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Page 95
"I shall tell you more when we know more," concluded Sir Walter.
"But at present it looks as though your prophecy were correct, and
that science is not going to get at the bottom of the horrible
secret easily. Dr. Mannering says that the properties of the
elements have yet to be fully determined, while the subject of
alloys was never suspected of containing such secrets as may prove
to be the case. If more there is to learn, you shall learn it."
In his reply, Signor Mannetti declared that the Borgia bed continued
to be a source of extreme satisfaction and comfort to him.
"As yet no vision has broken my slumbers, but I continue to hope
that the Oriental features of Sultan Bajazet's brother may
presently revisit the place of his taking off, and that Prince
Djem will some night afford me the pleasure of a conversation.
How much might we tell each other that neither of us knows!
"As to the wire, my friend, I will explain to you how that was
probably created and, right or wrong, there is nobody on this
earth at present who can prove my theory to be mistaken. Be sure
that a medieval alchemist, searching in vain for elixir vitae, or
the philosopher's stone, chanced upon this infernal synthesis and
fusion. For him, no doubt, it proved a philosopher's stone in
earnest, for the Borgia always extended a generous hand to those
who could assist their damnable activities. Transmutation--so a
skilled friend assures me--is now proved to be a fact, and
another generation will be able perhaps to make gold, if the
desire for that accursed mineral continues much longer to dominate
mankind.
"Farewell for the present. Again to see you and your daughter is
one of those pleasures lying in wait for me, to make next winter
a season of gladness rather than dismay. But do not change your
minds. One must keep faith with a man of eighty, or risk the
possibilities of remorse."
End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Grey Room, by Eden Phillpotts
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