Japhet, In Search Of A Father Part 1 by Frederick Marryat (read people like a book .TXT) 📕

Puritanical-Looking Maid,  Shutting The Door Upon Me. In a Few Minutes,

During Which My Pulse Beat Quick (For I Could Not But Expect Some

Disclosure; Whether It Was To Be One Of Love Or Murder,  I Hardly Knew

Which),  Miss Aramathea Judd,  For Such Was Her Christian Name,  Made Her

Appearance,  And Sitting Down On The Sofa,  Requested Me To Take A Seat By

Her.

"Mr Newland," Said She,  "I Wish To--And I Think I Can Entrust You With A

Secret Most Important To Me. Why I Am Obliged To Do It,  You Will

Perfectly Comprehend When You Have Heard My Story. Tell Me,  Are You

Attached To Me?"

This Was A Home Question To A Forward Lad Of Sixteen. I Took Her By The

Hand,  And When I Looked Down On It,  I Felt As If I Was. I Looked Up Into

Her Face,  And Felt That I Was Not. And,  As I Now Was Close To Her,  I

Perceived That She Must Have Some Aromatic Drug In Her Mouth,  As It

Smelt Strongly--This Gave Me The Supposition That The Breath Which Drew

Such Melodious Tones,  Was Not Equally Sweet,  And I Felt A Certain

Increased Degree Of Disgust.

"I Am Very Grateful,  Miss Judd," Replied I; "I Hope I Shall Prove That I

Am Attached When You Confide In Me."

"Swear Then,  By All That'S Sacred,  You Will Not Reveal What I Do

Confide."

"By All That'S Sacred I Will Not," Replied I,  Kissing Her Hand With More

Fervour Than I Expected From Myself.

"Do Me Then The Favour To Excuse Me One Minute."

She Left The Room,  And In a Very Short Time,  There Returned,  In The Same

Dress,  And,  In every Other Point The Same Person,  But With A Young And

Lively Face Of Not More,  Apparently,  Than Twenty-Two Or Twenty-Three

Years Old. I Started As If I Had Seen An Apparation. "Yes," Said She,

Smiling,  "You Now See Aramathea Judd Without Disguise; And You Are The

First Who Has Seen That Face For More Than Two Years. Before I Proceed

Further,  Again I Say,  May I Trust You--Swear!"

"I Do Swear," Replied I,  And Took Her Hand For The Book,  Which This Time

I Kissed With Pleasure,  Over And Over Again. Like A Young Jackass As I

Was,  I Still Retained Her Hand,  Throwing As Much Persuasion As I

Possibly Could In My Eyes. In Fact,  I Did Enough To Have Softened The

Hearts Of Three Bonnet-Makers. I Began To Feel Most Dreadfully In Love,

And Thought Of Marriage,  And Making My Fortune,  And I Don'T Know What;

But All This Was Put An End To By One Simple Short Sentence,  Delivered

In A Very Decided But Soft Voice,  "Japhet,  Don'T Be Silly."

I Was Crushed,  And All My Hopes Crushed With Me. I Dropped Her Hand,  And

Sat Like A Fool.

"And Now Hear Me. I Am,  As You Must Have Already Found Out,  An Impostor;

That Is,  I Am What Is Called A Religious Adventuress--A New Term,  I

Grant,  And Perhaps Only Applicable To A Very Few. My Aunt Was

Considered,  By A Certain Sect,  To Be A Great Prophetess,  Which I Hardly

Need Tell You,  Was All Nonsense; Nevertheless,  There Are Hundreds Who

Believed In Her,  And Do So Now. Brought Up With My Aunt,  I Soon Found

Out What Fools And Dupes May Be Made Of Mankind By Taking Advantage Of

Their Credulity. She Had Her Religious Inspirations,  Her Trances,  And

Her Convulsions,  And I Was Always Behind The Scenes: She Confided In Me,

And I May Say That I Was Her Only Confidant. You Cannot,  Therefore,

Wonder At My Practising That Deceit To Which I Have Been Brought Up From

Almost My Infancy. In Person I Am The Exact Counterpart Of What My Aunt

Was At My Age,  Equally So In Figure,  Although My Figure Is Now Disguised

To Resemble That Of A Woman Of Her Age. I Often Had Dressed Myself In My

Aunt'S Clothes,  Put On Her Cap And Front,  And Then The Resemblance Was

Very Striking. My Aunt Fell Sick And Died,  But She Promised The

Disciples That She Would Re-Appear To Them,  And They Believed Her. I Did

Not. She Was Buried,  And By Many Her Return Was Anxiously Expected. It

Occurred To Me About A Week Afterwards That I Might Contrive To Deceive

Them. I Dressed In My Aunt'S Clothes,  I Painted And Disguised My Face As

You Have Seen,  And The Deception Was Complete,  Even To Myself,  As I

Surveyed My Countenance In The Glass. I Boldly Set Off In The Evening To

The Tabernacle,  Which I Knew They Still Frequented--Came Into The Midst

Of Them,  And They Fell Down And Worshipped Me As A Prophetess Risen From

The Dead; Deceived,  Indeed,  By My Appearance,  But Still More Deceived

By Their Own Credulity. For Two Years I Have Been Omnipotent With Them;

But There Is One Difficulty Which Shakes The Faith Of The New Converts,

And New Converts I Must Have,  Japhet,  As The Old Ones Die,  Or I Should

Not Be Able To Fee My Physician. It Is This: By Habit I Can Almost Throw

Myself Into A Stupor Or A Convulsion,  But To Do That Effectually,  To Be

Able To Carry On The Deception For So Long A Time,  And To Undergo The

Severe Fatigue Attending Such Violent Exertion,  It Is Necessary That I

Have Recourse To Stimulants--Do You Understand?"

"I Do," Replied I; "I Have More Than Once Thought You Under The

Influence Of Them Towards The Evening. I'M Afraid That You Take More

Than Is Good For Your Health."

"Not More Than I Require For What I Have To Undergo To Keep Up The Faith

Of My Disciples; But There Are Many Who Waver,  Some Who Doubt,  And I

Find That My Movements Are Watched. I Cannot Trust The Woman In This

House. I Think She Is A Spy Set Upon Me,  But I Cannot Remove Her,  As

This House,  And All Which It Contains,  Are Not Mine,  But Belong To The

Disciples In General. There Is Another Woman,  Not Far Off,  Who Is My

Rival; She Calls Me An Impostor,  And Says That She Is The True

Prophetess,  And That I Am Not One. This Will Be Rather Difficult For Her

To Prove," Continued She,  With A Mocking Smile. "Beset As I Am,  I

Require Your Assistance,  For You Must Be Aware That It Is Rather

Discreditable To A Prophetess,  Who Has Risen From The Dead,  To Be Seen

All Day At The Gin-Shop,  Yet Without Stimulants Now,  I Could Not Exist."

"And How Can I Assist You?"

"By Sending Me,  As Medicine,  That Which I Dare No Longer Procure In any

Other Way,  And Keeping The Secret Which I Have Imparted."

"I Will Do Both With Pleasure; But Yet," Said I,  "Is It Not A Pity,  A

Thousand Pities,  That One So Young--And If You Will Allow Me To Add,  So

Lovely,  Should Give Herself Up To Ardent Spirits? Why," Continued I,

Taking Her Small White Hand,  "Why Should You Carry On The Deception;

Why Sacrifice Your Health,  And I May Say Your Happiness--" What More I

Might Have Said I Know Not,  Probably It Might Have Been An Offer Of

Marriage,  But She Cut Me Short.

"Why Does Everybody Sacrifice Their Health,  Their Happiness,  Their All,

But For Ambition And The Love Of Power? It Is True,  As Long As This

Little Beauty Lasts,  I Might Be Courted As A Woman,  But Never Should I

Be Worshipped As--I May Say--A God.--No,  No,  There Is Something Too

Delightful In That Adoration,  Something Too Pleasant In Witnessing A

Crowd Of Fools Stare,  And Men Of Three Times My Age,  Falling Down And

Kissing The Hem Of My Garment. This Is,  Indeed,  Adoration! The Delight

Arising From It Is So Great,  That All Other Passions Are Crushed By

It--It Absorbs All Other Feelings,  And Has Closed My Heart Even Against

Love,  Japhet. I Could Not,  I Would Not Debase Myself,  Sink So Low In My

Own Estimation,  As To Allow So Paltry A Passion To Have Dominion Over

Me; And,  Indeed,  Now That I Am So Wedded To Stimulants,  Even If I Were

No Longer A Prophetess,  It Never Could."

"But Is Not Intoxication One Of The Most Debasing Of All Habits?"

"I Grant You,  In Itself,  But With Me And In My Situation It Is

Different. I Fall To Rise Again,  And Higher. I Cannot Be What I Am

Without I Simulate--I Cannot Simulate Without Stimulants,  Therefore It

Is But A Means To A Great And Glorious Ambition."

I Had More Conversation With Her Before I Left,  But Nothing Appeared To

Move Her Resolution,  And I Left Her Lamenting,  In The First Place,  That

She Had Abjured Love,  Because,  Notwithstanding The Orris Root,  Which She

Kept In Her Mouth To Take Away The Smell Of The Spirits,  I Found Myself

Very Much Taken With Such Beauty Of Person,  Combined With So Much Vigour

Of Mind; And In The Second,  That One So Young Should Carry On A System

Of Deceit And Self-Destruction. When I Rose To Go Away She Put Five

Guineas In My Hand,  To Enable Me To Purchase What She Required. "Add To

This One Small Favour," Said I,  "Aramathea--Allow Me A Kiss."

"A Kiss," Replied She,  With Scorn; "No,  Japhet,  Look Upon Me,  For It Is

The Last Time You Will Behold My Youth; Look Upon Me As A Sepulchre,

Fair Without But Unsavoury And Rottenness Within. Let Me Do You A

Greater Kindness,  Let Me Awaken Your Dormant Energies,  And Plant That

Ambition In Your Soul,  Which May Lead To All That Is Great And Good--A

Better Path And More Worthy Of A Man Than The One Which I Have Partly

Chosen,  And Partly Destiny Has Decided For Me. Look Upon Me As Your

Friend; Although Perhaps,  You Truly Say,  No Friend Unto Myself.

Farewell--Remember That To-Morrow You Will Send The Medicine Which I

Require."

I Left Her,  And Returned Home: It Was Late. I Went To Bed,  And Having

Disclosed As Much To Timothy As I Could Safely Venture To Do,  I Fell

Fast Asleep,  But Her Figure And Her Voice Haunted Me In My Dreams. At

One Time,  She Appeared Before Me In Her Painted,  Enamelled Face,  And

Then The Mask Fell Off,  And I Fell At Her Feet To Worship Her Extreme

Beauty; Then Her Beauty Would Vanish,  And She Would Appear