CHAPTER II.

^T was again November. A short ^ year it had seemed to me. So wrap- ped into and aligned with his had my life become, that a similarity of both desire and expression was constantly manifesting itself All my spare time was spent with him, and he had permitted me the honor of assisting him in some of his experiments, which have brought much help to a world unconscious of their origin or results. He invited me to spend his birthday with him, much to my own delectation, for I had no expectation of being anything to him but a foil for his own thoughts. It was a day impossible anywhere under heaven, save in London. Dark, drizzly, chilly and gloomy, it would, without effort, lead the wise to stay indoors, if possible.
THREE SEVENS. 81
For the first time, I had been admitted into his sanctum sanctorum^ a room opening out of his large laboratory. From this, all influence or currents that would jar with his, even in the shadow of a vibration, were scrupulously exclud- ed. Here retiring into the silence, he was in touch with the Universe. To this as a center, the vibrating currents, like invisible threads bound to him, alike the known and the unknown, of all ages and climes. The slightest jar of inharmony would have disarranged and shaken off some of these sensitive agents. He, being in perfect harmony with himself, had no fear. But he who entered into the holy place with him must also be one with him, as he was one with the Universe. It is a law of which mankind understands but little. Comprehending this, I fully appreciated the honor he tendered me.
The room was solidly ceiled with a dark, fragrant wood, capable of receiving a high polish. Each of the three sides seemed a single
82 THREE SEVENS.
piece, so perfect was the cunning, of the builder. The gloss of the richly-veined surface, dark with age, was simply superb. The door through which we had entered, fitted so accurately, as to show no joint, and moved by a secret spring. On the fourth side was a fire-place and a man- tel. Besting upon this, flashing in the fitful firelight, were specimens of gold and precious stones, as they came from their original resting places, whose value would have paid a king's ransom. The floor was of polished cedar of Lebanon,' as carefully joined and burnished as were the sides. Costly rugs were carelessly spread. Across one side ran a divan, on whose cushions we rested in the Eastern style.
Golden salvers, bearing delicate sweetmeats and rare fruits, were placed before us by the invisible ones, who will always obey those who know how to control. From the center of the ceiling hung a quaintly-carved, solid, crystal vase, from which a soft, clear light overflowed
THREE SEVENS. 33
and filled the room. " One of my inventions," my host smilingly said.
It was late in the afternoon, or rather early in the evening, when we were served with Ori- ental hookahs, and a bottle of what seemed to me very rare, old wine. To this day, however, I do not know whether it was wine or some other subtle elixir.
Throughout the whole repast, my Master par- took sparingly, and as we sat with the dessert be- fore us, although it was unalloyed with the usual grossness of human feasts, he seemed to have little desire or use for it. The quiet gravity of his face, in its depths of repose, was overspread with his manifested love for me, whom he had so honored.
We had been chatting in low tones, thinking of many things, both in the visible and the invisible. I noticed, as if my attention had been suddenly called to it, a curiously formed ring, worn upon the little finger of his left hand.
34 THREE SEVENS.
It resembled a crown of golden thorns inclosing a garnet of blood-red hue, upon which was engraved a word in oriental characters, Sanscrit, I think. Several times, as I had looked at it during the afternoon, something, best described as a flowing current, pulsated beneath the sur- face, bringing a little awesome shiver to the spectator. It was as if the vital current of the wearer had here come into sight, beneath the transparent, polished surface, as the arterial blood moved towards the heart.
Now, as we reclined in silence, a feeling of peace, and entire harmony with the whole Universe, stole over me. It was the lullaby of the Great Mother — who giveth rest to those who will yield themselves to her. In this semi- trance state of self-abnegation, as my attention was called to the ring, a corruscation of light shot out from the word on the stone. His hand laid carelessly upon the cushions of the divan, in such a position that the projected ray fell
THBEE SEVENS. 85
upon the shining surface of the wall at right angles to us. It resembled the gleam of a stere- optkon, only clearer and more penetrating. Within this light, like a scene shone upon, not reflected, came a picture.
It was the palace I had once before seen. Outside, the prince's mounted suite, and a single richly-caparisoned Arabian steed, with empty saddle, waited the chiefban's order. Within, the prince, bidding Isa &rewell, is receiving from her a jewel set in gold, and attached to a gold chain she takes from about her neck. I see the jewel plainly. It is a blood-red garnet. As he bends over her, I hear plainly, as if her spoken word :
" Generations of wisdom are held within this amulet, my lord ; as thou dost wear and keep it, so shall fortune dwell with thee."
^' Thanks. So long as I keep it through all the incarnations, I shall not be content, if thou dost not receive thy portion, whether manifest-
88 THREE SEVENS.
ing or nnmanifesting. Love is God, and dies not H our souls are one, how can we be sep- arated?"
Once more she speaks : " Through the potency of the will, our path through the unnumbered centuries shall never diverge, but shall be ever aligned. To jou, the master, shall be honor and place ; while I shall be content to learn at your feet."
The picture faded. Curiously, I glanced at the Master. In the peculiar, penetrating pitch, so far-reaching and yet so still, came the voice of his spirit, speaking to my inner sense. The intonation was his own, suave, smooth English, with a slight Gastilian accent :
" Senor, perhaps you would know something of my history, which, you already perceive, is so strangely and strongly entwined with yours."
"Nothing would give me greater pleasure, if agreeable to you," ii^as my reply.
" The hour has come for utterance. I speak.
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because you can understand. You have often been tried and found worthy to know. Listen.
" Master of self in former lives, I choose to re-enter my present condition, as a Spaniard of noble lineage. In my young manhood, the softness of luxury brought temptation. I loved with all the fervor of Southern blood, forgetting the Past, and unmindful of the Future. I also forgot the precept of warning : that even great ones fall back from the threshold. I had a rival. Mad with jealousy, I slew him in so- called honorable combat. But when his spirit yielded up its body, and his unfulfilled Karma was transferred to my own spirit, forever, my tardy memory came back to me. She for whom the deed was done was not worthy of the sacrifice.
" Overburdened by the upbraidings of my higher self, on whom lay the duty of purifying my blood-stained soul, I eagerly seized an oppor^ tunity for expiation. De Soto was fitting out
38 THREE SEVENS.
his expedition to search for the fountain of per- petual youth. A young man of 25 years, I entered his service. My unceasing desire for continuous activity, if, perchance, I might escape the lash of my unseen tormentor, or, at least, mitigate its force, was mistaken for enthusiasm. I was praised for the manifestation of the impulse which leads young blood to undergo all manner of privations for the sake of adventure. I did not undertake to explain the true cause.
^^Among the heirlooms of our house, said to have been brought by its founder from the far East, was a locket, containing the stone now in this ring. After the fashion of the Orient, it was attached to a heavy gold chain of exquisite workmanship. In my farewell to my father, he gave the jewel into my keeping, because, being the eldest son of the house, legend had deter- mined this entailment to be the proper line of transmission. He bade me always wear it. If I did not, harm might come to me. I wore it
THBEE SEVENS. 39
constanilj, the locket resting over my heart. At that time^ however, for some reason unknown to me, its brilliancy was dimmed. The differ- ence between then and now, was the difference between the dead and the living."
Here he paused : the word of power on the stone blazed forth. Within the light on the wall, Spanish galleons were visible sailing on a Southern sea. Approaching a thinly inhab- ited foreign shore, a band of soldiers left their ships, and by weary marches penetrated the interior to the border of a great river, where they halted. Their leader, whose undaunted spirit, thus far, had surmounted all obstacles, succumbs to the miasmatic climate. With all the solemnity of the last sad rites ordained by the Catholic Church, his body was committed to the embrace of the waters. He had found for himself the fountain of perpetual youth. Here the picture fades, and once more the Master speaks as before :
40 THREE SEVENS.
^^ So it happened, when we had reached the great river of the West, and De Soto was laid beneath its waters. We landed on the west bank of the river for rest, oonsultation and refreshment. An attack was made upon us by hostile tribes. Many of our number were killed by our justly incensed and merciless foes. My comrades left me, terribly wounded, as dead upon the field. Our conquerors stripped the slain. While doing this, they found the amulet upon my person.
^^ An exclamation of intense surprise escaped their lips. » A consultation followed. Ascer- taining me to be yet alive, my wounds were skillfully bandaged with the healing leaves of some tree, fastened with grasses. Then plac- ing me upon a litter, they bore me by easy stages to a native village among the foothills of a range of mountains. Here I was nursed back to health and vigor. My amulet has never been taken from me. It seemed continually as if
THREE SEVENS. 41
courage and strength to endure flowed in an unremitting current directly from it to me.
**When I grew stronger and able to help myself, the chief of the tribe came to me with an interpreter. They told me the Rules of the Order prohibited my dwelling amongst them, because I was of a different race.
^^ So, as soon as I was sufficiently recovered to endure the journey, they gave me a good horse and asked me to choose whether I would go East to friends, or West to brothers. Seek- ing only escape from myself, and hoping thus to expiate my crime, my choice was made for the West.
" My decision thus made, an escort of mounted warriors attended me during a two months' journey to the high motlntains of the Southwest. Our journey was made easy by short stages, and frequent rests. Of its length, its direction, or its outcome, I cared nothing. The country, over which we passed,
42 THREE SEVENS.
interested me slightly. Its extent surprised me, as did the marvelous skill of my guides, who made their way correctly through a trackless wilderness, without a chart or compass.
"Wearied somewhat with journeying, but very much improved in bodily condition by the life-giving air of the mountains, and the con- stant exercise, on the evening of a beautiful day, we found before us a rocky barrier. During the whole of the previous day we had been ascend- ing the foothills, but now, the seemingly insur- mountable raised its walls heaven high, from the little plateau on which we lay encamped. To the ordinary observer, all further advance was cut off. What next? My escort had so far kept faith with me. I felt sure that there must be a controlling though unseen force behind them, which I could trust to the utter- most. Ko disquieting thought so influenced as to bar sleep.
"At midnight, awakened from a dreamless
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slumber, I found myself blindfolded and pin- ioned. A Yoioe, in purest Castilian said :
"* Have no fear! Obey!'
^' Surprised to hear my native language in this wilderness, I yielded to guidance. More- over, I was sure that resistance would be as useless, as my blood-stained life could be for the accomplishment of purpose.
^' Led silently along, the cool, fresh mountain air changed to that of confined space. Aftar many windings and turnings, ascents and descents, the bonds were removed. I found myself in a large room, hewn from the rocks. The floor was carpeted with woven fabrics, while rugs of Tyrian dyes covered the divan. A white-robed figure of elegant form, his head and face muffled in the head-dress of an Egyp- tian priest, bowed to me, and pointing to the divan, said :
'^^Be at ease until the morning dawns. Recompense and mercy are even for thee also.'
44 THREE SEVENS.
^^ Tired with the long march; quieted by the appearance and voice of the priest, I flung myself upon the divan and slept.
'^ On my awaking, the sun was streaming through a pillared cloister, into which the room I occupied opened. A sensation of relief, unknown since the hour of the fatal duel, pos- sessed me. No longer did I feel that reckless bravado which dares any fate; but humbly resigned myself to the conditions which might be necessary to expiate my crime.
^^ Presently, attendants waited upon me, and I was allowed the intense satisfaction of a bath, and such toilet appliances as had been strange to me since my farewell to beautiful Spain. It was a little startling that here, in the unknown regions of the earth, a civilization simi- lar to ours, should thus manifest itself.
^^ After ablutions, and clean garments, my fast was broken by a tray bearing ripe fruits, delicious white bread and honey. When I had
tHBEE SEVENS. 45
eaten, and the attendants had withdrawn, he who had left his benison with me the night before, came once more.
^^ Addressing me in my native tongue, he said:
" ' Senor , you are welcome whither
you have come.'
"Astounded, for he had called me by my name, in a dazed manner I returned his gravely courteous salutation.
" ' Will the illustrious Senor inform his serv- ant how he knew him ?' I questioned.
" ^ All persons and things in the environment are visible to the spiritual sense of sight. He only is blind who fails to perceive. Especially do we watch those who are entitled by merit or lineage to wear the jewel that is yours.'
" * Then it is to that I owe all my good for- tune, in being so kindly received by those I supposed to be enemies?'
"'aS, Senor. You are protected by inher-
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itance now, but some day we trust you will brighten the lineage of your descent, by winning for yourself a name as illustrious as did the first visible wearer of the symbol.'
" As he spoke I was irresistibly drawn toward him. The sweetness of his tones, the evident sincerity and kindness of purpose in his words, strangely and deeply affected me. Murmuring my thanks, I simply waited further expression.
"*You will wait with us twenty-one days. During that time, you shall have perfect free- dom. I shall be glad to attend you. You will not see our &ces, until such time as you have chosen either to stay with us or to return whence you came. Nor are you to seek aught that seems denied you. Do you assent V
'^ Had there been a thousand ways, no thought except compliance would have been held by me for a single instant. Little knew I then that the great gate of the arcane knowledge was once more slowly swinging open before my feeble,
THREE SEVENS. 47
tottering footetepe. This is (lie gate that swings inward, and never outward. Steps taken^ in any incarnation, can never be retraced, even should such a desire, at any time, exist. . ^*The quick repose of this enchanted spot was marvelous, beyond description. Standing thus isolated in the midst of the wildest and most barren country, the inharmony of its origi- nal conditions with man's needs, had been entirely overcome in the interior, while the exterior was still wild and untamed.
** The room assigned me, opened upon a long colonnade, whose roof was supported by a row of columns, both roof and columns having been hewn out of the solid rock. The pillars were square, resting on immense cubic plinths, and the architraves were the lotus of Egypt. A wide flight of easy steps, also hewn out of the rock, descended upon a broad plateau, that might, in former ages, have been the crater of a mighty volcano. Now it bloomed and fruited
48 THREE SEVENS.
all the year through, with all the verdure and product of skilled husbandry. The gardens were of wonderful area, considering their loca- tion, and through them led a long avenue bordered by stone sphinxes. At one side a deep pool boiled and bubbled constantly, as its waters, fed by an underground stream, rushed into the outer air, and, led into a network of canals, made the luxuriant vegetation of this Eden possible.
"Facing these grounds for a third of the space, stood the vast fiicade of the rock temple whose interior within the mountain was now my shelter and proteotion. The rough designing of Nature, man's art, resulting from spirit dom- inance over his environment, had improved, enlarged and adapted to his own use and con- venience, in every instance making the utmost of that which had been furnished to his hand. An impenetrable, rocky barrier protected the outer wall, itself perpendicular and barren on
THREE SEVENS. 49
the outside, from the intrusion of the profane. No sign gave hint to prying eyes of the improve- ments within. The inner wall faced the West. Behind it, towering hight above hight, the mighty snow-covered peaks reddened in the setting sun, and glistened in the first beams of the light from the East. All danger from avalanches was prevented by a tremendous rift or canon, between our own boundary and the nearest mountain line.
^^The immense temple was magnificent in design and execution. For what purpose it had been built, or why it had been located in these stupendous solitudes, I did not then inquire. A new thought had rested upon me. A new in- spiration pervaded my whole being. The possibility of expiation. The sense of the sur- cease of the storm hitherto raging within my breast, made the days pass quickly.
^^My companion came to me daily. Our talks were wholly of the unseen forces and
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their products, or manifestations, which make up the sum total of all the reality of existence. New ideas, and new thoughts aaggesting the fancy of recalled memories of long forgotten knowledge, came forth under his skillful prompt- ings, so gravely, sweetly and courteously made. It was like the skilled fingers of a musician touching lightly the keys of an instrument. The echoes of the harmony crowd a full lifetime into a short space. As in the tropics, bud, leaf, flower and fruit follow in quick succession, so my soul, prepared by previous discipline, both mental and physical, yielded readily to the con- clusions pressed upon me. As if I had been lost, 1 found myself again.
^^It was the seventh day; the high peaks were still roseate in the fading light. My men- tor entered my chamber.
" * My son,* said he, ' I am glad you are so ready to take up the broken links of the past lives; so willing to be guided by garnered
THREE SEVENS. 61
experience. You have not questioned of the future, nor of the past. For your encourage- menty in time of trial, yet in the future, behold from whence you came/
^^ He had been looking fixedly at me as he spoke. The outlines of the snow-clad peaks towering in the clear air, grew fainter and fainter to my vision. It seemed as if miles aiid miles intervened. Then another, and totally difiierent, scene spread before my gaze. On a great plain, an immense city unrolled its boun- daries. Beyond this city was a palace, mourn- ing and desolation. A noble queen weeps and laments for the loss of her lord, slain upon the battle-field, and now awaiting the last sad honors earth may tender.
^^The queen sitting alone, murmurs: *He died, as a brave man should, defending his pat- rimony and his people's rights ; but to me, by special messenger, with his last breath, did he return the link of the ages/
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'^She took from her bosom, the blood-red garnet, in setting and hanging, the fac-9imile of mine. Was it mine ?
*^ She bows over the casket of the sonl, now useless and helpless, and a great sob wells up. She grieves for the loss of companionship. The soul who goes hence, like the traveler to foreign countries, is absorbed by the newness of his immediate surroundings and conditions, to the partial exclusion of past connections and associ- ations. It is this that we, the mortal races, all mourn. It is our right to mourn our own loss. We would not bring back to the calamities of the earth-life, not for a single hour, those who have gone happily hence.
"She raises her head. Out of the astral current are borne words of hope for the future. Once again she utters, under her breath, words as if in answer to the far-off promptings :
" * Yes, I know. Generations hence, I shall have the pleasure of re-union, and shall be so
THREE SEVENS. 58
re-embodied, that nothing shall prevent the clinging of soul in perfect alignment of thought and purpose.'
" Overwhelmed by the immensity of the future as measured by mortal conception, she bows her head on the bier before her. I see formulated out of the nothingness a shape distinct in feature, shadowy in outline. So intense was the im- pression, that its remembrance has never faded away. The shadow bends its head and speaks to her. So absorbed have I become, that I hear his words :
" ' Mourn not for the dead, Isa, but for the living. Compensation is the law of nature. Let the talisman guide thee on thy way, through the trackless ages of thy destiny, and keep thee humble, as the servant of the One. Blessed shall he be to whom it shall come, if he shall choose the right-hand path, prizing wisdom before aught else.'
^^ She raises her face. It is the face of one
64 THREE SEVENS.
^ho 076rcometh, transfigured and glorified. The picture fades. The enormous peaks still sen- tinel the Temple. My instructor bows gravely and goes quietly out. I lie still thinking until the dawn breaks.
^^ Three questions present themselves promi- nently for solution : First : — ^What chasm have the centuries bridged for me? Second: — How fiu* am I responsible as keeper of the amulet ? Third: — What mystery does the near future hold for me ?
^^As the day broadened, I slept. When the sun was high in the heavens, self-oonsciousness came to me once more. A new burden of responsibility had, in some strange way, been laid upon me. I was henceforth to live as the culmination of cycles of existence, and not sim- ply as the creature of a day. Moreover, I was to be the guardian and keeper of power trans- ferred, potency to be still farther seggregated and transferred. Thus thinking, I took the
THREE SEVENS. 55
amulet from its resting place, and was astonished to see that its dull grayness had begun to brighten, just as coming dawn lifts the shadows of the early day. .
usual. I especially remember his saying, in reply to a question of mine :
" * My son, there is but one existence, of which we are all parts, and one purpose and that is the Good. Could there be two, all harmony of manifestation must disappear. Chaos would impend from the moment of divergence. Spirit gathers power from its anchorage to iihe physi- cal organism. The perfect alignment of the individual to the All, strengthens the individual and gives force and potency to the manifestation of the One. The 'eye and the hand are part of the whole body. When they are trained, although they are the eye and the hand still, they are of more use to the whole body, in pro- portion to their trained skill.'
56 THREE SEVENS.
** More swiftly, if possible, went the days and nights. On the evening of the fourteenth day, my Mend, as he arose to leave me, lifted his hand in benediction, saying:
" * Let the night be good to thee/
^^ And left me with myself. It was the ninth hoar. In spite of my own will, my thoughts were dwelling persistently along the track of my family, its standing, its reputation, its traditions, and at last seemed to center on my ancestor, the founder of the house, from whom in direct line of descent, the amulet had come to me.
^^ As my thought rested more and more fiiUy upon him, I heard a distant voice calling me by name. So far off, it sounded only as the mur- mur of the sea shell. But my thought had become so concentered, that I listened eagerly.
^^ Again came the call ; this time so intense, so far reaching, that my whole astral self sprang forward to obey its behest.
" Once more the call, more imperative, more
THREE SEVENS. 57
absolute. Freed from the bonds of the physi- cal, for a single instant I was conscious of my body lying useless beneath me ; while drawn as iron to a magnet, I followed from space to space, a shining silver thread, the power of a potent wiU.
" At last, kneeling before him whom I knew to be my ancestor, I asked :
*'*' ^ Who am I, that thou shouldst thus call me from the planes of the lower consciousness V
*' Lifting me to my feet he graciously responded :
" ' Thou hast been my pupil ever since thou didst first essay thy flight out of the Divine light into the dark abysses of the natural condi-r tions. When, in the earth planes, thou hast needed my help, I have ever been thy guardian and protector. When, in Devachan, thou hast ^ught escape from the continual toil of the lives, I, on the lower planes, have maintained for thee such conditions and place, as were nee-
58 THREE SEVENS.
essary. The amulet is the link that binds us, never to be broken. When, in Delhi, first, you were ready to receive it, it was given you by the inspiration of love, through whose potency it could be most efficacious. Thou didst gratefully receive and carefully guard it. When thou didst yield up thy earth-form seeking better con- ditions for thy progress, I placed it in safe keeping for thee. It has come back to thee. In spite of thy one crime, thou hast been guided to the point where thy true life-work com- mences.
" 'Thou dost now stand where, unless thou shalt forswear all thy former lives, the Universe lies before thee. I have summoned thee thus, to the planes of the higher consciousness, because I have no desire to approach the erratic con- ditions, from which I am freed. I am about to entrust thy guidance to another, after thou shalt have pledged to me thy word, hitherto never broken, to press forward, until.
THREE SEVENS. 59
all obstacles removed, thou shalt attain.'
^^ As he ceased speaking, he placed his hand upon mj head. For an instant the threads of a thousand lives were joined. I saw how, in the past, my spirit had struggled to train its soul for this purpose and condition so rapidly approaching me. The set purpose of all my lives, indelibly impressed itself upon the astral. Never again was it to be put aside. Aspiration and endurance, purpose and potency, had crys- tallized for accomplishment.
"Again my ancestor's voice sounded plainly:
" ^ You perceive the beginning and the end. Do you fear to undertake the journey V
"With not a single tremor of spirit, I replied :
"'I do not fear.'
"'Love, mercy and justice are the pillars of the Universe. Are you ready to offer to each its appropriate sacrifice?'
" * I offer justice ransom, even to the utmost
60 THBEE SEVENS.
reckoning. Love and mercy as I shall be worthy/
'' *Why do you do this ?'
'^ ^ Because, all worlds are made better, when one individual atom is made better. What though I perish, if the millions are in the least comforted?'
" *Thou hast answered well. Wilt thou confirm by the oath of a Chela,' thy intention to give thyself no rest, until thou canst, at will, seek me here ? '
"Without the slightest mental reservation or equivocation whatever, I bowed my head in assent.
" Syllable by syllable, from the lips of my greatest grandsire, impressing themselves like liquid fire on my soul, came the words of that bond, which reaches through all time and space, and is co-ordinate with Infinite and Eternity, the only dimensions of the Causeless Cause.
THREE SEVei^S. 61
^^ Undaunted and unquailing, I repeated the awful formula after him.
" ' Thou hast one more step to take, before thou art ready to discover the way. Trust fully those into whose keeping thou hast come. Thou art to them, even as to me, most precious. Seek to know the One. When thou canst read the word on thy amulet, I shall see thee again. Farewell.'
^^ A sensation of sinking and giddiness, and I awaken on my divan, not fully conscious, even then, of the full meaning and intent of this interview. But a mighty spirit purpose in- spired me, and my whole nature began to assert itself for action on the high lines of being.