Hie Fetish of the Waxworks
i i •
REMARKABLE achievements of Ivan Brodsky,
physician, whose investigations into psychic
phenomena enabled him to cure spirituul diseases and
to exorcise evil spirits from the bodies of their victims.
1 I
A A By 11. M. EGBERT A A
\
iCopyrijcht. IWJ. to W. O. Chapman.j (Copyright In Great Britain.)
\UL UIIPUY, Frenchman 1
| and patriot, more Yankee
Tj W than the native born, j
since he took out naturali
zation papers, wears the
British flag in his button
hole on Independence day.
A story hangs upon i
tvJl-J this, the story of a dead i
hero to whom the pres
ence or Paul became an outrage and i
abomination. And it was Brodsky who
saved Paul from his post-mortem ven
geance. „
A story hangs upon this, the story
of a dead hero to whom the presence
of Paul became an outrage p.nd abom
ination. And it was Brodsky who
saved Paul from his post-mortem ven
geance.
The psychical investigations of Dr.
Ivan Brodsky, and the marvelous re
sults which he had obtained in his
warfare against the hosts of evil,
some of which I have previously re
counted. had by this time made him
known to a large circle of those to
whom such things as spiritual pos- i
session are facts rather than theories.
In hospitals, in prisons, wherever we
find pain and sin congregated, occult
manifestations are a commonplace of
existence, though fear of ridicule dei
bars the inmates from making any
mention of them. It was in such in
stitutions that Brodslcy's reputation
spread broadcast. But there are pris
ons for the dead as well as the living,
as I shall show.
Neither Brodsky nor I was greatly
surprised when a visitor entered his
study one evening and implored his
aid in the unraveling of a mystery
which had, he was convinced, a su
pernatural explanation. "At least, I ,
can't help thinking so myself, sir,"
said the man, speaking fluently, but
with a slight foreign accent. "Al
thonugh I am not a believer in such
things myself." i
Prodsky's brows clouded; that was
the stock phrase that he detested.
"If you do not believe in such
things, how dare you make the sug
gestion that they exist?" he cried.
"Bo honest with yourself and with
ni". man, or go elsewhere. Do you
believe in them or do you not?"
"Yes, sir, I do," replied our visitor.
"But when one makes such an admis
sion one is ridiculed —it's hard —"
"Humph!" grunted the doctor. "Go
ahead with your story."
Tl'.e visitor sat down and fingered j
his hat nervously. He was apparently j
n man of the laboring class, to Judge 1
from his appearance; yet he showed !
signs of intelligence superior to that j
of most of his kind. I could account j
for his mental disturbance only when |
ho had finished his story.
"I'm a Frenchman by birth, sir," he ;
b> grin, "and I've been seven years In j
this country. I'm a naturalized citizen i
and proud of my adopted country. I
learned my trade in Paris; it's a
queer trade, and there's not many
throughout the whole world follows it,
an that it pays well, especially as it
(requires a certain amount of artistic
ability, though less than you would
•oppose. 1 am a maker of wax figures
for the Waxworks theater on Fifth
■tri et. You may not know the place,
gentlemen, for people seem somehow
to huve lost interest in that form of
entertainment. though it used to be '
the craze in years gone bv. My task :
Is to model life-size wax figures of all
people of prominence. We've got the
famous murderers, of course, and the
presidents, and the heme of the rev
olution, and all the fuinous kings and ,
<pu ens of England, the great soldiers '
ami sailors Wellington, Napoleon, j
Kelt, on "
"Faugh!" sairl the doctor. "I.et the
dead rest in their grave* Don't you
know thut every time you set up an
A 112
fIF
I j
li */«*'»
tr'tit/'/ t, /• ./<IW
/»*•»
In » (e of Ihe d«ad you form a focus In ,
which all that remains or bis per
ft' ' ii,'
4«A»Ml«N<litietti HK5.11,.,1 making rep ,
Ilea* of lilt iii moil*- which would
hn.<" im I title.l v.#*, my friend. had
figure* be.it known «ibt
*l, and HUMt spiritual at all Do
air." i.atd our v Utter, "a« I
»■ I in ci.mtai.ily m *„rk faah I
MM be |tr.j|ifls'.or Wo didn't have
any of naval officers up to a few
weeks ago. Then came Dewey's vic
tory over the Spaniards and naval
men became the rage. Mr. Margotson
is always looking out for something
new, so he says to me, 'Dupuy, let's
have a few statues of naval officers of
history. Do you remember any?'
'Sure!' said I, 'there's Vilieneuve and
St. Page and —' 'Quit talking French,'
said Mr. Margotson. 'What about
John Paul Jones and Nelson?' So I
set to work and made replicas of
them. The one of Jones was fair, but
the Nelson statue was first-rate. 1 did
it ali from his portraits, and there he
stands in the gallery with one arm
and one eye, and everybody who
comes in recognizes him at once. And
that brings me to the point."
"Ah, you've had trouble with Nel
son?" cried Brodsky.
"Moil dieti!" said Dupuy, lapsing
into his native tongue as he wiped his
forehead, "he's trying to murder me."
The man broke off and eyed us fur
tively. I had long learned to keep
guard over my face, but incredulity
was in my. heart. As for the doctor,
he said nothing, and the man contin
ued :
"It must have been a week ago that
the first thing happened. I was adjust
ing the scabbard of his sword —we use
real swords in our scabbards —and the
point flew through and went right into
my wrist —just missed a large artery.
Look!"
He held his hand up for our inspec
tion. There was a ragged cut, half
healed, along the base of the hand.
"And I'll sweat that the figure
pushed the sword through the scab
bard —pushed it violently, for it cut
clear through the leather. But I didn't
catch on just then. Then, four days
afterward, as I was passing it, the
thing flew from its pedestal and keeled
me over. My head just missed the iron
radiator by two inches. And I tell you,
it didn't fall, it fairly threw itself at
me."
"What does Mr. Margotson say to
that? asked Brodsky.
"He laughs," answered Dupuy. "I
asked him to let me melt It up to-day,
but he refused. But there's worse to
come. Yesterday, when 1 was passing
by, I felt all at once the most peculiar
sensation of sleepiness come over me.
1 remember stopping and passing my
hand ove; - my forehead; an instant
later my wife's voice seemed to ring
in my ears. 'Paul, wake up for God's
sake!' she cried. I opened my eyes
and I was standing in front of the wax
figure, with the naked sword in my
hand, pointing at my heart. And yet
I have no memory of it all. But when
1 looked up the face was leering at
me."
"A figure of wax—" I began incredu
lously.
Then the man shot his final bolt,
which he had kept In reserve, with
all the dramatic power of his race.
"It isn't wax!" he screamed, and fell
to shaking from head to foot.
What? I cried.
"It's turning into flesh and blood,
sir'"
"What does Margotson say to that?"
"He laughs at me. 1 don't know
what to do. I've half a mind to melt It
and let Margotson discharge me; and
yet I have my wife to think of, and
there's no demand for such men as me,
the business having fallen off so. And
If I stay there, one day the thing will
kill me."
"Enough," said Brodsky. We'll go
there at once. Can we get In?"
"I have the key," answered the
Frenchman, putting on his hat.
We three left the house together
We caught a car on the main road,
which ran past us one block away, and,
half an hour later, stepped out at the
entrance to the waxworks theater,
which steal in what was now the
heart of the b.illness section of the
city, timl Mas, In consequence, almost
completely deserted at this hour of the
evening. Our companion pulled out
a key and opened a aide door. We
went up into a great hall, round which
were ranked statue* of celebrities, lite
>lze figures of strikingly human as
peel
And yet, uitisud Brodsky, stopping
to regard a group of cleverly arranged
heroes of our civil war. "the men who
.•re. i these think they have nothing
more than tho external sheila How
ignorant th«y are ,»f the psychic quail
ties of their actious' Indeed, what do
th«y dreaiu of anything beyond the
material' Y»t this gallery is almost
a breeding ground of souls Who can
iik .mure what Influent .-i such being*
| draw down to them' Well, at least
: no evllsplrlt would l.e attracted hither
among these men who olf» ml up their
; lives for their country"*
Duput led the »») toward an end of
'lie git at hall Here I a group of
tiMureh attired In lit.orglau dit>», ,
dfHtly NMISUH would BE found among
!h*»e tint ul lltelu, feo*«Vt.r, U'rllltll
I ntigularlv Int ongruuns ami t.m of
plat. Ii as* a ah#.rt, thick »et man In
j the tt.M.iu e .11 a U>. . haul, oi lotla) It
esi.nl taotrei; | hi ail til then I dW
■. I .i m
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1910.
But the proprietor seemed still more
confused than his assistant. He came
forward sheepishly, and a mask
seemed to have descended upon his
blank face and blotted out some curi
ous emotions which I bad thought that
I read there.
"Mr. Margotson—these are two gen
tlemen who are Interested in what I
told you about the statue," Dupuy
stammered.
Margotson's face grew with
rage.
"Newspaper writers, eh?" he shout
ed. "Come to write up my museum,
I suppose! I don't want your adver
tising; I've got all the customers I
want and you can't do me no good.
Damn your curiosity; this fool's been
telling you some of his silly yarns
about the Nelson statue, I suppose!"
Tiiis rage appeared so abnormal
that my medical training induced me
to examine Margotson from the patho
logical standpoint. Rut Brodsky look
ed into his face steadily and laid his
hand upon bis shoulder. Margotson's
anger seemed suddenly to evaporate.
"They're only interested in the
statue's turning into flesh and blood,
sir," said the Frenchman.
Unluckily these words brought
about a return of Margotson's frenzy.
"Flesh and blood? Rubbish!"' he
shouted. "Arrant nonsense, that's
what you're talking, Dupuy. What's
the matter with the statue? It's a
very good statue, one of the best
you've made. It's new wax—green
wax, we call it in the trade —and it
ought to have had time to mature,
only the public were so crazed over
the naval officers I didn't have time
to let it lie. That's why it's harden
ing—because of the fumes from the
leather factory across the street. They
drift in here something terrible.
bad u/ith a ujild cry. mm iSO\ '
Look at him!' he jcr-eaxneJ. I /' j \ H» * 1
j That's all that's the matter with It.
Look!"
He switched on an electric light
| upon the wall behind him, and for the
j first time I saw clearly the face of
the great English hero. There were
the irregular, thin, homely features,
lit by a flame of patriotic enthusiasm.
Yet, admirably as the artist had
caught the inspiration of the painting
from which he modeled it, there seem
ed to be something more, some hardly
defined vein of cruelty, of caprice, that
actually gave the face the property
of seeming to reflect a certain change
of emotions, an Instability of mind as
though the thing possessed some con
scious life. And the skin surely that
was the skin of a man. with the blood
mantling in the flesh beneath. Du
puy started back with a wild cry.
"Look at him? Look! I swear I
never put that smile upon his face,"
he screamed. "He's changing He's
changing, i tell you. Lord preserve
us all' (Jet rid of it, Mr. Margotson."
"If you hand me out any more of
I that nonsense I'll fire you on the
j spot," shouted the enraged proprietor
j "You're going daffy, Dupuy, that's
j what's the matter with you lie's
j always had that smile. Kxamine the
wax, gentlemen; It's hardened, that's
all."
With horror and repulsion I laid
my linger on the smooth surface of
the cheek So life like did It appear
i that I could have sworn the blood
[ tudi d out of the arteriole# beneath
the pressure, blanching the surface
of the skill. And yet It was of wax It
was not flesh and blood Hut flesh and
blood differed less from it than It
differed from the unreal and waxen
figures around It It stooped half
tor ward. It seemed Instinct with slow
ly dawning vitality And surely Its
expresulon hud changed, It had not
smiled thus, with the cold uiulevo
lence ni a conqueror, when Mist I hud
seen It
j Then odd' ' i Margotson sc<-tued
tralixlortU'd though he adapted
his mood to uit Ills itiiud, he burst
! Into a wild pen I of laughter
' Good old Neh.'in,' he shouted, and
1 the sounds re echoed from th« roof
! and tang through the hall, while for
on** d'i udful moment I **ould have
; sworn than an answering emotion flit
1 lag" hint *nT rIL y«tr salarj He
makes me feel HO Rood. He wants ME
to do something for him and I'll find
out what it is and do it."
"You've given him a body and he's
getting your reason, my friend," said
Brodsky, somewhat shaken by this un
expected outburst.
"Come away, come away, gentle
men," cried the Frenchman, pulling
us by the arms. "He's mad, God help
him. I should have told you he'd
been acting queer, but last night,
when he laughed at me so much, I
thought that it was only overwork.
He's as mad as a loon."
We did not need to be urged, nor
was there necessity of excuses. Mar
gotson had already forgotten us and
was standing before the statue alter
nately capering and grimacing.
"Now, I'll give you my advice and
shortly, and you can follow it or not
at your peril," said Brodsky. "Get
your employer home in safety and
then slip back and chop the thing to
pieces before a tragedy supervenes.
No, that's all I've got to say to you
except just this; Give up your trade
and learn something that won't bring
you into conflict with all these vital
forces that hang round such places."
And with these words he fairly
hurled himself out of the place, leav
ing me to follow him as best I could.
I think I mentioned once how sen
sitive the doctor always was to the
morbid things of life. Perhaps it was
a certain sensibility to those invisible
influences whicfi accompany moods and
invest those places where any violent
emotions have been at play. At any
rate, having seen so much of the dark
er side of life, Brodsky was strenu
ously insistent upon cleanliness and
wholesomeness.
"We've got to leave such things
alone and work in the sun," he- used to
say. "This is our working day; when
the night comes at last, may our good
deeds he our protective armor against
all the host of devils .on the night
shores that we shall pass through."
"You believe we have to pass
through some place of purgation?" I
asked.
"We'll have to clean up somehow, in
this life or the next," he answered.
"We can't get into heaven with dirty
fingernails."
So, on this occasion, I forebore to
question him when we got home, ltrod
sky went to a closet where- he kept
many relics of his earlier life, and
came out with a small Union Jack up
on a moldering staff.
"The flag of the vessel that bore
me from Poland, where the Czar's
emissaries were seeking my life." he
said sadly "To what better use can
It be put?"
Then he explained the mystery.
"It is a fetish," he said filling his
pipe and putting at It slowly. "It Is
i xactly similar, In every particular,
to the idols of the West Africans—
or, for that matter, to any Idol The
savage makes some dreadful Idol to
worship, sacrifices to It until the thing
becon es instinct with life and filled
with all the passions of the worship
pers; then a devil has been called in
to existence whose evil Influence Is
Incalculable. I tell you, It was no
mythical devil that the early Christi
an missionaries bad to face, nor those
of today
"After death the pure spirit flies
to Its appoiutetl resting place, b-uv
ing its two bodies moU'erlng behind
it One Is that earthly body that we
all know; the other Is the soul body,
the body of desires, a semiconscious
force that survives for months or
y<ais, according to the condition of
! the di<,iit being Do not mistake me,
this is not Kelson That great ad
' mini! is unconscious of this replica
of his there In the Waxworks theater
It Is a group nf • motions such as po»
i sesm-d N'elson, a man of strong feel
lugs. iet not necessarily hi.. The
, war HI ••uthusla M of the CROWD* that
I have visited that plain have fo< used
i the»< emotions, much as the buriilnii
gla i fm uses the raM <>i the «u* He
member, as yet this creature Is only
half conscious It vaguely, as In a
dre«l»>. feels this life within llilsi If. i
It Is rising toward a conscious n {
I lil>'iiie Vint that fool Margotson is 1
the tool by which It means to wreak
its enmity upon Dupuy."
"But why does it hate the French
man so much?" I asked.
"Do you not recollect Nelson's mot
to?" the doctor asked—'hate a French
man as you would the devil?' This
elemental being that has attracted
these emotions that made up the
great admiral's soul body has neces
sarily the identical feeling. What
does it know of the time that has
elapsed, or the changes of history?
There is the Frenchman, and it will
have his life —by itself, if possible. If
it cannot kill him, as it tried, it will
certainly do so through Margotson.
Well, it's none of my business,'' he
said. "I've warned Dupuy." And he
went to bed, while I forgot to ask the
purpose of the Union Jack, which I
saw him stuff into his pocket.
But I knew that Brodsky could not
dismiss his own responsibility so
easily. He did not undress, for, from
my room, which adjoined his own, I
heard him pacing the floor with short,
quick footsteps, the greater portion
of the night. I fell asleep at last, and
had hardly closed my eyes two min
utes, as it seemed, before I heard the
front door bell jangled violently. I
started up in bed, filled with horrible
presentiments of evil, and began to
dress myself hurriedly. A few mo
ments later Brodsky tapped loudly up
on my door.
"Dress yourself as quickly as you
can," he called. "There's work on
foot for both of us before the morn
ing."
As I hurried on my clothes I heard
an agitated voice in the sitting room
outside, which 1 had little difficulty in
recognizing as that of the assistant.
My judgment was correct; when I
emerged I found him seated in a
chair in a condition of collapse, and
Brodsky standing over him, holding
a glass of some stimulant to his lips.
The doctor was fully dressed, even
to his hat, and from his pocket there
protruded a small corner of the Brit
ish flag. We went out together with
out any explanations. Luckily the
cars ran at intervals, and we saw one
approaching us when we reached the
corner of the main street. We clam
bered in; it was empty, and, during
the ride, I learned in broken ejacula
tions from the man the cause of his
visit.
He had halted irresolutely at the
entrance to the Waxworks theater aft
er we left him. Then he retraced
his steps, determined to carry out the
doctor's instructions as soon as he
could get Margotson away. He saw
his employer standing before the
statue, regarding it silently, as though
in a trance. Dupuy crept up to him,
passing the statue of necessity upon
the opposite side. And then he real
ized that Margotson had been ob
serving him. Margotson had drawn
the sword from the scabbard of the
admiral and stood in such an attitude
that Dupuy could neither advance nor
retreat.
At the same time he experienced
a return of that deathly faintness that
had possessed him on a previous oc
casion, as he described to us. As in
a trance he saw Margotson advance
stealthily toward him, while he re
mained incapable of resistance; then,
once again, he heard his wife's
voice ring in his ears and recovered
his senses. He leaned aside as Mar
gotson thrust, and, running like the
wind, gained the street outside, and
had presence of mind enough to lock
the door behind him.
"But I don't come in,"he insisted,
as we gained the side door. "No, sir,
I've seen enough for to-night. I don't
go in."
It took all Drodsky's resolution to
persuade Dupuy to come. Without
his presence, the doctor said, he
would be- powerless. With him, he
might still break this spell and bring
back Margotson to sanity. And at
last, very timidly, Dupuy crept in be
hind the doctor. As Brodsky un
li U |
I
1 tjfood jf/JI, bi.i
up%ua
locked tlit< door the key fell from hi
finger*
"The key! You mum And It,"he
| cried to me "Under no clrcum
I stances may you follow us without
|it To do MO may be fatal Iteuieiu
! ber!" And before I hot time to an
| swor I Hitw him spring lightly up the
Slull'uiiy, drugging the unwilling
! Frenchman wlih him My lm• <JIMi• -
impuUc vius to iiiixli after liliu then
'lt*' Iplltte rente to my aid ami I
I sltm|nil for the key. The uitftit *us
j dark, Mini It was two minute* before
I found It Then suddenly, from with
In, I ln-uid Mild shoutN unit » Mam
I sprang up the stairs and »l««m the
{ rlench'td tut* till I gained <he •-ml.
I where | a» shadow* h<nerlng Pratt
tlcally I switched on an electric tight.
Then I perceived Margotson, his faoe
aflame like a madman's, thrusting at
Brodsky's with the admiral's sword
while the doctor parried hi > with
admirable grace and ease. Dupuy
came running up to me.
"He rushed at me," he cried," with
his sword drawn, and Dr. Brodsky
snatched a sword from Paul Jones' re
plica and met him. Look! The doc
tor wins!"
Like every Polish gentleman, Brod
sky was an adept with the foils. Cer
tainly a clumsy mechanic such as
Margotson could not have expected to
overcome him. Yet, as I watched the
tense interchange of sword play I was
amazed at the skill shown by Margot
son. It seemed as though the courage
and prowess of the great admiral had
descended upon him. Twice he
lunged so fiercely that the point
grazed Brodsky's arm; then, with a
sudden twist, he sent the weapon fly
ing from the doctor's hand, and
rushed—not at him, but straight to
ward Dupuy. So swift was the im
petus, he was upon us before we could
stir. And then, just as the blade
seemed about to pierce the French
man's heart, something came flutter
ing downward over his head and the
sword fell from Margotson's hand
and he stood still, his eyes fixed up
on vacancy, his body immobile, while
Dupuy released himself from the
folds of the union jack that Brodsky
had so admirably thrown over him.
"And—you think I can go back to
my job?" asked Dupuy the next morn
ing.
"By all means," answered the doc
tor. "Margotson will remember noth
ing whatever of his insanity. So you'd
better hurry up, or he will want to
know why you are late. You need
not fear the statue. It will have re
sumed its natural aspect, and, in case
any remnants of its power remain,
a small British flag in your buttonhole,
especially on holidays such as Inde
pendence day. Yes, that's your pen
alty, Dupuy, patriot as you say you
are; the only alternative being the
destruction of the statue, which Mar
gotson won't allow. And, when you
can. try to get another occupation."
"It was a desperate chance," con
fided Brodsky to me afterward. "Still,
one can deal with these elemental
forces much as with lunatics; the
mad impulse of national hatred was
shattered instantly when it perceived
the flag of its country. When Margot
son wakes up upon the floor of th»
gallery he will think that he got drunk
the night before."
"But tell me," I cried suddenly,"
why did you make me wait till I found
the key?" Then the solution came to
me. "You knew our lives were in
danger and wished to save me from
the possibility of injury," I cried.
"Pshaw!" muttered the doctor.
"Just accept facts and don't put senti
mental interpretations upon them."
"FOR VY?' 7 ASKS THE DUKE
Customer Indignant at Treatment Ac
corded Him When He Visited
Swell Barber Shop.
The duke of Essex came to Prank's
bootblack stand in front of the Esse*
market court yesterday, asking;
"Vy is it a swell barber is so
fresh?"
The stand inquired to know, the
New York Sun says.
"To-day I have been by one to get
me a shave and haircut. Which was
all I wanted —no more. No sooner do
I get in the chair comfortable and
feeling slick than he grabs my cheek
by two fingers and looks awful at it.
'Wnss isst?' said I. 'For vy do you
look like that at my face? Vat's de
matter vit it? Ain'd it a good face?'
Oh, meestair,' says he 'you need a
raass-arge.' 'Nix on that," say I, 'I
don'd need notliin' more expensive
than a shave and haircut,' 1 nearly
was shampooed and had to fight off a
boy that would shine my shoes, a rat
haired swell manicures, and a whisk
broom kid. And besides it cost me 40
cents and five cents for the barber
Vy is it?"
" 'lt's holiness,' ventured Able Sol
peek.
"Business not!" snorted the duke
"Ven a man comes to my office an'
says"l vant my will drawn,' do I say
to him. "Sure, but you also want to
get a divorce from your old woman
and a warrant for de little boy of
your neighbor?" Veil I goto buy a
hat does the man say to me, 'Ve have
hats dat'll lit you. but if you let us
hammer down your head a little It
would help some.' Or I goto buy a
necktie an' do dey try to sell me a
rocking horse aiul a barrel of her
rings and den say, 'lf you take our
swell choking treatment your neck
lies will look bedder?' I RUCS* not!
"Barbers," said the duke, depart
ing. "Is anudder word for rascals I
wish I had not given de swell barber
dat nlcktle."
Origin of Blnocle.
The word hlnoele Is spelled in many
different »uys, all of which are, how
ever, phonetic equivalents of the cor
reel one The word Is evidently the
Latin blnus, double, and oculus, at)
eye. and was probably adopted on a«'
count of the Importance of the doubl*
combination* which are the chief
counting element of the game, In all
German works on card game*, and a>*
lordlntc TO IIO>IM, the name Is spelled
as we give it; but the prouunclatlcu
of the initial "b" In Herman Is so
near that of "p" that "pinochle" is
tourer the correct spelling than any
other form There ia no authority fur
the Introduction of the "h," which has
led some persons to think the word a
• om|Miiind of bla' and "knockle," and
In, gtwn rise to the forma bittoehK
pinochle pinochle, pinuale, pemtclfe.
II aa> hie. peauvkle anl plnuckel, all wf
»I'lth may be found lu various works