Towards Madness 213
spirits and demons every day than he ever saw in ten
years. They are nothing to be afraid of. I should
like to see the old Boy himself. I’d—— ,
September 18
We found a book in the library one rainy afternoon.
It told us how to make the Devil appear.
Cockie’s grandfather was great on that stuff. There’s
a room in the north tower where he did his stunts.
We went up after dinner. Everything had been left
more or less the way it was. Uncle Mortimer never
troubled to alter anything.
There was a legend about this room too. For one
thing, grandfather was a friend of Bulwer Lytton’s.
We found a first edition of A Strange Story, with an
inscription.
Lytton had taken him for the model of Sir Philip
Derval, the white magician who gets murdered. Lytton
said so in this copy.
It was all very weird and exciting. The room was
full of the strangest objects. There was a table painted
with mysterious designs and characters and a huge
cross-hilted sword; two silver crescents separated by
two copper spheres and a third for the pommel. The
blade was two-edged, engraved with Arabic or some-
thing.
Cockie began to swing it about. We thought flashes
of light came from the point, and there was a buzzing,
crackling sound.
“ Take this,’’ said Cockie, ‘“‘ there’s something devilish
rum about it.”
I took it out of his hand. Of course, it was only my
fancy; but it seemed to weigh nothing at all, and it
gave a most curious thrill in one’s hand and arm.
Then there was a golden cup with rubies round the
brim. And always more inscriptions.
And there was a little wand of ebony with a twisted
flame at the top; three tongues, gold, silver, and some
metal we'd never seen before.