Abel's
friends. A darkened chamber, the existence of which had never
been suspected in that familiar house in Main Street, furnished
only with an ebony stand on which stood a cinerary urn, its
surface ornamented with flower and leaf and thorn, and winding
through it all the figure of a serpent; an inscription, too, of
seven short words which no one could understand or rightly
interpret; and finally the disposal of the mysterious ashes--that
was all there was relating to an untold chapter in a man's life
for imagination to work on. Let us hope that now, at last, the
romance-weaving will come to an end. It was, however, but
natural that the keenest curiosity should have been excited; not
only because of that peculiar and indescribable charm of the man,
which all recognized and which won all hearts, but also because
of that hidden chapter--that sojourn in the desert, about which
he preserved silence. It was felt in a vague way by his
intimates that he had met with unusual experiences which had
profoundly affected him and changed the course of his life. To
me alone was the truth known, and I must now tell, briefly as
possible, how my great friendship and close intimacy with him
came about.
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