S C H R OF FER, T H E M A GIC I A N; o R, Lo v E A N D D E L Us I o N.
"How now, you secret, black and midnight hag, What is't you do? A deed without a name."—SHAKESPEARE.
ONE of the most extraordinary beings in Leipzic, some years ago, was the Baron Shropfer, or Schroffer, a mysterious man, who was said to have a supernatural knowledge of the fortunes and Čestinies of individuals,
and who made immense sums by practising upon the credulity of the ignorant, among whom many of the first families in Leipzic were included. By his solemn manner and pompous promises, he succeeded in attracting numbers to his house, where he contrived to show them, or to make them believe that he showed them (which amounted to the same thing) the shadows of the departed, after various frightful preparations which must have stupefied the credulous people and made them ready to believe any thing. So successful was this magician that he became immensely rich; large parcels were frequently sent to the "Baron Schroffer," and several bankers received orders to pay him large sums. Lovers of both sexes, whom death had bereft of the object of their love, were constant visitors at the Baron's, eager to test his magic power, and behold in death the features of those whose image was indelibly impressed upon their hearts, and for whose untimely death they mourned. His eloquence was most seductive, and the solemnity of his demeanor inspired confidence and awe. After discoursing with his visitors, and leading their imaginations to a belief in the supernatural, he would say, "Now, come and see!" He then led the way to his magic chamber, where, after a long and terrible incantation in perfect darkness, the shadows of the loved ones would seem to float in the distance, and other sights were exhibited in accordance with the wishes of the Baron's visitors.
At the period when the Baron enjoyed his greatest celebrity, a beautiful girl of Leipzic, who was betrothed to a young student, Adolphe Kloss, suddenly died. Her death was a sad bereavement. Adolphe was an enthusiast; in the lifetime of their loves, he would sit with Annette, and enjoying then the highest happiness of humanity, picture the bliss of the righteous after the trammels of earth should be shaken off, and they should dwell together in eternal brightness. In the very madness of affection they exchanged promises that the one who died first should, if consciousness of the past remained, and the power existed, return and acquaint the other with the glory and sublimity of eternity. Annette died, and Adolphe prayed for the return of her spirit with the tidings of futurity. But the spirit came not. Days, weeks, months passed on, and the young enthusiast remained without the object of his unhallowed wishes. He had heard of Schroffer, and he visited him. The magician smiled when the youth told him his story. "Be patient," he said, "you shall see Annette."
"When," exclaimed Adolphe, impatiently; "this night?"
"This hour !" was the magician's reply; "follow me."
Adolphe followed the magician into another apartment where there were numerous other persons regaling themselves with wine. The magician besought the enthusiast to be seated, and invited him to drink. Adolphe accepted the offer, but the unpleasant taste of the wine caused him to put down his glass and refuse the invitation of Schroffer to put it to his lips again. Not so, however, the rest of the company, for they did not rise from the table until the bottle was emptied of its con tents. The magician then passed through the drapery at the end of the room, and after some moments called the company one by one into the inner chamber. It was some time before it came to the turn of Adolphe, because he was the last comer. But at length the rest departed, and Adolphe heard his own name called from within. He passed into the magician's chamber, and found himself in total darkness. He could see no one, but heard the magician's voice uttering strange words in a dull sepulchral tone, and accompanied by a murmur like that of distant voices, occasionally broken by a noise like distant thunder.
Adolphe was not alarmed by this; he had made up his mind to meet something more terrible than human sights or sounds, and with his arms folded upon his breast he awaited calmly the result. The magician now approached the youth, and, after eyeing him closely, drew a circle round him, and strictly enjoined him not to move. Suddenly, a light sprung up at a distance, and Adolphe perceived it came from a small altar, before which Schroffer uncovered his breast, and threw himself upon his knees. He held in his hand a large glittering sword, and he prayed so loudly and fervently that the stern heart of Adolphe felt awed, and he gazed upon the Fire flashed from the eyes of the supplicant, and his breast was powerfully agitated. The prayer being ended, he called upon the name of Annette. Adolphe breathed violently. "Spirit" cried the enchanter, "who livest in an immaterial world, invisible to the eyes of mortals, listen to the voice of him thou hast left mourning behind, and who desires to gaze once more upon thy living beauties; to hear again the silver notes of thy voice magician with breathless wonderment.
Leave for a short time thy new dwelling-place and present thyself before him." Then addressing Adolphe, he said, "Now call Annette." The student, in a tremulous voice, murmured the loved-one's name. "Annette!" responded the magician. "He calls, and thou wilt come!" Immediately, Adolphe felt in every nerve a sensation similar to an electric shock; a noise was heard like the rolling of thunder, and from the altar proceeded a per fumed smoke which densely filled the apartment, the light upon the altar deadened, and a clear dim blue light appeared in the further end of the chamber, in the midst of which stood a female figure, veiled. Adolphe stood wrapt and motionless. The female figure gently uplifted the veil. She spoke, but the noises in the chamber prevented the words from being intelligible to the lover. Schroffer, pale as death, flourished the sword above his head. Adolphe, who could scarcely see the features of the female from the distance at which he stood, resolved to step out of the circle which Schroffer had marked round him, and approach it; but the magician perceiving his intention, rushed towards him, holding the sword's point to his breast, and crying with a terrible voice—
"You die if you dare to move another step! Pause, or you are a dead man!"
Adolphe was terrified by the frantic tone and manner of the enchanter, and he step back into the circle. The figure was vanishing. Adolphe, who was but half satisfied, or rather not satisfied at all, determined, at all risk, to prove whether the figure was really the spirit of Annette, and if so, of conversing with it. He suddenly rushed upon the magician, snatched from his hand the glittering sword, and laid him prostrate. A loud scream issued from the female figure, and Adolphe, advancing towards it, seized in his grasp a thing more substantial than any spirit:-a living woman of flesh and blood! His cries brought assistance, with lights, when the roguery of Schroffer was discovered. By means of machinery, and three or four confederates in the room beneath, he was enabled to carry on his in famous trade.
Disgusted at the infamy, and ashamed of having himself become the dupe of the impostor, Adolphe hastened from the scene, and forbore publishing it to the world from the fear of being himself ridiculed. The few persons whom Adolphe's cries had brought were silenced for a time by the money and the threats of the magician, and he was thus enabled to carry on his trade for some time longer. At length, however, the secret became generally known, and the "custom" declined. Schroffer was extravagant, and he became poor; he got into debt with several tradespeople, and unfortunately for himself, they were of that class who did not wish to see his spirits, but were extremely importunate for their money. He received no more bills; and the bankers refused to advance him a penny. Eventually, the wretched magician, worked up to the highest pitch of despair, shot himself through the head. It was then discovered that the mysterious Baron had originally been a waiter in a coffee-house in Leipzic; but finding knavery more money-productive than common honesty, he became a "magician," and ended his days in the way we have stated.
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