Evil Personified

Closer and closer they gathered―a moving mass of evil personified.

As Spirit Franchezzo stood watching the crowd, his attention was drawn to a group of spirits who were pointing over at him. 

Faithful Friend left Spirit Franchezzo to speak with them alone, for they might recognise Spirit Franchezzo as having been there before.

As Faithful Friend moved away, the dark spirits drew near to Spirit Franchezzo with every gesture of friendliness.  

Spirit Franchezzo responded with politeness, though he felt the most violent repugnance to their company―they were repulsive-looking, horrible in their wicked, leering ugliness.

One touched Spirit Franchezzo on the shoulder.  

As Spirit Franchezzo turned to him, with a dim sense of having seen him before, the spirit laughed a wild horrid laugh, and cried out―

I hail thee, friend, who I see dost not so well remember me as I do thee, though it was upon the earth-plane we met before. 

I, as well as others, then sought hard to be of service to thee, only thou wouldst have none of our help, and played us, methinks, but a scurvy trick instead. 

None the less for this, we, who are as lambs, didst thou but know us, have forgiven thee.

Another also drew near to Spirit Franchezzo, leering with a smile perfectly diabolical and said―

So ho! You are here after all, friend, in this nice land with us. 

Then surely you must have done something to merit the distinction? 

Say whom you have killed―or caused to be killed, for none are here who cannot claim at least one slain by them, while many of us can boast of a procession as long as the ghosts that appeared to Macbeth, and others again―our more distinguished citizens―count their slain by hundreds. 

Did you kill that one after all?―ha! ha! ha!

And he broke into such a wild horrible peal of laughter that Spirit Franchezzo turned to fly from them, for, like a flash, the memory of that time when he, too, could have been almost a murderer came across his mind and he recognised in these horrible beings those who had surrounded him and counselled him how to fulfil his desire―how to wreak his vengeance. 

Spirit Franchezzo recoiled from them, but they had no thought to let him go.  

He was here―drawn down, as they hoped, at last, and they sought to keep him with them that he might afford them some sport and they might avenge themselves on him for their former defeat.

Spirit Franchezzo read this thought in their minds, though outwardly they were crowding around him with every protestation of hearty friendliness.  

For a moment, he was at a loss what to do.  

Then he resolved to go with them and see what they intended, watching at the same time for the first opportunity to free himself from them.  

He suffered them to take him by an arm each, and they proceeded towards a large house on one side of the square, which they said was theirs and where they would have the pleasure of introducing him to their friends. 

Faithful Friend passed close to them, and looking at Spirit Franchezzo impressed the warning―

Consent to go, but beware of entering into any of their enjoyments―or allowing your mind to be dragged down to their level.

They entered and passed up a wide staircase of greyish stone, which like all things here bore the marks and stains of shame and crime.  

The broad steps were broken and imperfect, with holes here and there large enough―some of them―to let a man through into the black dungeon-like depths beneath.  

As they passed up, he felt one of them give him a sly push just as they were stepping over one of these, and had he not been watching for some such trick, he might have been tripped up and pushed in.  

As it was, he simply drew aside and his too officious companion narrowly escaped tumbling in himself, at which the rest all laughed and he scowled savagely at Spirit Franchezzo.  

Spirit Franchezzo recognised him just then as the one whose hand had shrivelled in the silver ring of fire drawn around his beloved on the occasion when her love had drawn him to her and saved him from yielding to these dark fiends.  

This spirit held  his hand carefully hidden under his black cloak, yet Spirit Franchezzo could see through it, and he saw the shrivelled hand and arm, and knew that he might indeed beware of its owner.

At the top of the staircase, they passed into a large magnificent room, lighted up by a glare of fire, and hung around with dark draperies, which were  in perfect rags and tatters, and all splashed with crimson stains of wet blood, as though this had been the scene of not one, but many, murders. 

Around the rooms were placed ghostly phantoms of ancient furniture―ragged, dirty and defaced, yet retaining in them a semblance to an earthly apartment of great pretensions to splendour. 

This room was filled with the spirits of men and women. 

The women had lost all that could ever have given them any claim to the charms and privileges of their sex. 

They were worse to look on than the most degraded bedraggled specimens to be seen in any earthly slum at night. 

Only in Hell could women sink to such an awful degradation.  

The men were as bad―or even worse, and words utterly failed him to describe them.  

They were eating, drinking, shouting, dancing, playing cards and quarrelling over them―going on in such a way as the worst and lowest scenes of earthly dissipation could but faintly picture.

Spirit Franchezzo could see a faint reflection of the earthly-lives of each, and knew each alike had been guilty, not only of shameless lives, but also of murder from one motive or another. 

On his left was one who had been a Duchess in the days of the sixteenth century, and he saw that in her history she had from jealousy and cupidity poisoned no less than six persons. 

Beside her was a man who had belonged to the same era and had caused several persons obnoxious to him to be assassinated by his bravoes, and had slain another with his own hand in a treacherous manner during a quarrel.

Another woman had killed her illegitimate child because it stood between her and wealth and position. 

She had not been many years in this place and seemed more overcome by shame and remorse than any of the others, so Spirit Franchezzo resolved to get near to and speak to her.

The horror of such a fate!

Can anyone hear of it and not shudder to think what the bitter weariness and discontent of life and a reckless desire to be free of it at any cost may plunge the soul into.

If those on earth would be truly merciful to the suicide they would cremate his body―not bury it―that the soul may―by the speedy dispersal of the particles―be the sooner freed from such a prison.

The soul of a suicide is not ready to leave the body―

It is like an unripe fruit and does not fall readily from the material tree, which is nourishing it.

A great shock has cast it forth, but it still remains attached until the sustaining link should wither away.

―Spirit Franchezzo

I am the Truth.

Spirit Franchezzo is speculating what his next adventure will be when a couple of spirit-lives hurry to him.  

They ask if he is not a member of the Brotherhood of Hope since―if so―they have a message for him from a dearly loved friend on earth, and one of his guides has sent them to deliver it.  

At first, Spirit Franchezzo was very pleased as he thought it was his darling, and that they were sent from her, since they did not have the appearance of most of the dark spirits around. 

Their robes shone with a peculiar blue grey light that was almost like a mist clothing them and Spirit Franchezzo had some trouble to make out their faces.  

When he did so, he could not help starting, and a feeling of distrust crept over him, for the flickering veil of grey blue gauze that interposed between them became so thin that he could see a couple of most repulsive dark spirits under it. 

Faithful Friend quietly pressed his arm as a warning. 

Spirit Franchezzo addressed them with caution and asked what was their message.

In the name of the Prophet, began one, we are to tell you that your love is very ill and prays that you return to earth to see her without delay, lest her spirit will have passed before you arrive to the realms where you cannot follow her.  

We are to show you the way to reach her quickly.

How long, he asked eagerly, is it since you left her?

Not two days, was the reply, and we are to bring you immediately. 

Your Eastern guide is with her and has sent us specially.

Then Spirit Franchezzo knew they were lying, for his Eastern guide had just left them and he had said no word of his beloved being ill.  

But he temporised with them, and said―

Give me the secret sign of our brotherhood since unless you do so, I am unable to go with you.

The veil of gauzy mist was fast fading from them and he could see their dark forms growing more distinct beneath.  

Spirit Franchezzo did not, however, show them that he saw this. 

They did not answer immediately, but were whispering to each other. 

Spirit Franchezzo continued―

If our guide has sent you, you will surely give me the countersign of our order?

Surely yes. Certainly I can. Here it is―Hope is Eternal―and he smiled with an air of great frankness.

Good, said Spirit Franchezzo, go on―finish it.

Finish it! Is there more you want? and he stood puzzled.

The other nudged him and whispered something―

Hope is Eternal and Truth is ―and Truth is―ha―hum―what, amico?

Inevitable, said the other.

Spirit Franchezzo smiled most blandly on them both―

You are so clever, friends―no doubt you can now give me the symbol?

Symbol? Diavolo! There was no symbol we were to give.

Was there not?  said Spirit Franchezzo.  

Then I must be the one to give it to you.

They both raised their arms to make a grab at him. 

Spirit Franchezzo saw one had a withered hand and he knew directly to whom he was indebted for this little plot. 

As they rush at him, he stepped back and made the sign of the sacred symbol of Truth in all ages and all worlds.

At this they cowered down on the ground as though he had struck them and rendered them unconscious. 

They left them there to ruminate at their leisure.

Spirit Franchezzo asked Faithful Friend as they moved away what he thought they would do now.

In a short time, he said, they will recover.  

You have given them a shock, and for the moment stunned them, but they will be up after us again before long with some fresh devilment they will have hatched.  

If you had gone with them they would have led you into the morass beyond and left you to wander about half-choked if they did you no more serious harm. 

You must always remember that they have great power in their own sphere if you give yourself up to their guidance in any sense.