one at a great distance. His eyes, vacant in expression, regarded only the wall.
"That the voices heard in contention," he said, "by the party upon the stairs, were not the voices of the women
themselves, was fully proved by the evidence. This relieves us of all doubt upon the question whether the old
lady could have first destroyed the daughter and afterward have committed suicide. I speak of this point
chiefly for the sake of method; for the strength of Madame L'Espanaye would have been utterly unequal to the
task of thrusting her daughter's corpse up the chimney as it was found; and the nature of the wounds upon her
own person entirely preclude the idea of self−destruction. Murder, then, has been committed by some third
party; and the voices of this third party were those heard in contention. Let me now advert − not to the whole
testimony respecting these voices − but to what was peculiar in that testimony. Did you observe any thing
peculiar about it?"
I remarked that, while all the witnesses agreed in supposing the gruff voice to be that of a Frenchman, there
was much disagreement in regard to the shrill, or, as one individual termed it, the harsh voice.
"That was the evidence itself," said Dupin, "but it was not the peculiarity of the evidence. You have observed
nothing distinctive. Yet there was something to be observed. The witnesses, as you remark, agreed about the
gruff voice; they were here unanimous. But in regard to the shrill voice, the peculiarity is − not that they
disagreed − but that, while an Italian, an Englishman, a Spaniard, a Hollander, and a Frenchman attempted to
describe it, each one spoke of it as that of a foreigner. Each is sure that it was not the voice of one of his own
countrymen. Each likens it − not to the voice of an individual of any nation with whose language he is
conversant − but the converse. The Frenchman supposes it the voice of a Spaniard, and 'might have
distinguished some words _had he been acquainted with the Spanish._' The Dutchman maintains it to have
been that of a Frenchman; but we find it stated that '_not understanding French this witness was examined
through an interpreter._' The Englishman thinks it the voice of a German, and 'does not understand German.'
The Spaniard 'is sure' that it was that of an Englishman, but 'judges by the intonation' altogether, '_as he has
no knowledge of the English.' The Italian believes it the voice of a Russian, but 'has never conversed with a
native of Russia._' A second Frenchman differs, moreover, with the first, and is positive that the voice was
that of an Italian; but, not being cognizant of that tongue, is, like the Spaniard, 'convinced by the intonation.'
Now, how strangely unusual must that voice have really been, about which such testimony as this could_ have
been elicited! − in whose _tones, even, denizens of the five great divisions of Europe could recognise nothing
familiar! You will say that it might have been the voice of an Asiatic − of an African. Neither Asiatics nor
Africans abound in Paris; but, without denying the inference, I will now merely call your attention to three
points. The voice is termed by one witness 'harsh rather than shrill.' It is represented by two others to have
been 'quick and unequal.' No words − no sounds resembling words − were by any witness mentioned as
distinguishable.
"I know not," continued Dupin, "what impression I may have made, so far, upon your own understanding; but
I do not hesitate to say that legitimate deductions even from this portion of the testimony − the portion
respecting the gruff and shrill voices − are in themselves sufficient to engender a suspicion which should give
direction to all farther progress in the investigation of the mystery. I said 'legitimate deductions;' but my
meaning is not thus fully expressed. I designed to imply that the deductions are the sole proper ones, and that
the suspicion arises inevitably from them as the single result. What the suspicion is, however, I will not say
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just yet. I merely wish you to bear in mind that, with myself, it was
sufficiently forcible to give a definite form − a certain tendency − to my inquiries in the chamber.
"Let us now transport ourselves, in fancy, to this chamber. What shall we first seek here? The means of egress
employed by the murderers. It is not too much to say that neither of us believe in præternatural events.
Madame and Mademoiselle L'Espanaye were not destroyed by spirits. The doers of the deed were material,
and escaped materially. Then how? Fortunately, there is but one mode of reasoning upon the point, and that
mode must lead us to a definite decision. − Let us examine, each by each, the possible means of egress. It is
clear that the assassins were in the room where Mademoiselle L'Espanaye was found, or at least in the room
adjoining, when the party ascended the stairs. It is then only from these two apartments that we have to seek
issues. The police have laid bare the floors, the ceilings, and the masonry of the walls, in every direction. No
secret issues could have escaped their vigilance. But, not trusting to their eyes, I examined with my own.
There were, then, no secret issues. Both doors leading from the rooms into the passage were securely locked,
with the keys inside. Let us turn to the chimneys. These, although of ordinary width for some eight or ten feet
above the hearths, will not admit, throughout their extent, the body of a large cat. The impossibility of egress,
by means already stated, being thus absolute, we are reduced to the windows. Through those of the front room
no one could have escaped without notice from the crowd in the street. The murderers must have passed, then,
through those of the back room. Now, brought to this conclusion in so unequivocal a manner as we are, it is
not our part, as reasoners, to reject it on account of apparent impossibilities. It is only left for us to prove that
these apparent 'impossibilities' are, in reality, not such.
"There are two windows in the chamber. One of them is unobstructed by furniture, and is wholly visible. The
lower portion of the other is hidden from view by the head of the unwieldy bedstead which is thrust close up
against it. The former was found securely fastened from within. It resisted the utmost force of those who
endeavored to raise it. A large gimlet−hole had been pierced in its frame to the left, and a very stout nail was
found fitted therein, nearly to the head. Upon examining the other window, a similar nail was seen similarly
fitted in it; and a vigorous attempt to raise this sash, failed also. The police were now entirely satisfied that
egress had not been in these directions. And, therefore, it was thought a matter of supererogation to withdraw
the nails and open the windows.
"My own examination was somewhat more particular, and was so for the reason I have just given − because
here it was, I knew, that all apparent impossibilities must be proved to be not such in reality.
"I proceeded to think thus − _à posteriori_. The murderers did escape from one of these windows. This being
so, they could not have refastened the sashes from the inside, as they were found fastened; − the consideration
which put a stop, through its obviousness, to the scrutiny of the police in this quarter. Yet the sashes were
fastened. They must, then, have the power of fastening themselves. There was no escape from this conclusion.
I stepped to the
unobstructed casement, withdrew the nail with some difficulty and attempted to raise the sash. It resisted all
my efforts, as I had anticipated. A concealed spring must, I now know, exist; and this corroboration of my
idea convinced me that my premises at least, were correct, however mysterious still appeared the
circumstances attending the nails. A careful search soon brought to light the hidden spring. I pressed it, and,
satisfied with the discovery, forbore to upraise the sash.
"I now replaced the nail and regarded it attentively. A person passing out through this window might have
reclosed it, and the spring would have caught − but the nail could not have been replaced. The conclusion was
plain, and again narrowed in the field of my investigations. The assassins must have escaped through the other
window. Supposing, then, the springs upon each sash to be the same, as was probable, there must be found a
difference between the nails, or at least between the modes of their fixture. Getting upon the sacking of the
bedstead, I looked over the head−board minutely at the second casement. Passing my hand down behind the
board, I readily discovered and pressed the spring, which was, as I had supposed, identical in character with
its neighbor. I now looked at the nail. It was as stout as the other, and apparently fitted in the same manner − driven in nearly up to the head.
"You will say that I was puzzled; but, if you think so, you must have misunderstood the nature of the
inductions. To use a sporting phrase, I had not been once 'at fault.' The scent had never for an instant been
lost. There was no flaw in any link of the chain. I had traced the secret to its ultimate result, − and that result
was the nail. It had, I say, in every respect, the appearance of its fellow in the other window; but this fact was
an absolute nullity (conclusive us it might seem to be) when compared with the consideration that here, at this
point, terminated the clew. 'There must be something wrong,' I said, 'about the nail.' I touched it; and the head,
with about a quarter of an inch of the shank, came off in my fingers. The rest of the shank was in the
gimlet−hole where it had been broken off. The fracture was an old one (for its edges were incrusted with rust),
and had apparently been accomplished by the blow of a hammer, which had partially imbedded, in the top of
the bottom sash, the head portion of the nail. I now carefully replaced this head portion in the indentation
whence I had taken it, and the resemblance to a perfect nail was complete − the fissure was invisible. Pressing
the spring, I gently raised the sash for a few inches; the head went up with it, remaining firm in its bed. I
closed the window, and the semblance of the whole nail was again perfect.
"The riddle, so far, was now unriddled. The assassin had escaped through the window which looked upon the
bed. Dropping of its own accord upon his exit (or perhaps purposely closed), it had become fastened by the
spring; and it was the retention of this spring which had been mistaken by the police for that of the nail, −
farther inquiry being thus considered unnecessary.
"The next question is that of the mode of descent. Upon this point I had been satisfied in my walk with you
around the building. About five feet and a half from the casement in question there runs a lightning−rod. From
this rod it would have been impossible for any one to reach the window itself, to say nothing of entering it. I
observed, however, that the shutters of the fourth story were of the peculiar kind called by Parisian carpenters
ferrades − a kind rarely employed at the present day, but frequently seen upon very old mansions at Lyons
and Bourdeaux. They are in the form of an ordinary door, (a single, not a folding door) except that the lower
half is latticed or worked in open trellis − thus affording an excellent hold for the hands. In the present
instance these shutters are fully three feet and a half broad. When we saw them from the rear of the house,
they were both about half open − that is to say, they stood off at right angles from the wall. It is probable that
the police, as well as myself, examined the back of the tenement; but, if so, in looking at these ferrades in the
line of their breadth (as they must have done), they did not perceive this great breadth itself, or, at all events,
failed to take it into due consideration. In fact, having once satisfied themselves that no egress could have
been made in this quarter, they would naturally bestow here a very cursory examination. It was clear to me,
however, that the shutter belonging to the window at the head of the bed, would, if swung fully back to the
wall, reach to within two feet of the lightning−rod. It was also evident that, by exertion of a very unusual
degree of activity and courage, an entrance into the window, from the rod, might have been thus effected. −
By reaching to the distance of two feet and a half (we now suppose the shutter open to its whole extent) a
robber might have taken a firm grasp upon the trellis−work. Letting go, then, his hold upon the rod, placing
his feet securely against the wall, and springing boldly from it, he might have swung the shutter so as to close
it, and, if we imagine the window open at the time, might even have swung himself into the room.
"I wish you to bear especially in mind that I have spoken of a very unusual degree of activity as requisite to
success in so hazardous and so difficult a feat. It is my design to show you, first, that the thing might possibly
have been accomplished: − but, secondly and chiefly_, I wish to impress upon your understanding the very
extraordinary_ − the almost præternatural character of that agility which could have accomplished it.
"You will say, no doubt, using the language of the law, that 'to make out my case,' I should rather undervalue,
than insist upon a full estimation of the activity required in this matter. This may be the practice in law, but it
is not the usage of reason. My ultimate object is only the truth. My immediate purpose is to lead you to place
in juxta−position, that very unusual activity of which I have just spoken with that very peculiar shrill (or
harsh) and unequal voice, about whose nationality no two persons could be found to agree, and in whose
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utterance no syllabification could be detected."
At these words a vague and half−formed conception of the meaning of Dupin flitted over my mind. I seemed
to be upon the verge of comprehension without power to comprehend − men, at times, find themselves upon
the brink of remembrance without being able, in the end, to remember. My friend went on with his discourse.
"You will see," he said, "that I have shifted the question from the mode of egress to that of ingress. It was my
design to convey the idea that both were effected in the same manner, at the same point. Let us now revert to
the interior of the room. Let us survey the appearances here. The drawers of the bureau, it is said, had been
rifled, although many articles of apparel still remained within them. The conclusion here is absurd. It is a mere
guess − a very silly one − and no more. How are we to know that the articles found in the drawers were not all
these drawers had originally contained? Madame L'Espanaye and her daughter lived an exceedingly retired
life − saw no company − seldom went out − had little use for numerous changes of habiliment. Those found
were at least of as good quality as any likely to be possessed by these ladies. If a thief had taken any, why did
he not take the best − why did he not take all? In a word, why did he abandon four thousand francs in gold to
encumber himself with a bundle of linen? The gold was abandoned. Nearly the whole sum mentioned by
Monsieur Mignaud, the banker, was discovered, in bags, upon the floor. I wish you, therefore, to discard from
your thoughts the blundering idea of motive, engendered in the brains of the police by that portion of the
evidence which speaks of money delivered at the door of the house. Coincidences ten times as remarkable as
this (the delivery of the money, and murder committed within three days upon the party receiving it), happen
to all of us every hour of our lives, without attracting even momentary notice. Coincidences, in general, are
great stumbling−blocks in the way of that class of thinkers who have been educated to know nothing of the
theory of probabilities − that theory to which the most glorious objects of human research are indebted for the
most glorious of illustration. In the present instance, had the gold been gone, the fact of its delivery three days
before would have formed something more than a coincidence. It would have been corroborative of this idea
of motive. But, under the real circumstances of the case, if we are to suppose gold the motive of this outrage,
we must also imagine the perpetrator so vacillating an idiot as to have abandoned his gold and his motive
together.
"Keeping now steadily in mind the points to which I have drawn your attention − that peculiar voice, that
unusual agility, and that startling absence of motive in a murder so singularly atrocious as this − let us glance
at the butchery itself. Here is a woman strangled to death by manual strength, and thrust up a chimney, head
downward. Ordinary assassins employ no such modes of murder as this. Least of all, do they thus dispose of
the murdered. In the manner of thrusting the corpse up the chimney, you will admit that there was something
_excessively outré_ − something altogether irreconcilable with our common notions of human action, even
when we suppose the actors the most depraved of men. Think, too, how great must have been that strength
which could have thrust the body up such an aperture so forcibly that the united vigor of several persons was
found barely sufficient to drag it down!
"Turn, now, to other indications of the employment of a vigor most marvellous. On the hearth were thick
tresses − very thick tresses − of grey human hair. These had been torn out by the roots. You are aware of the
great force necessary in tearing thus from the head even twenty or thirty hairs together. You saw the locks in
question as well as myself. Their roots (a hideous sight!) were clotted with fragments of the flesh of the scalp
− sure token of the prodigious power which had been exerted in uprooting perhaps half a million of hairs at a
time. The throat of the old lady was not merely cut, but the head absolutely severed from the body: the
instrument was a mere razor. I wish you also to look at the brutal ferocity of these deeds. Of the bruises upon
the body of Madame L'Espanaye I do not speak. Monsieur Dumas, and his worthy coadjutor Monsieur
Etienne, have pronounced that they were inflicted by some obtuse instrument; and so far these gentlemen are
very correct. The obtuse instrument was clearly the stone pavement in the yard, upon which the victim had
fallen from the window which looked in upon the bed. This idea, however simple it may now seem, escaped
the police for the same reason that the breadth of the shutters escaped them − because, by the affair of the
nails, their perceptions had been hermetically sealed against the possibility of the windows having ever been opened at all.
"If now, in addition to all these things, you have properly reflected upon the odd disorder of the chamber, we
have gone so far as to combine the ideas of an agility astounding, a strength superhuman, a ferocity brutal, a
butchery without motive, a grotesquerie in horror absolutely alien from humanity, and a voice foreign in tone
to the ears of men of many nations, and devoid of all distinct or intelligible syllabification. What result, then,
has ensued? What impression have I made upon your fancy?"
I felt a creeping of the flesh as Dupin asked me the question. "A madman," I said, "has done this deed − some
raving maniac, escaped from a neighboring _Maison de Santé._"
"In some respects," he replied, "your idea is not irrelevant. But the voices of madmen, even in their wildest
paroxysms, are never found to tally with that peculiar voice heard upon the stairs. Madmen are of some
nation, and their language, however incoherent in its words, has always the coherence of syllabification.
Besides, the hair of a madman is not such as I now hold in my hand. I disentangled this little tuft from the
rigidly clutched fingers of Madame L'Espanaye. Tell me what you can make of it."
"Dupin!" I said, completely unnerved; "this hair is most unusual − this is no human hair."
"I have not asserted that it is," said he; "but, before we decide this point, I wish you to glance at the little
sketch I have here traced upon this paper. It is a fac−simile drawing of what has been described in one portion
of the testimony as 'dark bruises, and deep indentations of finger nails,' upon the throat of Mademoiselle
L'Espanaye, and in another, (by Messrs. Dumas and Etienne,) as a 'series of livid spots, evidently the
impression of fingers.'
"You will perceive," continued my friend, spreading out the paper upon the table before us, "that this drawing
gives the idea of a firm and fixed hold. There is no slipping apparent. Each finger has retained − possibly until
the death of the victim − the fearful grasp by which it originally imbedded itself. Attempt, now, to place all
your fingers, at the same time, in the respective impressions as you see them."
I made the attempt in vain.
"We are possibly not giving this matter a fair trial," he said. "The paper is spread out upon a plane surface; but
the human throat is cylindrical. Here is a billet of wood, the circumference of which is about that of the throat.
Wrap the drawing around it, and try the experiment again."
I did so; but the difficulty was even more obvious than before. "This," I said, "is the mark of no human hand."
"Read now," replied Dupin, "this passage from Cuvier."
It was a minute anatomical and generally descriptive account of the large fulvous Ourang−Outang of the East
Indian Islands. The gigantic stature, the prodigious strength and activity, the wild ferocity, and the imitative
propensities of these mammalia are sufficiently well known to all. I understood the full horrors of the murder
at once.
"The description of the digits," said I, as I made an end of reading, "is in exact accordance with this drawing. I
see that no animal but an Ourang−Outang, of the species here mentioned, could have impressed the
indentations as you have traced them. This tuft of tawny hair, too, is identical in character with that of the
beast of Cuvier. But I cannot possibly comprehend the particulars of this frightful mystery. Besides, there
were two voices heard in contention, and one of them was unquestionably the voice of a Frenchman."
"True; and you will remember an expression attributed almost unanimously, by the evidence, to this voice, −
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the expression, '_mon Dieu!_' This, under the circumstances, has been justly characterized by one of the
witnesses (Montani, the confectioner,) as an expression of remonstrance or expostulation. Upon these two
words, therefore, I have mainly built my hopes of a full solution of the riddle. A Frenchman was cognizant of
the murder. It is possible − indeed it is far more than probable − that he was innocent of all participation in the
bloody transactions which took place. The Ourang−Outang may have escaped from him. He may have traced
it to the chamber; but, under the agitating circumstances which ensued, he could never have re−captured it. It
is still at large. I will not pursue these guesses − for I have no right to call them more − since the shades of
reflection upon which they are based are scarcely of sufficient depth to be appreciable by my own intellect,
and since I could not pretend to make them intelligible to the understanding of another. We will call them
guesses then, and speak of them as such. If the Frenchman in question is indeed, as I suppose, innocent of this
atrocity, this advertisement which I left last night, upon our return home, at the office of 'Le Monde,' (a paper
devoted to the shipping interest, and much sought by sailors,) will bring him to our residence."
He handed me a paper, and I read thus:
CAUGHT − _In the Bois de Boulogne, early in the morning of the − inst.,_ (the morning of the murder,) _a
very large, tawny
Ourang−Outang of the Bornese species. The owner, (who is ascertained to be a sailor, belonging to a Maltese
vessel,) may have the animal again, upon identifying it satisfactorily, and paying a few charges arising from
its capture and keeping. Call at No. −−−− , Rue −−−−, Faubourg St. Germain − au troisiême._
"How was it possible," I asked, "that you should know the man to be a sailor, and belonging to a Maltese
vessel?"
"I do not_ know it," said Dupin. "I am not _sure of it. Here, however, is a small piece of ribbon, which from
its form, and from its greasy appearance, has evidently been used in tying the hair in one of those long queues
of which sailors are so fond. Moreover, this knot is one which few besides sailors can tie, and is peculiar to
the Maltese. I picked the ribbon up at the foot of the
lightning−rod. It could not have belonged to either of the deceased. Now if, after all, I am wrong in my
induction from this ribbon, that the Frenchman was a sailor belonging to a Maltese vessel, still I can have
done no harm in saying what I did in the advertisement. If I am in error, he will merely suppose that I have
been misled by some circumstance into which he will not take the trouble to inquire. But if I am right, a great
point is gained. Cognizant although innocent of the murder, the Frenchman will naturally hesitate about
replying to the advertisement − about demanding the Ourang−Outang. He will reason thus: − 'I am innocent; I
am poor; my Ourang−Outang is of great value − to one in my circumstances a fortune of itself − why should I
lose it through idle apprehensions of danger? Here it is, within my grasp. It was found in the Bois de
Boulogne − at a vast distance from the scene of that butchery. How can it ever be suspected that a brute beast
should have done the deed? The police are at fault − they have failed to procure the slightest clew. Should
they even trace the animal, it would be impossible to prove me cognizant of the murder, or to implicate me in
guilt on account of that cognizance. Above all, I am known. The advertiser designates me as the possessor of
the beast. I am not sure to what limit his knowledge may extend. Should I avoid claiming a property of so
great value, which it is known that I possess, I will render the animal at least, liable to suspicion. It is not my
policy to attract attention either to myself or to the beast. I will answer the advertisement, get the
Ourang−Outang, and keep it close until this matter has blown over.' "
At this moment we heard a step upon the stairs.
"Be ready," said Dupin, "with your pistols, but neither use them nor show them until at a signal from myself."
The front door of the house had been left open, and the visiter had entered, without ringing, and advanced
several steps upon the staircase. Now, however, he seemed to hesitate. Presently we heard him descending.
Dupin was moving quickly to the door, when we again heard him coming up. He did not turn back a second time, but stepped up with decision, and rapped at the door of our chamber.
"Come in," said Dupin, in a cheerful and hearty tone.
A man entered. He was a sailor, evidently, − a tall, stout, and muscular−looking person, with a certain
dare−devil expression of countenance, not altogether unprepossessing. His face, greatly sunburnt, was more
than half hidden by whisker and mustachio. He had with him a huge oaken cudgel, but appeared to be
otherwise unarmed. He bowed awkwardly, and bade us "good evening," in French accents, which, although
somewhat Neufchatelish, were still sufficiently indicative of a Parisian origin.
"Sit down, my freind," said Dupin. "I suppose you have called about the Ourang−Outang. Upon my word, I
almost envy you the possession of him; a remarkably fine, and no doubt a very valuable animal. How old do
you suppose him to be?"
The sailor drew a long breath, with the air of a man relieved of some intolerable burden, and then replied, in
an assured tone:
"I have no way of telling − but he can't be more than four or five years old. Have you got him here?"
"Oh no, we had no conveniences for keeping him here. He is at a livery stable in the Rue Dubourg, just by.
You can get him in the morning. Of course you are prepared to identify the property?"
"To be sure I am, sir."
"I shall be sorry to part with him," said Dupin.
"I don't mean that you should be at all this trouble for nothing, sir," said the man. "Couldn't expect it. Am very
willing to pay a reward for the finding of the animal − that is to say, any thing in reason."
"Well," replied my friend, "that is all very fair, to be sure. Let me think! − what should I have? Oh! I will tell
you. My reward shall be this. You shall give me all the information in your power about these murders in the
Rue Morgue."
Dupin said the last words in a very low tone, and very quietly. Just as quietly, too, he walked toward the door,
locked it and put the key in his pocket. He then drew a pistol from his bosom and placed it, without the least
flurry, upon the table.
The sailor's face flushed up as if he were struggling with
suffocation. He started to his feet and grasped his cudgel, but the next moment he fell back into his seat,
trembling violently, and with the countenance of death itself. He spoke not a word. I pitied him from the
bottom of my heart.
"My friend," said Dupin, in a kind tone, "you are alarming yourself unnecessarily − you are indeed. We mean
you no harm whatever. I pledge you the honor of a gentleman, and of a Frenchman, that we intend you no
injury. I perfectly well know that you are innocent of the atrocities in the Rue Morgue. It will not do, however,
to deny that you are in some measure implicated in them. From what I have already said, you must know that
I have had means of information about this matter − means of which you could never have dreamed. Now the
thing stands thus. You have done nothing which you could have avoided − nothing, certainly, which renders
you culpable. You were not even guilty of robbery, when you might have robbed with impunity. You have
nothing to conceal. You have no reason for concealment. On the other hand, you are bound by every principle
of honor to confess all you know. An innocent man is now imprisoned, charged with that crime of which you
can point out the perpetrator."
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The sailor had recovered his presence of mind, in a great measure, while Dupin uttered these words; but his
original boldness of bearing was all gone.
"So help me God," said he, after a brief pause, "I will tell you all I know about this affair; − but I do not
expect you to believe one half I say − I would be a fool indeed if I did. Still, I am innocent, and I will make a
clean breast if I die for it."
What he stated was, in substance, this. He had lately made a voyage to the Indian Archipelago. A party, of
which he formed one, landed at Borneo, and passed into the interior on an excursion of pleasure. Himself and
a companion had captured the Ourang− Outang. This companion dying, the animal fell into his own exclusive
possession. After great trouble, occasioned by the intractable ferocity of his captive during the home voyage,
he at length succeeded in lodging it safely at his own residence in Paris, where, not to attract toward himself
the unpleasant curiosity of his neighbors, he kept it carefully secluded, until such time as it should recover
from a wound in the foot, received from a splinter on board ship. His ultimate design was to sell it.
Returning home from some sailors' frolic the night, or rather in the morning of the murder, he found the beast
occupying his own bed−room, into which it had broken from a closet adjoining, where it had been, as was
thought, securely confined. Razor in hand, and fully lathered, it was sitting before a looking−glass, attempting
the operation of shaving, in which it had no doubt previously watched its master through the key−hole of the
closet. Terrified at the sight of so dangerous a weapon in the possession of an animal so ferocious, and so well
able to use it, the man, for some moments, was at a loss what to do. He had been accustomed, however, to
quiet the creature, even in its fiercest moods, by the use of a whip, and to this he now resorted. Upon sight of
it, the Ourang−Outang sprang at once through the door of the chamber, down the stairs, and thence, through a
window, unfortunately open, into the street.
The Frenchman followed in despair; the ape, razor still in hand, occasionally stopping to look back and
gesticulate at its pursuer, until the latter had nearly come up with it. It then again made off. In this manner the
chase continued for a long time. The streets were profoundly quiet, as it was nearly three o'clock in the
morning. In passing down an alley in the rear of the Rue Morgue, the fugitive's attention was arrested by a
light gleaming from the open window of Madame L'Espanaye's chamber, in the fourth story of her house.
Rushing to the building, it perceived the lightning rod, clambered up with inconceivable agility, grasped the
shutter, which was thrown fully back against the wall, and, by its means, swung itself directly upon the
headboard of the bed. The whole feat did not occupy a minute. The shutter was kicked open again by the
Ourang−Outang as it entered the room.
The sailor, in the meantime, was both rejoiced and perplexed. He had strong hopes of now recapturing the
brute, as it could scarcely escape from the trap into which it had ventured, except by the rod, where it might be
intercepted as it came down. On the other hand, there was much cause for anxiety as to what it might do in the
house. This latter reflection urged the man still to follow the fugitive. A lightning rod is ascended without
difficulty, especially by a sailor; but, when he had arrived as high as the window, which lay far to his left, his
career was stopped; the most that he could accomplish was to reach over so as to obtain a glimpse of the
interior of the room. At this glimpse he nearly fell from his hold through excess of horror. Now it was that
those hideous shrieks arose upon the night, which had startled from slumber the inmates of the Rue Morgue.
Madame L'Espanaye and her daughter, habited in their night clothes, had apparently been occupied in
arranging some papers in the iron chest already mentioned, which had been wheeled into the middle of the
room. It was open, and its contents lay beside it on the floor. The victims must have been sitting with their
backs toward the window; and, from the time elapsing between the ingress of the beast and the screams, it
seems probable that it was not immediately perceived. The flapping−to of the shutter would naturally have
been attributed to the wind.
As the sailor looked in, the gigantic animal had seized Madame L'Espanaye by the hair, (which was loose, as
she had been combing it,) and was flourishing the razor about her face, in imitation of the motions of a barber.
The daughter lay prostrate and motionless; she had swooned. The screams and struggles of the old lady
(during which the hair was torn from her head) had the effect of changing the probably pacific purposes of the
Ourang−Outang into those of wrath. With one determined sweep of its muscular arm it nearly severed her
head from her body. The sight of blood inflamed its anger into phrenzy. Gnashing its teeth, and flashing fire
from its eyes, it flew upon the body of the girl, and imbedded its fearful talons in her throat, retaining its grasp
until she expired. Its wandering and wild glances fell at this moment upon the head of the bed, over which the
face of its master, rigid with horror, was just discernible. The fury of the beast, who no doubt bore still in
mind the dreaded whip, was instantly converted into fear. Conscious of having deserved punishment, it
seemed desirous of concealing its bloody deeds, and skipped about the chamber in an agony of nervous
agitation; throwing down and breaking the furniture as it moved, and dragging the bed from the bedstead. In
conclusion, it seized first the corpse of the daughter, and thrust it up the chimney, as it was found; then that of
the old lady, which it immediately hurled through the window headlong.
As the ape approached the casement with its mutilated burden, the sailor shrank aghast to the rod, and, rather
gliding than clambering down it, hurried at once home − dreading the consequences of the butchery, and
gladly abandoning, in his terror, all solicitude about the fate of the Ourang−Outang. The words heard by the
party upon the staircase were the Frenchman's exclamations of horror and affright, commingled with the
fiendish jabberings of the brute.
I have scarcely anything to add. The Ourang−Outang must have escaped from the chamber, by the rod, just
before the break of the door. It must have closed the window as it passed through it. It was subsequently
caught by the owner himself, who obtained for it a very large sum at the Jardin des Plantes. Le Don was
instantly released, upon our narration of the circumstances (with some comments from Dupin) at the bureau of
the Prefect of Police. This functionary, however well disposed to my friend, could not altogether conceal his
chagrin at the turn which affairs had taken, and was fain to indulge in a sarcasm or two, about the propriety of
every person minding his own business.
"Let him talk," said Dupin,, who had not thought it necessary to reply. "Let him discourse; it will ease his
conscience, I am satisfied with having defeated him in his own castle. Nevertheless, that he failed in the
solution of this mystery, is by no means that matter for wonder which he supposes it; for, in truth, our friend
the Prefect is somewhat too cunning to be profound. In his wisdom is no stamen. It is all head and no body,
like the pictures of the Goddess Laverna, −− or, at best, all head and shoulders, like a codfish. But he is a good
creature after all. I like him especially for one master stroke of cant, by which he has attained his reputation
for ingenuity. I mean the way he has '_de nier ce qui est, et d'expliquer ce qui n'est pas._' " *

*Rousseau − Nouvelle Heloise.

The Mystery of Marie Roget

A Sequel to "The Murders in the Rue Morgue"


Es giebt eine Reihe idealischer Begebenheiten, die der Wirklichkeit parallel lauft. Selten fallen sie zusammen.
Menschen und zufalle modifieiren gewohulich die idealische Begebenheit, so dass sie unvollkommen
erscheint, und ihre Folgen gleichfalls unvollkommen sind. So bei der Reformation; statt des Protestantismus
kam das Lutherthum hervor.
There are ideal series of events which run parallel with the real ones. They rarely coincide. Men and
circumstances generally modify the ideal train of events, so that it seems imperfect, and its consequences are
equally imperfect. Thus with the Reformation; instead of Protestantism came Lutheranism.
88
Novalis. {*2} Moral Ansichten. ·
THERE are few persons, even among the calmest thinkers, who have not occasionally been startled into a
vague yet thrilling half−credence in the supernatural, by coincidences of so seemingly marvellous a character
that, as mere coincidences, the intellect has been unable to receive them. Such sentiments − for the
half−credences of which I speak have never the full force of thought − such sentiments are seldom thoroughly
stifled unless by reference to the doctrine of chance, or, as it is technically termed, the Calculus of
Probabilities. Now this Calculus is, in its essence, purely mathematical; and thus we have the anomaly of the
most rigidly exact in science applied to the shadow and spirituality of the most intangible in speculation.
The extraordinary details which I am now called upon to make public, will be found to form, as regards
sequence of time, the primary branch of a series of scarcely intelligible coincidences, whose secondary or
concluding branch will be recognized by all readers in the late murder of Mary Cecila Rogers, at New York.
When, in an article entitled "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," I endeavored, about a year ago, to depict some
very remarkable features in the mental character of my friend, the Chevalier C. Auguste Dupin, it did not
occur to me that I should ever resume the subject. This depicting of character constituted my design; and this
design was thoroughly fulfilled in the wild train of circumstances brought to instance Dupin's idiosyncrasy. I
might have adduced other examples, but I should have proven no more. Late events, however, in their
surprising development, have startled me into some farther details, which will carry with them the air of
extorted confession. Hearing what I have lately heard, it would be indeed strange should I remain silent in
regard to what I both heard and saw so long ago.
Upon the winding up of the tragedy involved in the deaths of Madame L'Espanaye and her daughter, the
Chevalier dismissed the affair at once from his attention, and relapsed into his old habits of moody reverie.
Prone, at all times, to abstraction, I readily fell in with his humor; and, continuing to occupy our chambers in
the Faubourg Saint Germain, we gave the Future to the winds, and slumbered tranquilly in the Present,
weaving the dull world around us into dreams.
But these dreams were not altogether uninterrupted. It may readily be supposed that the part played by my
friend, in the drama at the Rue Morgue, had not failed of its impression upon the fancies of the Parisian
police. With its emissaries, the name of Dupin had grown into a household word. The simple character of
those inductions by which he had disentangled the mystery never having been explained even to the Prefect,
or to any other individual than myself, of course it is not surprising that the affair was regarded as little less
than miraculous, or that the Chevalier's analytical abilities acquired for him the credit of intuition. His
frankness would have led him to disabuse every inquirer of such prejudice; but his indolent humor forbade all
farther agitation of a topic whose interest to himself had long ceased. It thus happened that he found himself
the cynosure of the policial eyes; and the cases were not few in which attempt was made to engage his
services at the Prefecture. One of the most remarkable instances was that of the murder of a young girl named
Marie Rogêt.
This event occurred about two years after the atrocity in the Rue Morgue. Marie, whose Christian and family
name will at once arrest attention from their resemblance to those of the unfortunate "cigargirl," was the only
daughter of the widow Estelle Rogêt. The father had died during the child's infancy, and from the period of his
death, until within eighteen months before the assassination which forms the subject of our narrative, the
mother and daughter had dwelt together in the Rue Pavée Saint Andrée; {*3} Madame there keeping a
pension, assisted by Marie. Affairs went on thus until the latter had attained her twenty−second year, when
her great beauty attracted the notice of a perfumer, who occupied one of the shops in the basement of the
Palais Royal, and whose custom lay chiefly among the desperate adventurers infesting that neighborhood.
Monsieur Le Blanc {*4} was not unaware of the advantages to be derived from the attendance of the fair
Marie in his perfumery; and his liberal proposals were accepted eagerly by the girl, although with somewhat
more of hesitation by Madame.
The anticipations of the shopkeeper were realized, and his rooms soon became notorious through the charms
of the sprightly grisette. She had been in his employ about a year, when her admirers were thrown info
confusion by her sudden disappearance from the shop. Monsieur Le Blanc was unable to account for her
absence, and Madame Rogêt was distracted with anxiety and terror. The public papers immediately took up
the theme, and the police were upon the point of making serious investigations, when, one fine morning, after
the lapse of a week, Marie, in good health, but with a somewhat saddened air, made her re−appearance at her
usual counter in the perfumery. All inquiry, except that of a private character, was of course immediately
hushed. Monsieur Le Blanc professed total ignorance, as before. Marie, with Madame, replied to all questions,
that the last week had been spent at the house of a relation in the country. Thus the affair died away, and was
generally forgotten; for the girl, ostensibly to relieve herself from the impertinence of curiosity, soon bade a
final adieu to the perfumer, and sought the shelter of her mother's residence in the Rue Pavée Saint Andrée.
It was about five months after this return home, that her friends were alarmed by her sudden disappearance for
the second time. Three days elapsed, and nothing was heard of her. On the fourth her corpse was found
floating in the Seine, * near the shore which is opposite the Quartier of the Rue Saint Andree, and at a point
not very far distant from the secluded neighborhood of the Barrière du Roule. {*6}
The atrocity of this murder, (for it was at once evident that murder had been committed,) the youth and beauty
of the victim, and, above all, her previous notoriety, conspired to produce intense excitement in the minds of
the sensitive Parisians. I can call to mind no similar occurrence producing so general and so intense an effect.
For several weeks, in the discussion of this one absorbing theme, even the momentous political topics of the
day were forgotten. The Prefect made unusual exertions; and the powers of the whole Parisian police were, of
course, tasked to the utmost extent.
Upon the first discovery of the corpse, it was not supposed that the murderer would be able to elude, for more
than a very brief period, the inquisition which was immediately set on foot. It was not until the expiration of a
week that it was deemed necessary to offer a reward; and even then this reward was limited to a thousand
francs. In the mean time the investigation proceeded with vigor, if not always with judgment, and numerous
individuals were examined to no purpose; while, owing to the continual absence of all clue to the mystery, the
popular excitement greatly increased. At the end of the tenth day it was thought advisable to double the sum
originally proposed; and, at length, the second week having elapsed without leading to any discoveries, and
the prejudice which always exists in Paris against the Police having given vent to itself in several serious
émeutes, the Prefect took it upon himself to offer the sum of twenty thousand francs "for the conviction of the
assassin," or, if more than one should prove to have been implicated, "for the conviction of any one of the
assassins." In the proclamation setting forth this reward, a full pardon was promised to any accomplice who
should come forward in evidence against his fellow; and to the whole was appended, wherever it appeared,
the private placard of a committee of citizens, offering ten thousand francs, in addition to the amount
proposed by the Prefecture. The entire reward thus stood at no less than thirty thousand francs, which will be
regarded as an extraordinary sum when we consider the humble condition of the girl, and the great frequency,
in large cities, of such atrocities as the one described.
No one doubted now that the mystery of this murder would be immediately brought to light. But although, in
one or two instances, arrests were made which promised elucidation, yet nothing was elicited which could
implicate the parties suspected; and they were discharged forthwith. Strange as it may appear, the third week
from the discovery of the body had passed, and passed without any light being thrown upon the subject,
before even a rumor of the events which had so agitated the public mind, reached the ears of Dupin and
myself. Engaged in researches which absorbed our whole attention, it had been nearly a month since either of
us had gone abroad, or received a visiter, or more than glanced at the leading political articles in one of the
daily papers. The first intelligence of the murder was brought us by G −−−−, in person. He called upon us
early in the afternoon of the thirteenth of July, 18−−, and remained with us until late in the night. He had been
piqued by the failure of all his endeavors to ferret out the assassins. His reputation − so he said with a
peculiarly Parisian air − was at stake. Even his honor was concerned. The eyes of the public were upon him;
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and there was really no sacrifice which he would not be willing to make for the development of the mystery.
He concluded a somewhat droll speech with a compliment upon what he was pleased to term the tact of
Dupin, and made him a direct, and certainly a liberal proposition, the precise nature of which I do not feel
myself at liberty to disclose, but which has no bearing upon the proper subject of my narrative.
The compliment my friend rebutted as best he could, but the proposition he accepted at once, although its
advantages were altogether provisional. This point being settled, the Prefect broke forth at once into
explanations of his own views, interspersing them with long comments upon the evidence; of which latter we
were not yet in possession. He discoursed much, and beyond doubt, learnedly; while I hazarded an occasional
suggestion as the night wore drowsily away. Dupin, sitting steadily in his accustomed arm−chair, was the
embodiment of respectful attention. He wore spectacles, during the whole interview; and an occasional signal
glance beneath their green glasses, sufficed to convince me that he slept not the less soundly, because silently,
throughout the seven or eight leaden−footed hours which immediately preceded the departure of the Prefect.
In the morning, I procured, at the Prefecture, a full report of all the evidence elicited, and, at the various
newspaper offices, a copy of every paper in which, from first to last, had been published any decisive
information in regard to this sad affair. Freed from all that was positively disproved, this mass of information
stood thus:
Marie Rogêt left the residence of her mother, in the Rue Pavée St. Andrée, about nine o'clock in the morning
of Sunday June the twenty−second, 18−−. In going out, she gave notice to a Monsieur Jacques St. Eustache,
{*7} and to him only, of her intent intention to spend the day with an aunt who resided in the Rue des
Drômes. The Rue des Drômes is a short and narrow but populous thoroughfare, not far from the banks of the
river, and at a distance of some two miles, in the most direct course possible, from the pension of Madame
Rogêt. St. Eustache was the accepted suitor of Marie, and lodged, as well as took his meals, at the pension. He
was to have gone for his betrothed at dusk, and to have escorted her home. In the afternoon, however, it came
on to rain heavily; and, supposing that she would remain all night at her aunt's, (as she had done under similar
circumstances before,) he did not think it necessary to keep his promise. As night drew on, Madame Rogêt
(who was an infirm old lady, seventy years of age,) was heard to express a fear "that she should never see
Marie again;" but this observation attracted little attention at the time.
On Monday, it was ascertained that the girl had not been to the Rue des Drômes; and when the day elapsed
without tidings of her, a tardy search was instituted at several points in the city, and its environs. It was not,
however until the fourth day from the period of disappearance that any thing satisfactory was ascertained
respecting her. On this day, (Wednesday, the twenty−fifth of June,) a Monsieur Beauvais, {*8} who, with a
friend, had been making inquiries for Marie near the Barrière du Roule, on the shore of the Seine which is
opposite the Rue Pavée St. Andrée, was informed that a corpse had just been towed ashore by some
fishermen, who had found it floating in the river. Upon seeing the body, Beauvais, after some hesitation,
identified it as that of the perfumery−girl. His friend recognized it more promptly.
The face was suffused with dark blood, some of which issued from the mouth. No foam was seen, as in the
case of the merely drowned. There was no discoloration in the cellular tissue. About the throat were bruises
and impressions of fingers. The arms were bent over on the chest and were rigid. The right hand was
clenched; the left partially open. On the left wrist were two circular excoriations, apparently the effect of
ropes, or of a rope in more than one volution. A part of the right wrist, also, was much chafed, as well as the
back throughout its extent, but more especially at the shoulder−blades. In bringing the body to the shore the
fishermen had attached to it a rope; but none of the excoriations had been effected by this. The flesh of the
neck was much swollen. There were no cuts apparent, or bruises which appeared the effect of blows. A piece
of lace was found tied so tightly around the neck as to be hidden from sight; it was completely buried in the
flesh, and was fasted by a knot which lay just under the left ear. This alone would have sufficed to produce
death. The medical testimony spoke confidently of the virtuous character of the deceased. She had been
subjected, it said, to brutal violence. The corpse was in such condition when found, that there could have been no difficulty in its recognition by friends.
The dress was much torn and otherwise disordered. In the outer garment, a slip, about a foot wide, had been
torn upward from the bottom hem to the waist, but not torn off. It was wound three times around the waist,
and secured by a sort of hitch in the back. The dress immediately beneath the frock was of fine muslin; and
from this a slip eighteen inches wide had been torn entirely out − torn very evenly and with great care. It was
found around her neck, fitting loosely, and secured with a hard knot. Over this muslin slip and the slip of lace,
the strings of a bonnet were attached; the bonnet being appended. The knot by which the strings of the bonnet
were fastened, was not a lady's, but a slip or sailor's knot.
After the recognition of the corpse, it was not, as usual, taken to the Morgue, (this formality being
superfluous,) but hastily interred not far front the spot at which it was brought ashore. Through the exertions
of Beauvais, the matter was industriously hushed up, as far as possible; and several days had elapsed before
any public emotion resulted. A weekly paper, {*9} however, at length took up the theme; the corpse was
disinterred, and a re−examination instituted; but nothing was elicited beyond what has been already noted.
The clothes, however, were now submitted to the mother and friends of the deceased, and fully identified as
those worn by the girl upon leaving home.
Meantime, the excitement increased hourly. Several individuals were arrested and discharged. St. Eustache
fell especially under suspicion; and he failed, at first, to give an intelligible account of his whereabouts during
the Sunday on which Marie left home. Subsequently, however, he submitted to Monsieur G−−−−, affidavits,
accounting satisfactorily for every hour of the day in question. As time passed and no discovery ensued, a
thousand contradictory rumors were circulated, and journalists busied themselves in suggestions. Among
these, the one which attracted the most notice, was the idea that Marie Rogêt still lived − that the corpse found
in the Seine was that of some other unfortunate. It will be proper that I submit to the reader some passages
which embody the suggestion alluded to. These passages are literal translations from L'Etoile, {*10} a paper
conducted, in general, with much ability.
"Mademoiselle Rogêt left her mother's house on Sunday morning, June the twenty−second, 18−−, with the
ostensible purpose of going to see her aunt, or some other connexion, in the Rue des Drômes. From that hour,
nobody is proved to have seen her. There is no trace or tidings of her at all. . . . There has no person, whatever,
come forward, so far, who saw her at all, on that day, after she left her mother's door. . . . Now, though we
have no evidence that Marie Rogêt was in the land of the living after nine o'clock on Sunday, June the
twenty−second, we have proof that, up to that hour, she was alive. On Wednesday noon, at twelve, a female
body was discovered afloat on the shore of the Barrière de Roule. This was, even if we presume that Marie
Rogêt was thrown into the river within three hours after she left her mother's house, only three days from the
time she left her home − three days to an hour. But it is folly to suppose that the murder, if murder was
committed on her body, could have been consummated soon enough to have enabled her murderers to throw
the body into the river before midnight. Those who are guilty of such horrid crimes, choose darkness rather
the; light . . . . Thus we see that if the body found in the river was that of Marie Rogêt, it could only have been
in the water two and a half days, or three at the outside. All experience has shown that drowned bodies, or
bodies thrown into the water immediately after death by violence, require from six to ten days for
decomposition to take place to bring them to the top of the water. Even where a cannon is fired over a corpse,
and it rises before at least five or six days' immersion, it sinks again, if let alone. Now, we ask, what was there
in this cave to cause a departure from the ordinary course of nature? . . . If the body had been kept in its
mangled state on shore until Tuesday night, some trace would be found on shore of the murderers. It is a
doubtful point, also, whether the body would be so soon afloat, even were it thrown in after having been dead
two days. And, furthermore, it is exceedingly improbable that any villains who had committed such a murder
as is here supposed, would have throw the body in without weight to sink it, when such a precaution could
have so easily been taken."
The editor here proceeds to argue that the body must have been in the water "not three days merely, but, at
92
least, five times three days," because it was so far decomposed that Beauvais had great difficulty in
recognizing it. This latter point, however, was fully disproved. I continue the translation:
"What, then, are the facts on which M. Beauvais says that he has no doubt the body was that of Marie Rogêt?
He ripped up the gown sleeve, and says he found marks which satisfied him of the identity. The public
generally supposed those marks to have consisted of some description of scars. He rubbed the arm and found
hair upon it − something as indefinite, we think, as can readily be imagined − as little conclusive as finding an
arm in the sleeve. M. Beauvais did not return that night, but sent word to Madame Rogêt, at seven o'clock, on
Wednesday evening, that an investigation was still in progress respecting her daughter. If we allow that
Madame Rogêt, from her age and grief, could not go over, (which is allowing a great deal,) there certainly
must have been some one who would have thought it worth while to go over and attend the investigation, if
they thought the body was that of Marie. Nobody went over. There was nothing said or heard about the matter
in the Rue Pavée St. Andrée, that reached even the occupants of the same building. M. St. Eustache, the lover
and intended husband of Marie, who boarded in her mother's house, deposes that he did not hear of the
discovery of the body of his intended until the next morning, when M. Beauvais came into his chamber and
told him of it. For an item of news like this, it strikes us it was very coolly received."
In this way the journal endeavored to create the impression of an apathy on the part of the relatives of Marie,
inconsistent with the supposition that these relatives believed the corpse to be hers. Its insinuations amount to
this: − that Marie, with the connivance of her friends, had absented herself from the city for reasons involving
a charge against her chastity; and that these friends, upon the discovery of a corpse in the Seine, somewhat
resembling that of the girl, had availed themselves of the opportunity to impress press the public with the
belief of her death. But L'Etoile was again over−hasty. It was distinctly proved that no apathy, such as was
imagined, existed; that the old lady was exceedingly feeble, and so agitated as to be unable to attend to any
duty, that St. Eustache, so far from receiving the news coolly, was distracted with grief, and bore himself so
frantically, that M. Beauvais prevailed upon a friend and relative to take charge of him, and prevent his
attending the examination at the disinterment. Moreover, although it was stated by L'Etoile, that the corpse
was re−interred at the public expense − that an advantageous offer of private sculpture was absolutely
declined by the family − and that no member of the family attended the ceremonial: − although, I say, all this
was asserted by L'Etoile in furtherance of the impression it designed to convey − yet all this was satisfactorily
disproved. In a subsequent number of the paper, an attempt was made to throw suspicion upon Beauvais
himself. The editor says:
"Now, then, a change comes over the matter. We are told that on one occasion, while a Madame B−−−− was
at Madame Rogêt's house, M. Beauvais, who was going out, told her that a gendarme was expected there, and
she, Madame B., must not say anything to the gendarme until he returned, but let the matter be for him. . . . In
the present posture of affairs, M. Beauvais appears to have the whole matter looked up in his head. A single
step cannot be taken without M. Beauvais; for, go which way you will, you run against him. . . . For some
reason, he determined that nobody shall have any thing to do with the proceedings but himself, and he has
elbowed the male relatives out of the way, according to their representations, in a very singular manner. He
seems to have been very much averse to permitting the relatives to see the body."
By the following fact, some color was given to the suspicion thus thrown upon Beauvais. A visiter at his
office, a few days prior to the girl's disappearance, and during the absence of its occupant, had observed a rose
in the key−hole of the door, and the name "Marie" inscribed upon a slate which hung near at hand.
The general impression, so far as we were enabled to glean it from the newspapers, seemed to be, that Marie
had been the victim of a gang of desperadoes − that by these she had been borne across the river, maltreated
and murdered. Le Commerciel, {*11} however, a print of extensive influence, was earnest in combating this
popular idea. I quote a passage or two from its columns:
"We are persuaded that pursuit has hitherto been on a false scent, so far as it has been directed to the Barrière du Roule. It is impossible that a person so well known to thousands as this young woman was, should have
passed three blocks without some one having seen her; and any one who saw her would have remembered it,
for she interested all who knew her. It was when the streets were full of people, when she went out. . . . It is
impossible that she could have gone to the Barrière du Roule, or to the Rue des Drômes, without being
recognized by a dozen persons; yet no one has come forward who saw her outside of her mother's door, and
there is no evidence, except the testimony concerning her expressed intentions, that she did go out at all. Her
gown was torn, bound round her, and tied; and by that the body was carried as a bundle. If the murder had
been committed at the Barrière du Roule, there would have been no necessity for any such arrangement. The
fact that the body was found floating near the Barrière, is no proof as to where it was thrown into the water. . .
. . A piece of one of the unfortunate girl's petticoats, two feet long and one foot wide, was torn out and tied
under her chin around the back of her head, probably to prevent screams. This was done by fellows who had
no pocket−handkerchief."
A day or two before the Prefect called upon us, however, some important information reached the police,
which seemed to overthrow, at least, the chief portion of Le Commerciel's argument. Two small boys, sons of
a Madame Deluc, while roaming among the woods near the Barrière du Roule, chanced to penetrate a close
thicket, within which were three or four large stones, forming a kind of seat, with a back and footstool. On the
upper stone lay a white petticoat; on the second a silk scarf. A parasol, gloves, and a pocket−handkerchief
were also here found. The handkerchief bore the name "Marie Rogêt." Fragments of dress were discovered on
the brambles around. The earth was trampled, the bushes were broken, and there was every evidence of a
struggle. Between the thicket and the river, the fences were found taken down, and the ground bore evidence
of some heavy burthen having been dragged along it.
A weekly paper, Le Soleil,{*12} had the following comments upon this discovery −− comments which
merely echoed the sentiment of the whole Parisian press:
"The things had all evidently been there at least three or four weeks; they were all mildewed down hard with
the action of the rain and stuck together from mildew. The grass had grown around and over some of them.
The silk on the parasol was strong, but the threads of it were run together within. The upper part, where it had
been doubled and folded, was all mildewed and rotten, and tore on its being opened. . . . . The pieces of her
frock torn out by the bushes were about three inches wide and six inches long. One part was the hem of the
frock, and it had been mended; the other piece was part of the skirt, not the hem. They looked like strips torn
off, and were on the thorn bush, about a foot from the ground. . . . . There can be no doubt, therefore, that the
spot of this appalling outrage has been discovered."
Consequent upon this discovery, new evidence appeared. Madame Deluc testified that she keeps a roadside
inn not far from the bank of the river, opposite the Barrière du Roule. The neighborhood is secluded −−
particularly so. It is the usual Sunday resort of blackguards from the city, who cross the river in boats. About
three o'clock, in the afternoon of the Sunday in question, a young girl arrived at the inn, accompanied by a
young man of dark complexion. The two remained here for some time. On their departure, they took the road
to some thick woods in the vicinity. Madame Deluc's attention was called to the dress worn by the girl, on
account of its resemblance to one worn by a deceased relative. A scarf was particularly noticed. Soon after the
departure of the couple, a gang of miscreants made their appearance, behaved boisterously, ate and drank
without making payment, followed in the route of the young man and girl, returned to the inn about dusk, and
re−crossed the river as if in great haste.
It was soon after dark, upon this same evening, that Madame Deluc, as well as her eldest son, heard the
screams of a female in the vicinity of the inn. The screams were violent but brief. Madame D. recognized not
only the scarf which was found in the thicket, but the dress which was discovered upon the corpse. An
omnibus driver, Valence, {*13} now also testified that he saw Marie Rogêt cross a ferry on the Seine, on the
Sunday in question, in company with a young man of dark complexion. He, Valence, knew Marie, and could
not be mistaken in her identity. The articles found in the thicket were fully identified by the relatives of Marie.
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The items of evidence and information thus collected by myself, from the newspapers, at the suggestion of
Dupin, embraced only one more point −− but this was a point of seemingly vast consequence. It appears that,
immediately after the discovery of the clothes as above described, the lifeless, or nearly lifeless body of St.
Eustache, Marie's betrothed, was found in the vicinity of what all now supposed the scene of the outrage. A
phial labelled "laudanum," and emptied, was found near him. His breath gave evidence of the poison. He died
without speaking. Upon his person was found a letter, briefly stating his love for Marie, with his design of
self− destruction.
"I need scarcely tell you," said Dupin, as he finished the perusal of my notes, "that this is a far more intricate
case than that of the Rue Morgue; from which it differs in one important respect. This is an ordinary, although
an atrocious instance of crime. There is nothing peculiarly outré about it. You will observe that, for this
reason, the mystery has been considered easy, when, for this reason, it should have been considered difficult,
of solution. Thus; at first, it was thought unnecessary to offer a reward. The myrmidons of G−−− were able at
once to comprehend how and why such an atrocity might have been committed. They could picture to their
imaginations a mode − many modes − and a motive − many motives; and because it was not impossible that
either of these numerous modes and motives could have been the actual one, they have taken it for granted
that one of them must. But the case with which these variable fancies were entertained, and the very
plausibility which each assumed, should have been understood as indicative rather of the difficulties than of
the facilities which must attend elucidation. I have before observed that it is by prominences above the plane
of the ordinary, that reason feels her way, if at all, in her search for the true, and that the proper question in
cases such as this, is not so much 'what has occurred?' as 'what has occurred that has never occurred before?'
In the investigations at the house of Madame L'Espanaye, {*14} the agents of G−−−− were discouraged and
confounded by that very unusualness which, to a properly regulated intellect, would have afforded the surest
omen of success; while this same intellect might have been plunged in despair at the ordinary character of all
that met the eye in the case of the perfumery−girl, and yet told of nothing but easy triumph to the
functionaries of the Prefecture.
"In the case of Madame L'Espanaye and her daughter there was, even at the beginning of our investigation, no
doubt that murder had been committed. The idea of suicide was excluded at once. Here, too, we are freed, at
the commencement, from all supposition of self− murder. The body found at the Barrière du Roule, was found
under such circumstances as to leave us no room for embarrassment upon this important point. But it has been
suggested that the corpse
discovered, is not that of the Marie Rogêt for the conviction of whose assassin, or assassins, the reward is
offered, and respecting whom, solely, our agreement has been arranged with the Prefect. We both know this
gentleman well. It will not do to trust him too far. If, dating our inquiries from the body found, and thence
tracing a murderer, we yet discover this body to be that of some other individual than Marie; or, if starting
from the living Marie, we find her, yet find her unassassinated −− in either case we lose our labor; since it is
Monsieur G−−−− with whom we have to deal. For our own purpose, therefore, if not for the purpose of
justice, it is indispensable that our first step should be the determination of the identity of the corpse with the
Marie Rogêt who is missing.
"With the public the arguments of L'Etoile have had weight; and that the journal itself is convinced of their
importance would appear from the manner in which it commences one of its essays upon the subject −
'Several of the morning papers of the day,' it says, 'speak of the conclusive article in Monday's Etoile.' To me,
this article appears conclusive of little beyond the zeal of its inditer. We should bear in mind that, in general, it
is the object of our newspapers rather to create a sensation −− to make a point − than to further the cause of
truth. The latter end is only pursued when it seems coincident with the former. The print which merely falls in
with ordinary opinion (however well founded this opinion may be) earns for itself no credit with the mob. The
mass of the people regard as profound only him who suggests pungent contradictions of the general idea. In
ratiocination, not less than in literature, it is the epigram which is the most immediately and the most
universally appreciated. In both, it is of the lowest order of merit.
"What I mean to say is, that it is the mingled epigram and melodrame of the idea, that Marie Rogêt still lives,
rather than any true plausibility in this idea, which have suggested it to L'Etoile, and secured it a favorable
reception with the public. Let us examine the heads of this journal's argument; endeavoring to avoid the
incoherence with which it is originally set forth.
"The first aim of the writer is to show, from the brevity of the interval between Marie's disappearance and the
finding of the floating corpse, that this corpse cannot be that of Marie. The reduction of this interval to its
smallest possible dimension, becomes thus, at once, an object with the reasoner. In the rash pursuit of this
object, he rushes into mere assumption at the outset. 'It is folly to suppose,' he says, 'that the murder, if murder
was committed on her body, could have been consummated soon enough to have enabled her murderers to
throw the body into the river before midnight.' We demand at once, and very naturally, why? Why is it folly to
suppose that the murder was committed within five minutes after the girl's quitting her mother's house? Why is
it folly to suppose that the murder was committed at any given period of the day? There have been
assassinations at all hours. But, had the murder taken place at any moment between nine o'clock in the
morning of Sunday, and a quarter before midnight, there would still have been time enough ''to throw the
body into the river before midnight.' This assumption, then, amounts precisely to this − that the murder was
not committed on Sunday at all − and, if we allow L'Etoile to assume this, we may permit it any liberties
whatever. The paragraph beginning 'It is folly to suppose that the murder, etc.,' however it appears as printed
in L'Etoile, may be imagined to have existed actually thus in the brain of its inditer − 'It is folly to suppose
that the murder, if murder was committed on the body, could have been committed soon enough to have
enabled her murderers to throw the body into the river before midnight; it is folly, we say, to suppose all this,
and to suppose at the same time, (as we are resolved to suppose,) that the body was not thrown in until after
midnight' −− a sentence sufficiently inconsequential in itself, but not so utterly preposterous as the one
printed.
"Were it my purpose," continued Dupin, "merely to make out a case against this passage of L'Etoile's
argument, I might safely leave it where it is. It is not, however, with L'Etoile that we have to do, but with the
truth. The sentence in question has but one meaning, as it stands; and this meaning I have fairly stated: but it
is material that we go behind the mere words, for an idea which these words have obviously intended, and
failed to convey. It was the design of the journalist to say that, at whatever period of the day or night of
Sunday this murder was committed, it was improbable that the assassins would have ventured to bear the
corpse to the river before midnight. And herein lies, really, the assumption of which I complain. It is assumed
that the murder was committed at such a position, and under such circumstances, that the bearing it to the
river became necessary. Now, the assassination might have taken place upon the river's brink, or on the river
itself; and, thus, the throwing the corpse in the water might have been resorted to, at any period of the day or
night, as the most obvious and most immediate mode of disposal. You will understand that I suggest nothing
here as probable, or as cöincident with my own opinion. My design, so far, has no reference to the facts of the
case. I wish merely to caution you against the whole tone of L'Etoile's suggestion, by calling your attention to
its ex parte character at the outset.
"Having prescribed thus a limit to suit its own preconceived notions; having assumed that, if this were the
body of Marie, it could have been in the water but a very brief time; the journal goes on to say:
'All experience has shown that drowned bodies, or bodies thrown into the water immediately after death by
violence, require from six to ten days for sufficient decomposition to take place to bring them to the top of the
water. Even when a cannon is fired over a corpse, and it rises before at least five or six days' immersion, it
sinks again if let alone.'

"The whole of this paragraph must now appear a tissue of
inconsequence and incoherence. All experience does not show that 'drowned bodies' require from six to ten
days for sufficient decomposition to take place to bring them to the surface. Both science and experience show
that the period of their rising is, and necessarily must be, indeterminate. If, moreover, a body has risen to the
surface through firing of cannon, it will not 'sink again if let alone,' until decomposition has so far progressed
as to permit the escape of the generated gas. But I wish to call your attention to the distinction which is made
between 'drowned bodies,' and 'bodies thrown into the water immediately after death by violence.' Although
the writer admits the distinction, he yet includes them all in the same category. I have shown how it is that the
body of a drowning man becomes specifically heavier than its bulk of water, and that he would not sink at all,
except for the struggles by which he elevates his arms above the surface, and his gasps for breath while
beneath the surface − gasps which supply by water the place of the original air in the lungs. But these
struggles and these gasps would not occur in the body 'thrown into the water immediately after death by
violence.' Thus, in the latter instance, the body, as a general rule, would not sink at all − a fact of which
L'Etoile is evidently ignorant. When decomposition had proceeded to a very great extent − when the flesh had
in a great measure left the bones − then, indeed, but not till then, should we lose sight of the corpse.
"And now what are we to make of the argument, that the body found could not be that of Marie Rogêt,
because, three days only having elapsed, this body was found floating? If drowned, being a woman, she might
never have sunk; or having sunk, might have reappeared in twenty−four hours, or less. But no one supposes
her to have been drowned; and, dying before being thrown into the river, she might have been found floating
at any period afterwards whatever.
" 'But,' says L'Etoile, 'if the body had been kept in its mangled state on shore until Tuesday night, some trace
would be found on shore of the murderers.' Here it is at first difficult to perceive the intention of the reasoner.
He means to anticipate what he imagines would be an objection to his theory − viz: that the body was kept on
shore two days, suffering rapid decomposition − morerapid than if immersed in water. He supposes that, had
this been the case, it might have appeared at the surface on the Wednesday, and thinks that only under such
circumstances it could so have appeared. He is accordingly in haste to show that it was not kept on shore; for,
if so, 'some trace would be found on shore of the murderers.' I presume you smile at the sequitur. You cannot
be made to see how the mere duration of the corpse on the shore could operate to multiply traces of the
assassins. Nor can I.
" 'And furthermore it is exceedingly improbable,' continues our journal, 'that any villains who had committed
such a murder as is here supposed, would have thrown the body in without weight to sink it, when such a
precaution could have so easily been taken.' Observe, here, the laughable confusion of thought! No one − not
even L'Etoile − disputes the murder committed on the body found. The marks of violence are too obvious. It is
our reasoner's object merely to show that this body is not Marie's. He wishes to prove that Marie is not
assassinated − not that the corpse was not. Yet his observation proves only the latter point. Here is a corpse
without weight attached. Murderers, casting it in, would not have failed to attach a weight. Therefore it was
not thrown in by murderers. This is all which is proved, if any thing is. The question of identity is not even
approached, and L'Etoile has been at great pains merely to gainsay now what it has admitted only a moment
98
before. 'We are perfectly convinced,' it says, 'that the body found was that of a murdered female.'
"Nor is this the sole instance, even in this division of his subject, where our reasoner unwittingly reasons
against himself. His evident object, I have already said, is to reduce, us much as possible, the interval between
Marie's disappearance and the finding of the corpse. Yet we find him urging the point that no person saw the
girl from the moment of her leaving her mother's house. 'We have no evidence,' he says, 'that Marie Rogêt was
in the land of the living after nine o'clock on Sunday, June the twenty−second.' As his argument is obviously
an ex parte one, he should, at least, have left this matter out of sight; for had any one been known to see
Marie, say on Monday, or on Tuesday, the interval in question would have been much reduced, and, by his
own ratiocination, the probability much diminished of the corpse being that of the grisette. It is, nevertheless,
amusing to observe that L'Etoile insists upon its point in the full belief of its furthering its general argument.
"Reperuse now that portion of this argument which has reference to the identification of the corpse by
Beauvais. In regard to the hair upon the arm, L'Etoile has been obviously disingenuous. M. Beauvais, not
being an idiot, could never have urged, in identification of the corpse, simply hair upon its arm. No arm is
without hair. The generality of the expression of L'Etoile is a mere perversion of the witness' phraseology. He
must have spoken of some peculiarity in this hair. It must have been a peculiarity of color, of quantity, of
length, or of situation.
" 'Her foot,' says the journal, 'was small − so are thousands of feet. Her garter is no proof whatever − nor is her
shoe − for shoes and garters are sold in packages. The same may be said of the flowers in her hat. One thing
upon which M. Beauvais strongly insists is, that the clasp on the garter found, had been set back to take it in.
This amounts to nothing; for most women find it proper to take a pair of garters home and fit them to the size
of the limbs they are to encircle, rather than to try them in the store where they purchase.' Here it is difficult to
suppose the reasoner in earnest. Had M. Beauvais, in his search for the body of Marie, discovered a corpse
corresponding in general size and appearance to the missing girl, he would have been warranted (without
reference to the question of habiliment at all) in forming an opinion that his search had been successful. If, in
addition to the point of general size and contour, he had found upon the arm a peculiar hairy appearance
which he had observed upon the living Marie, his opinion might have been justly strengthened; and the
increase of positiveness might well have been in the ratio of the peculiarity, or unusualness, of the hairy mark.
If, the feet of Marie being small, those of the corpse were also small, the increase of probability that the body
was that of Marie would not be an increase in a ratio merely arithmetical, but in one highly geometrical, or
accumulative. Add to all this shoes such as she had been known to wear upon the day of her disappearance,
and, although these shoes may be 'sold in packages,' you so far augment the probability as to verge upon the
certain. What, of itself, would be no evidence of identity, becomes through its corroborative position, proof
most sure. Give us, then, flowers in the hat corresponding to those worn by the missing girl, and we seek for
nothing farther. If only one flower, we seek for nothing farther − what then if two or three, or more? Each
successive one is multiple evidence − proof not added to proof, but multiplied by hundreds or thousands. Let
us now discover, upon the deceased, garters such as the living used, and it is almost folly to proceed. But these
garters are found to be tightened, by the setting back of a clasp, in just such a manner as her own had been
tightened by Marie, shortly previous to her leaving home. It is now madness or hypocrisy to doubt. What
L'Etoile says in respect to this abbreviation of the garter's being an usual occurrence, shows nothing beyond
its own pertinacity in error. The elastic nature of the clasp−garter is self−demonstration of the unusualness of
the abbreviation. What is made to adjust itself, must of necessity require foreign adjustment but rarely. It must
have been by an accident, in its strictest sense, that these garters of Marie needed the tightening described.
They alone would have amply established her identity. But it is not that the corpse was found to have the
garters of the missing girl, or found to have her shoes, or her bonnet, or the flowers of her bonnet, or her feet,
or a peculiar mark upon the arm, or her general size and appearance − it is that the corpse had each, and all
collectively. Could it be proved that the editor of L'Etoile really entertained a doubt, under the circumstances,
there would be no need, in his case, of a commission de lunatico inquirendo. He has thought it sagacious to
echo the small talk of the lawyers, who, for the most part, content themselves with echoing the rectangular
precepts of the courts. I would here observe that very much of what is rejected as evidence by a court, is the best of evidence to the intellect. For the court, guiding itself by the general principles of evidence − the
recognized and booked principles − is averse from swerving at particular instances. And this steadfast
adherence to principle, with rigorous disregard of the conflicting exception, is a sure mode of attaining the
maximum of attainable truth, in any long sequence of time. The practice, in mass, is therefore philosophical;
but it is not the less certain that it engenders vast individual error. {*16}
"In respect to the insinuations levelled at Beauvais, you will be willing to dismiss them in a breath. You have
already fathomed the true character of this good gentleman. He is a busy−body, with much of romance and
little of wit. Any one so constituted will readily so conduct himself, upon occasion of real excitement, as to
render himself liable to suspicion on the part of the over acute, or the ill− disposed. M. Beauvais (as it appears
from your notes) had some personal interviews with the editor of L'Etoile, and offended him by venturing an
opinion that the corpse, notwithstanding the theory of the editor, was, in sober fact, that of Marie. 'He persists,'
says the paper, 'in asserting the corpse to be that of Marie, but cannot give a circumstance, in addition to those
which we have commented upon, to make others believe.' Now, without re−adverting to the fact that stronger
evidence 'to make others believe,' could never have been adduced, it may be remarked that a man may very
well be understood to believe, in a case of this kind, without the ability to advance a single reason for the
belief of a second party. Nothing is more vague than impressions of individual identity. Each man recognizes
his neighbor, yet there are few instances in which any one is prepared to give a reason for his recognition. The
editor of L'Etoile had no right to be offended at M. Beauvais' unreasoning belief.
"The suspicious circumstances which invest him, will be found to tally much better with my hypothesis of
romantic busy−bodyism, than with the reasoner's suggestion of guilt. Once adopting the more charitable
interpretation, we shall find no difficulty in
comprehending the rose in the key−hole; the 'Marie' upon the slate; the 'elbowing the male relatives out of the
way;' the 'aversion to permitting them to see the body;' the caution given to Madame B−−−−, that she must
hold no conversation with the gendarmeuntil his return (Beauvais'); and, lastly, his apparent determination
'that nobody should have anything to do with the proceedings except himself.' It seems to me unquestionable
that Beauvais was a suitor of Marie's; that she coquetted with him; and that he was ambitious of being thought
to enjoy her fullest intimacy and confidence. I shall say nothing more upon this point; and, as the evidence
fully rebuts the assertion of L'Etoile, touching the matter of apathy on the part of the mother and other
relatives − an apathy inconsistent with the supposition of their believing the corpse to be that of the
perfumery− girl − we shall now proceed as if the question of identity were settled to our perfect satisfaction."
"And what," I here demanded, "do you think of the opinions of Le Commerciel?"
"That, in spirit, they are far more worthy of attention than any which have been promulgated upon the subject.
The deductions from the premises are philosophical and acute; but the premises, in two instances, at least, are
founded in imperfect observation. Le Commerciel wishes to intimate that Marie was seized by some gang of
low ruffians not far from her mother's door. 'It is impossible,' it urges, 'that a person so well known to
thousands as this young woman was, should have passed three blocks without some one having seen her.' This
is the idea of a man long resident in Paris − a public man − and one whose walks to and fro in the city, have
been mostly limited to the vicinity of the public offices. He is aware that he seldom passes so far as a dozen
blocks from his own bureau, without being recognized and accosted. And, knowing the extent of his personal
acquaintance with others, and of others with him, he compares his notoriety with that of the perfumery−girl,
finds no great difference between them, and reaches at once the conclusion that she, in her walks, would be
equally liable to recognition with himself in his. This could only be the case were her walks of the same
unvarying, methodical character, and within the same species of limited region as are his own. He passes to
and fro, at regular intervals, within a confined periphery, abounding in individuals who are led to observation
of his person through interest in the kindred nature of his occupation with their own. But the walks of Marie
may, in general, be supposed discursive. In this particular instance, it will be understood as most probable,
that she proceeded upon a route of more than average diversity from her accustomed ones. The parallel which
we imagine to have existed in the mind of Le Commerciel would only be sustained in the event of the two
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individuals' traversing the whole city. In this case, granting the personal acquaintances to be equal, the
chances would be also equal that an equal number of personal rencounters would be made. For my own part, I
should hold it not only as possible, but as very far more than probable, that Marie might have proceeded, at
any given period, by any one of the many routes between her own residence and that of her aunt, without
meeting a single individual whom she knew, or by whom she was known. In viewing this question in its full
and proper light, we must hold steadily in mind the great disproportion between the personal acquaintances of
even the most noted individual in Paris, and the entire population of Paris itself.
"But whatever force there may still appear to be in the suggestion of Le Commerciel, will be much diminished
when we take into
consideration the hour at which the girl went abroad. 'It was when the streets were full of people,' says Le
Commerciel, 'that she went out.' But not so. It was at nine o'clock in the morning. Now at nine o'clock of
every morning in the week, with the exception of Sunday, the streets of the city are, it is true, thronged with
people. At nine on Sunday, the populace are chiefly within doors _preparing for church_. No observing
person can have failed to notice the peculiarly deserted air of the town, from about eight until ten on the
morning of every Sabbath. Between ten and eleven the streets are thronged, but not at so early a period as that
designated.
"There is another point at which there seems a deficiency of observation on the part of Le Commerciel. 'A
piece,' it says, 'of one of the unfortunate girl's petticoats, two feet long, and one foot wide, was torn out and
tied under her chin, and around the back of her head, probably to prevent screams. This was done, by fellows
who had no pocket−handkerchiefs.' Whether this idea is, or is not well founded, we will endeavor to see
hereafter; but by 'fellows who have no pocket−handkerchiefs' the editor intends the lowest class of ruffians.
These, however, are the very description of people who will always be found to have handkerchiefs even
when destitute of shirts. You must have had occasion to observe how absolutely indispensable, of late years,
to the thorough blackguard, has become the
pocket−handkerchief."
"And what are we to think," I asked, "of the article in Le Soleil?"
"That it is a vast pity its inditer was not born a parrot − in which case he would have been the most illustrious
parrot of his race. He has merely repeated the individual items of the already published opinion; collecting
them, with a laudable industry, from this paper and from that. 'The things had all evidently been there,' he
says,'at least, three or four weeks, and there can be no doubt that the spot of this appalling outrage has been
discovered.' The facts here re−stated by Le Soleil, are very far indeed from removing my own doubts upon
this subject, and we will examine them more particularly hereafter in connexion with another division of the
theme.
"At present we must occupy ourselves with other investigations You cannot fail to have remarked the extreme
laxity of the examination of the corpse. To be sure, the question of identity was readily determined, or should
have been; but there were other points to be ascertained. Had the body been in any respect despoiled? Had the
deceased any articles of jewelry about her person upon leaving home? if so, had she any when found? These
are important questions utterly untouched by the evidence; and there are others of equal moment, which have
met with no attention. We must endeavor to satisfy ourselves by personal inquiry. The case of St. Eustache
must be re−examined. I have no suspicion of this person; but let us proceed methodically. We will ascertain
beyond a doubt the validity of the affidavits in regard to his whereabouts on the Sunday. Affidavits of this
character are readily made matter of mystification. Should there be nothing wrong here, however, we will
dismiss St. Eustache from our investigations. His suicide, however corroborative of suspicion, were there
found to be deceit in the affidavits, is, without such deceit, in no respect an unaccountable circumstance, or
one which need cause us to deflect from the line of ordinary analysis.
"In that which I now propose, we will discard the interior points of this tragedy, and concentrate our attention upon its outskirts. Not the least usual error, in investigations such as this, is the limiting of inquiry to the
immediate, with total disregard of the collateral or circumstantial events. It is the mal−practice of the courts to
confine evidence and discussion to the bounds of apparent relevancy. Yet experience has shown, and a true
philosophy will always show, that a vast, perhaps the larger portion of truth, arises from the seemingly
irrelevant. It is through the spirit of this principle, if not precisely through its letter, that modern science has
resolved to calculate upon the unforeseen. But perhaps you do not comprehend me. The history of human
knowledge has so uninterruptedly shown that to collateral, or incidental, or accidental events we are indebted
for the most numerous and most valuable discoveries, that it has at length become necessary, in any
prospective view of
improvement, to make not only large, but the largest allowances for inventions that shall arise by chance, and
quite out of the range of ordinary expectation. It is no longer philosophical to base, upon what has been, a
vision of what is to be. Accident is admitted as a portion of the substructure. We make chance a matter of
absolute calculation. We subject the unlooked for and unimagined, to the mathematical formulae of the
schools.
"I repeat that it is no more than fact, that the larger portion of all truth has sprung from the collateral; and it is
but in accordance with the spirit of the principle involved in this fact, that I would divert inquiry, in the
present case, from the trodden and hitherto unfruitful ground of the event itself, to the contemporary
circumstances which surround it. While you ascertain the validity of the affidavits, I will examine the
newspapers more generally than you have as yet done. So far, we have only reconnoitred the field of
investigation; but it will be strange indeed if a comprehensive survey, such as I propose, of the public prints,
will not afford us some minute points which shall establish a direction for inquiry."
In pursuance of Dupin's suggestion, I made scrupulous examination of the affair of the affidavits. The result
was a firm conviction of their validity, and of the consequent innocence of St. Eustache. In the mean time my
friend occupied himself, with what seemed to me a minuteness altogether objectless, in a scrutiny of the
various newspaper files. At the end of a week he placed before me the following extracts:
"About three years and a half ago, a disturbance very similar to the present, was caused by the disappearance
of this same Marie Rogêt, from the parfumerie of Monsieur Le Blanc, in the Palais Royal. At the end of a
week, however, she re−appeared at her customary comptoir, as well as ever, with the exception of a slight
paleness not altogether usual. It was given out by Monsieur Le Blanc and her mother, that she had merely
been on a visit to some friend in the country; and the affair was speedily hushed up. We presume that the
present absence is a freak of the same nature, and that, at the expiration of a week, or perhaps of a month, we
shall have her among us again." − Evening Paper − Monday June 23. {*17}
"An evening journal of yesterday, refers to a former mysterious disappearance of Mademoiselle Rogêt. It is
well known that, during the week of her absence from Le Blanc's parfumerie, she was in the company of a
young naval officer, much noted for his debaucheries. A quarrel, it is supposed, providentially led to her
return home. We have the name of the Lothario in question, who is, at present, stationed in Paris, but, for
obvious reasons, forbear to make it public." − Le Mercurie − Tuesday Morning, June 24. {*18}
"An outrage of the most atrocious character was perpetrated near this city the day before yesterday. A
gentleman, with his wife and daughter, engaged, about dusk, the services of six young men, who were idly
rowing a boat to and fro near the banks of the Seine, to convey him across the river. Upon reaching the
opposite shore, the three passengers stepped out, and had proceeded so far as to be beyond the view of the
boat, when the daughter discovered that she had left in it her parasol. She returned for it, was seized by the
gang, carried out into the stream, gagged, brutally treated, and finally taken to the shore at a point not far from
that at which she had originally entered the boat with her parents. The villains have escaped for the time, but
the police are upon their trail, and some of them will soon be taken." − Morning Paper − June 25. {*19}
"We have received one or two communications, the object of which is to fasten the crime of the late atrocity
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upon Mennais; {*20} but as this gentleman has been fully exonerated by a loyal inquiry, and as the arguments
of our several correspondents appear to be more zealous than profound, we do not think it advisable to make
them public." − Morning Paper − June 28. {*21}
"We have received several forcibly written communications, apparently from various sources, and which go
far to render it a matter of certainty that the unfortunate Marie Rogêt has become a victim of one of the
numerous bands of blackguards which infest the vicinity of the city upon Sunday. Our own opinion is
decidedly in favor of this supposition. We shall endeavor to make room for some of these arguments
hereafter." − Evening Paper − Tuesday, June 31. {*22}
"On Monday, one of the bargemen connected with the revenue service, saw a empty boat floating down the
Seine. Sails were lying in the bottom of the boat. The bargeman towed it under the barge office. The next
morning it was taken from thence, without the knowledge of any of the officers. The rudder is now at the
barge office." − Le Diligence − Thursday, June 26. §
Upon reading these various extracts, they not only seemed to me irrelevant, but I could perceive no mode in
which any one of them could be brought to bear upon the matter in hand. I waited for some explanation from
Dupin.
"It is not my present design," he said, "to dwell upon the first and second of those extracts. I have copied them
chiefly to show you the extreme remissness of the police, who, as far as I can understand from the Prefect,
have not troubled themselves, in any respect, with an examination of the naval officer alluded to. Yet it is
mere folly to say that between the first and second disappearance of Marie, there is no supposable connection.
Let us admit the first elopement to have resulted in a quarrel between the lovers, and the return home of the
betrayed. We are now prepared to view a second elopement (if we know that an elopement has again taken
place) as indicating a renewal of the betrayer's advances, rather than as the result of new proposals by a
second individual − we are prepared to regard it as a 'making up' of the old amour, rather than as the
commencement of a new one. The chances are ten to one, that he who had once eloped with Marie, would
again propose an elopement, rather than that she to whom proposals of elopement had been made by one
individual, should have them made to her by another. And here let me call your attention to the fact, that the
time elapsing between the first ascertained, and the second supposed elopement, is a few months more than
the general period of the cruises of our men−of−war. Had the lover been interrupted in his first villany by the
necessity of departure to sea, and had he seized the first moment of his return to renew the base designs not
yet altogether accomplished − or not yet altogether accomplished by him? Of all these things we know
nothing.
"You will say, however, that, in the second instance, there was no elopement as imagined. Certainly not − but
are we prepared to say that there was not the frustrated design? Beyond St. Eustache, and perhaps Beauvais,
we find no recognized, no open, no honorable suitors of Marie. Of none other is there any thing said. Who,
then, is the secret lover, of whom the relatives (at least most of them) know nothing, but whom Marie meets
upon the morning of Sunday, and who is so deeply in her confidence, that she hesitates not to remain with him
until the shades of the evening descend, amid the solitary groves of the Barrière du Roule? Who is that secret
lover, I ask, of whom, at least, most of the relatives know nothing? And what means the singular prophecy of
Madame Rogêt on the morning of Marie's departure? −− 'I fear that I shall never see Marie again.'
"But if we cannot imagine Madame Rogêt privy to the design of elopement, may we not at least suppose this
design entertained by the girl? Upon quitting home, she gave it to be understood that she was about to visit her
aunt in the Rue des Drômes and St. Eustache was requested to call for her at dark. Now, at first glance, this
fact strongly militates against my suggestion; − but let us reflect. That she did meet some companion, and
proceed with him across the river, reaching the Barrière du Roule at so late an hour as three o'clock in the
afternoon, is known. But in consenting so to accompany this individual, (_for whatever purpose −− to her
mother known or unknown,_) she must have thought of her expressed intention when leaving home, and of the surprise and suspicion aroused in the bosom of her affianced suitor, St. Eustache, when, calling for her, at
the hour appointed, in the Rue des Drômes, he should find that she had not been there, and when, moreover,
upon returning to the pension with this alarming intelligence, he should become aware of her continued
absence from home. She must have thought of these things, I say. She must have foreseen the chagrin of St.
Eustache, the suspicion of all. She could not have thought of returning to brave this suspicion; but the
suspicion becomes a point of trivial importance to her, if we suppose her not intending to return.
"We may imagine her thinking thus − 'I am to meet a certain person for the purpose of elopement, or for
certain other purposes known only to myself. It is necessary that there be no chance of
interruption − there must be sufficient time given us to elude pursuit − I will give it to be understood that I
shall visit and spend the day with my aunt at the Rue des Drômes − I well tell St. Eustache not to call for me
until dark − in this way, my absence from home for the longest possible period, without causing suspicion or
anxiety, will be accounted for, and I shall gain more time than in any other manner. If I bid St. Eustache call
for me at dark, he will be sure not to call before; but, if I wholly neglect to bid him call, my time for escape
will be diminished, since it will be expected that I return the earlier, and my absence will the sooner excite
anxiety. Now, if it were my design to return at all − if I had in
contemplation merely a stroll with the individual in question − it would not be my policy to bid St. Eustache
call; for, calling, he will be sure to ascertain that I have played him false − a fact of which I might keep him
for ever in ignorance, by leaving home without notifying him of my intention, by returning before dark, and
by then stating that I had been to visit my aunt in the Rue des Drômes. But, as it is my design never to return −
or not for some weeks − or not until certain concealments are effected − the gaining of time is the only point
about which I need give myself any concern.'
"You have observed, in your notes, that the most general opinion in relation to this sad affair is, and was from
the first, that the girl had been the victim of a gang of blackguards. Now, the popular opinion, under certain
conditions, is not to be disregarded. When arising of itself −− when manifesting itself in a strictly
spontaneous manner −− we should look upon it as analogous with that intuition which is the idiosyncrasy of
the individual man of genius. In ninety−nine cases from the hundred I would abide by its decision. But it is
important that we find no palpable traces of suggestion_. The opinion must be rigorously _the public's own;
and the distinction is often exceedingly difficult to perceive and to maintain. In the present instance, it appears
to me that this 'public opinion' in respect to a gang, has been superinduced by the collateral event which is
detailed in the third of my extracts. All Paris is excited by the discovered corpse of Marie, a girl young,
beautiful and notorious. This corpse is found, bearing marks of violence, and floating in the river. But it is
now made known that, at the very period, or about the very period, in which it is supposed that the girl was
assassinated, an outrage similar in nature to that endured by the deceased, although less in extent, was
perpetuated, by a gang of young ruffians, upon the person of a second young female. Is it wonderful that the
one known atrocity should influence the popular judgment in regard to the other unknown? This judgment
awaited direction, and the known outrage seemed so opportunely to afford it! Marie, too, was found in the
river; and upon this very river was this known outrage committed. The connexion of the two events had about
it so much of the palpable, that the true wonder would have been a failure of the populace to appreciate and to
seize it. But, in fact, the one atrocity, known to be so committed, is, if any thing, evidence that the other,
committed at a time nearly coincident, was not so committed. It would have been a miracle indeed, if, while a
gang of ruffians were perpetrating, at a given locality, a most unheard−of wrong, there should have been
another similar gang, in a similar locality, in the same city, under the same circumstances, with the same
means and appliances, engaged in a wrong of precisely the same aspect, at precisely the same period of time!
Yet in what, if not in this marvellous train of coincidence, does the accidentally suggested opinion of the
populace call upon us to believe?
"Before proceeding farther, let us consider the supposed scene of the assassination, in the thicket at the
Barrière du Roule. This thicket, although dense, was in the close vicinity of a public road. Within were three
or four large stones, forming a kind of seat with a back and footstool. On the upper stone was discovered a
white petticoat; on the second, a silk scarf. A parasol, gloves, and a
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pocket−handkerchief, were also here found. The handkerchief bore the name, 'Marie Rogêt.' Fragments of
dress were seen on the branches around. The earth was trampled, the bushes were broken, and there was every
evidence of a violent struggle.
"Notwithstanding the acclamation with which the discovery of this thicket was received by the press, and the
unanimity with which it was supposed to indicate the precise scene of the outrage, it must be admitted that
there was some very good reason for doubt. That it was the scene, I may or I may not believe − but there was
excellent reason for doubt. Had the true scene been, as Le Commerciel suggested, in the neighborhood of the
Rue Pavée St. Andrée, the perpetrators of the crime, supposing them still resident in Paris, would naturally
have been stricken with terror at the public attention thus acutely directed into the proper channel; and, in
certain classes of minds, there would have arisen, at once, a sense of the necessity of some exertion to redivert
this attention. And thus, the thicket of the Barrière du Roule having been already suspected, the idea of
placing the articles where they were found, might have been naturally entertained. There is no real evidence,
although Le Soleil so supposes, that the articles discovered had been more than a very few days in the thicket;
while there is much circumstantial proof that they could not have remained there, without attracting attention,
during the twenty days elapsing between the fatal Sunday and the afternoon upon which they were found by
the boys. 'They were all mildeweddown hard,' says Le Soleil, adopting the opinions of its predecessors, 'with
the action of the rain, and stuck together from mildew. The grass had grown around and over some of them.
The silk of the parasol was strong, but the threads of it were run together within. The upper part, where it bad
been doubled and folded, was all mildewed and rotten, and tore on being opened.' In respect to the grass
having '.grown around and over some of them,' it is obvious that the fact could only have been
ascertained from the words, and thus from the recollections, of two small boys; for these boys removed the
articles and took them home before they had been seen by a third party. But grass will grow, especially in
warm and damp weather, (such as was that of the period of the murder,) as much as two or three inches in a
single day. A parasol lying upon a newly turfed ground, might, in a single week, be entirely concealed from
sight by the upspringing grass. And touching that mildew upon which the editor of Le Soleil so pertinaciously
insists, that he employs the word no less than three times in the brief paragraph just quoted, is be really
unaware of the nature of this mildew? Is he to be told that it is one of the many classes of fungus, of which the
most ordinary feature is its upspringing and decadence within twenty−four hours?
"Thus we see, at a glance, that what has been most triumphantly adduced in support of the idea that the
articles bad been 'for at least three or four weeks' in the thicket, is most absurdly null as regards any evidence
of that fact. On the other hand, it is exceedingly difficult to believe that these articles could have remained in
the thicket specified, for a longer period than a single week − for a longer period than from one Sunday to the
next. Those who know any thing of the vicinity of Paris, know the extreme difficulty of finding seclusion
unless at a great distance from its suburbs. Such a thing as an unexplored, or even an unfrequently visited
recess, amid its woods or groves, is not for a moment to be imagined. Let any one who, being at heart a lover
of nature, is yet chained by duty to the dust and heat of this great metropolis − let any such one attempt, even
during the weekdays, to slake his thirst for solitude amid the scenes of natural loveliness which immediately
surround us. At every second step, he will find the growing charm dispelled by the voice and personal
intrusion of some ruffian or party of carousing blackguards. He will seek privacy amid the densest foliage, all
in vain. Here are the very nooks where the unwashed most abound − here are the temples most desecrate.
With sickness of the heart the wanderer will flee back to the polluted Paris as to a less odious because less
incongruous sink of pollution. But if the vicinity of the city is so beset during the working days of the week,
how much more so on the Sabbath! It is now especially that, released from the claims of labor, or deprived of
the customary opportunities of crime, the town blackguard seeks the precincts of the town, not through love of
the rural, which in his heart he despises, but by way of escape from the restraints and conventionalities of
society. He desires less the fresh air and the green trees, than the utter license of the country. Here, at the
road−side inn, or beneath the foliage of the woods, he indulges, unchecked by any eye except those of his
boon companions, in all the mad excess of a counterfeit hilarity − the joint offspring of liberty and of rum. I
say nothing more than what must be obvious to every dispassionate observer, when I repeat that the
circumstance of the articles in question having remained undiscovered, for a longer period − than from one Sunday to another, in any thicket in the immediate neighborhood of Paris, is to be looked upon as little less
than miraculous.
"But there are not wanting other grounds for the suspicion that the articles were placed in the thicket with the
view of diverting attention from the real scene of the outrage. And, first, let me direct your notice to the date
of the discovery of the articles. Collate this with the date of the fifth extract made by myself from the
newspapers. You will find that the discovery followed, almost immediately, the urgent communications sent
to the evening paper. These communications, although various and apparently from various sources, tended
all to the same point − viz., the directing of attention to a gang as the perpetrators of the outrage, and to the
neighborhood of the Barrière du Roule as its scene. Now here, of course, the suspicion is not that, in
consequence of these
communications, or of the public attention by them directed, the articles were found by the boys; but the
suspicion might and may well have been, that the articles were not before found by the boys, for the reason
that the articles had not before been in the thicket; having been deposited there only at so late a period as at
the date, or shortly prior to the date of the communications by the guilty authors of these communications
themselves.
"This thicket was a singular − an exceedingly singular one. It was unusually dense. Within its naturally walled
enclosure were three extraordinary stones, forming a seat with a back and footstool. And this thicket, so full of
a natural art, was in the immediate vicinity, within a few rods, of the dwelling of Madame Deluc, whose boys
were in the habit of closely examining the shrubberies about them in search of the bark of the sassafras.
Would it be a rash wager − a wager of one thousand to one −− that a day never passed over the heads of these
boys without finding at least one of them ensconced in the umbrageous hall, and enthroned upon its natural
throne? Those who would hesitate at such a wager, have either never been boys themselves, or have forgotten
the boyish nature. I repeat −− it is exceedingly hard to comprehend how the articles could have remained in
this thicket undiscovered, for a longer period than one or two days; and that thus there is good ground for
suspicion, in spite of the dogmatic ignorance of Le Soleil, that they were, at a
comparatively late date, deposited where found.
"But there are still other and stronger reasons for believing them so deposited, than any which I have as yet
urged. And, now, let me beg your notice to the highly artificial arrangement of the articles. On the upper stone
lay a white petticoat; on the second a silk scarf; scattered around, were a parasol, gloves, and a
pocket−handkerchief bearing the name, 'Marie Rogêt.' Here is just such an arrangement as would naturally be
made by a not over−acute person wishing to dispose the articles naturally. But it is by no means a really
natural arrangement. I should rather have looked to see the things all lying on the ground and trampled under
foot. In the narrow limits of that bower, it would have been scarcely possible that the petticoat and scarf
should have retained a position upon the stones, when subjected to the brushing to and fro of many struggling
persons. 'There was evidence,' it is said, 'of a struggle; and the earth was trampled, the bushes were broken,' −
but the petticoat and the scarf are found deposited as if upon shelves. 'The pieces of the frock torn out by the
bushes were about three inches wide and six inches long. One part was the hem of the frock and it had been
mended. They looked like strips torn off.' Here, inadvertently, Le Soleil has employed an exceedingly
suspicious phrase. The pieces, as described, do indeed 'look like strips torn off;' but purposely and by hand. It
is one of the rarest of accidents that a piece is 'torn off,' from any garment such as is now in question, by the
agency of a thorn. From the very nature of such fabrics, a thorn or nail becoming entangled in them, tears
them rectangularly − divides them into two longitudinal rents, at right angles with each other, and meeting at
an apex where the thorn enters − but it is scarcely possible to conceive the piece 'torn off.' I never so knew it,
nor did you. To tear a piece off from such fabric, two distinct forces, in different directions, will be, in almost
every case, required. If there be two edges to the fabric − if, for example, it be a pocket− handkerchief, and it
is desired to tear from it a slip, then, and then only, will the one force serve the purpose. But in the present
case the question is of a dress, presenting but one edge. To tear a piece from the interior, where no edge is
presented, could only be effected by a miracle through the agency of thorns, and no one thorn could
accomplish it. But, even where an edge is presented, two thorns will be necessary, operating, the one in two
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distinct directions, and the other in one. And this in the supposition that the edge is unhemmed. If hemmed,
the matter is nearly out of the question. We thus see the numerous and great obstacles in the way of pieces
being 'torn off' through the simple agency of 'thorns;' yet we are required to believe not only that one piece but
that many have been so torn. 'And one part,' too, 'was the hem of the frock!' Another piece was 'part of the
skirt, not the hem,' − that is to say, was torn completely out through the agency of thorns, from the uncaged
interior of the dress! These, I say, are things which one may well be pardoned for disbelieving; yet, taken
collectedly, they form, perhaps, less of reasonable ground for suspicion, than the one startling circumstance of
the articles' having been left in this thicket at all, by any murderers who had enough precaution to think of
removing the corpse. You will not have apprehended me rightly, however, if you suppose it my design to
deny this thicket as the scene of the outrage. There might have been a wrong here, or, more possibly, an
accident at Madame Deluc's. But, in fact, this is a point of minor importance. We are not engaged in an
attempt to discover the scene, but to produce the perpetrators of the murder. What I have adduced,
notwithstanding the minuteness with which I have adduced it, has been with the view, first, to show the folly
of the positive and headlong assertions of Le Soleil, but secondly and chiefly, to bring you, by the most
natural route, to a further contemplation of the doubt whether this assassination has, or has not been, the work
of a gang.
"We will resume this question by mere allusion to the revolting details of the surgeon examined at the inquest.
It is only necessary to say that is published inferences, in regard to the number of ruffians, have been properly
ridiculed as unjust and totally baseless, by all the reputable anatomists of Paris. Not that the matter might not
have been as inferred, but that there was no ground for the inference: − was there not much for another?
"Let us reflect now upon 'the traces of a struggle;' and let me ask what these traces have been supposed to
demonstrate. A gang. But do they not rather demonstrate the absence of a gang? What struggle could have
taken place − what struggle so violent and so enduring as to have left its 'traces' in all directions − between a
weak and defenceless girl and the gang of ruffians imagined? The silent grasp of a few rough arms and all
would have been over. The victim must have been absolutely passive at their will. You will here bear in mind
that the arguments urged against the thicket as the scene, are applicable in chief part, only against it as the
scene of an outrage committed by more than a single individual. If we imagine but one violator, we can
conceive, and thus only conceive, the struggle of so violent and so obstinate a nature as to have left the 'traces'
apparent.
"And again. I have already mentioned the suspicion to be excited by the fact that the articles in question were
suffered to remain at all in the thicket where discovered. It seems almost impossible that these evidences of
guilt should have been accidentally left where found. There was sufficient presence of mind (it is supposed) to
remove the corpse; and yet a more positive evidence than the corpse itself (whose features might have been
quickly obliterated by decay,) is allowed to lie conspicuously in the scene of the outrage − I allude to the
handkerchief with the name of the deceased. If this was accident, it was not the accident of a gang. We can
imagine it only the accident of an individual. Let us see. An individual has committed the murder. He is alone
with the ghost of the departed. He is appalled by what lies motionless before him. The fury of his passion is
over, and there is abundant room in his heart for the natural awe of the deed. His is none of that confidence
which the presence of numbers inevitably inspires. He is alone with the dead. He trembles and is bewildered.
Yet there is a necessity for disposing of the corpse. He bears it to the river, but leaves behind him the other
evidences of guilt; for it is difficult, if not impossible to carry all the burthen at once, and it will be easy to
return for what is left. But in his toilsome journey to the water his fears redouble within him. The sounds of
life encompass his path. A dozen times he hears or fancies the step of an observer. Even the very lights from
the city bewilder him. Yet, in time and by long and frequent pauses of deep agony, he reaches the river's
brink, and disposes of his ghastly charge − perhaps through the medium of a boat. But now what treasure does
the world hold − what threat of vengeance could it hold out − which would have power to urge the return of
that lonely murderer over that toilsome and perilous path, to the thicket and its blood chilling recollections?
He returns not, let the consequences be what they may. He could not return if he would. His sole thought is
immediate escape. He turns his back forever upon those dreadful shrubberies and flees as from the wrath to come.