"Avram Davidson - Kings Evil" - читать интересную книгу автора (Davidson Avram)

"Well, we shall think of your proposal, Mr. Blee." Dr. Mainauduc sat back, languid from food and fire,
tired from his journey. "What, Wentworth, was the child with scrofulas?"
"Assuredly, sir. Shall I call it back? Perhaps you wish to examine, or treat it?" But the Doctor waved
his hand. "King's Evil, is what the common people call it, you know. Scrofula, I mean to say. Some of
them profess to regard it as beyond medical aid. They still remember that the monarchs of the former
dynasty, as late as Queen Anne, used to 'touch' for it. An interesting ceremony it must have been. The
touch of an anointed king, the common people say, is the only cure for it. Now what think you, Doctor,
of sympathetical mummy, or capons fed with vipers?"
Dr. Mainauduc, who had been listening with a trace of impatience, cleared his throat Blee stood once
more by the fire.
"You mentioned, sir, my pamphlet, earlier in the evening my pamphlet entituled, A Treatise on the
Magnetickal Fluid, Whilst I was in Paris I met the eminent American sage, Mr. Franklin, and I presented
him a copy, for it seems to me evident that what he calls the positive and negative of electricity is none
other than the intension and remission of which that great giant of natural philosophy, Franz Anton
Mesmer, writes. Mr. Blee Mr. Blee?" But that gentleman was staring, his lower lip caught up beneath his
teeth, at Mr. Farmer; and Mr. Farmer was weeping.
"Directly you mentioned Franklin, Doctor, he began to shed tears," whispered Wentworth. Do you
know, Doctor, I commence to think that he is an American himself a Loyalist and that the loss he spoke
of was his property or perhaps his son in the Rebellion there. What think you, sir?"
"I commence to think, sir, that he is a man whom I am shortly to magnetize, for it is plain he is in need
of it"
Dr. Mainauduc rose and blew out all but one of the candles. Wentworth's eyes glistened and he
stepped nearer, but Blee retreated further into the gloom. Only a dull red glow now came from the fire.
Dr. Mainauduc seated himself facing Mr. Fanner, touching him knee to knee. He took his hands in his.
"Attend to me now, sir," Dr. Mainauduc said.
"My head does ache," Mr. Fanner murmured.
"It shall presently ache no more... Attend"
He gently placed Farmer's hands so they rested, palms up, on his knees, and slowly began to stroke
them with the palms of his own hands. He did this for some time, then drew his hands along Mr. Fanner's
arms, leaning forward, until they rested with the fingers touching the neck. Slowly his hands passed up the
sides of the man's face, then withdrew till they were opposite his eyes. Again and again he repeated these
passes. The candle's light glittered on the single ring he wore, and Wentworth saw the glitter reflected in
Mr. Farmer's wide-open eyes. Mr. Farmer was motionless, and the noise of his heavy breathing died
away. It seemed to Wentworth, as he watched, that a smoke or vapor, like a thin mist, or the plume from
a tobacco-pipe, was exuded from the mesmerist's face and hands. It moved slowly and sluggishly and
hung in the air about Mr. Farmer's head.
And as Wentworth watched, he fancied that he saw strange scenes take form for fleeting moments in
this miasmic suspiration: a procession of people in heavy robes and men with miters, a phantasm of silent
men in violent riot, and noiseless battles on land and sea. Then all vanished, ghosts and mists alike. He
heard once more the sound of Mr. Farmer's breathing, and Dr. Mainauduc had lit the candles and the
light was reflected on the paneled walls.
Wentworth cleared his throat Mainauduc looked at him, and there was terror in his eyes. He started to
speak, and his voice caught in his throat.
"We had better leave, you and I," he said, at last. "Do you know who your country squire is, your
Loyalist?"
"I know," said Blee's voice from the door. He stood there, his sallow skin gone paler than
Wentworth's, but a look of determination fixed upon his face. Behind him were two broadshouldered,
shifty-looking men. "We will take charge of Mr. Farmer, if you please."
"No, I think not," Mr. Fanner said. He stood up, an air of dignity upon him. "There has been enough
taking charge of Mr. Farmer, and Mr. Farmer has a task to do."