第41章

“Therewastoopowerfulastimulus。”saidAylmerthoughtfully。

Tomakeupforthisabortiveexperiment，heproposedtotakeher

portraitbyascientificprocessofhisowninvention。Itwastobe

effectedbyraysoflightstrikinguponapolishedplateofmetal。

Georgianaassented-but，onlookingattheresult，wasaffrightedto

findthefeaturesoftheportraitblurredandindefinable；whilethe

minutefigureofahandappearedwherethecheekshouldhavebeen。

Aylmersnatchedthemetallicplate，andthrewitintoajarof

corrosiveacid。

Soon，however，heforgotthesemortifyingfailures。Inthe

intervalsofstudyandchemicalexperiment，hecametoher，flushed

andexhausted，butseemedinvigoratedbyherpresence，andspokein

glowinglanguageoftheresourcesofhisart。Hegaveahistoryofthe

longdynastyoftheAlchemists，whospentsomanyagesinquestofthe

universalsolvent，bywhichtheGoldenPrinciplemightbeelicited

fromallthingsvileandbase。Aylmerappearedtobelieve，that，by

theplainestscientificlogic，itwasaltogetherwithinthelimits

ofpossibilitytodiscoverthislong-soughtmedium；but，headded，a

philosopherwhoshouldgodeepenoughtoacquirethepower，would

attaintooloftyawisdomtostooptotheexerciseofit。Notless

singularwerehisopinionsinregardtotheElixirVitae。Hemorethan

intimated，thatitwasathisoptiontoconcoctaliquidthatshould

prolonglifeforyears-perhapsinterminably-butthatitwould

produceadiscordinnature，whichalltheworld，andchieflythe

quafferoftheimmortalnostrum，wouldfindcausetocurse。

“Aylmer，areyouinearnest？”askedGeorgiana，lookingathim

withamazementandfear；“itisterribletopossesssuchpower，or

eventodreamofpossessingit。

“Oh，donottremble，mylove！”saidherhusband，“Iwouldnotwrong

eitheryouormyself，byworkingsuchinharmoniouseffectsuponour

lives。ButIwouldhaveyouconsiderhowtrifling，incomparison，is

theskillrequisitetoremovethislittleHand。”

Atthementionofthebirthmark，Georgiana，asusual，shrank，asif

ared-hotironhadtouchedhercheek。

AgainAylmerappliedhimselftohislabors。Shecouldhearhis

voiceinthedistantfurnace-room，givingdirectionstoAminadab，

whoseharsh，uncouth，mis-shapentoneswereaudibleinresponse，

morelikethegruntorgrowlofabrutethanhumanspeech。Afterhours

ofabsence，Aylmerreappeared，andproposedthatsheshouldnow

examinehiscabinetofchemicalproducts，andnaturaltreasuresofthe

earth。Amongtheformerheshowedherasmallvial，inwhich，he

remarked，wascontainedagentleyetmostpowerfulfragrance，

capableofimpregnatingallthebreezesthatblowacrossakingdom。

Theywereofinestimablevalue，thecontentsofthatlittlevial；and，

ashesaidso，hethrewsomeoftheperfumeintotheair，andfilled

theroomwithpiercingandinvigoratingdelight。

“Andwhatisthis？”askedGeorgiana，pointingtoasmallcrystal

globe，containingagold-coloredliquid。“Itissobeautifultothe

eye，thatIcouldimagineittheElixirofLife。”

“Inonesenseitis。”repliedAylmer，“orrathertheElixirof

Immortality。Itisthemostpreciouspoisonthateverwasconcoctedin

thisworld。Byitsaid，Icouldapportionthelife-timeofany

mortalatwhomyoumightpointyourfinger。Thestrengthofthedose

woulddeterminewhetherheweretolingeroutyears，ordropdeadin

themidstofabreath。Noking，onhisguardedthrone，couldkeep

hislife，ifI，inmyprivatestation，shoulddeemthatthewelfareof

millionsjustifiedmeindeprivinghimofit。”

“Whydoyoukeepsuchaterrificdrug？”inquiredGeorgianain

horror。

“Donotmistrustme，dearest！”saidherhusband，smiling；“its

virtuouspotencyisyetgreatertha