A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder James De Mille
A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder James De Mille
A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder James De Mille
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202<br />
The chief topic of his discourse was death. He hated life, loved<br />
death, longed for it <strong>in</strong> all its forms, whether aris<strong>in</strong>g from disease<br />
or from violence. He was an amateur <strong>in</strong> corpses, and had a larger<br />
experience <strong>in</strong> dead bodies than any other man <strong>in</strong> the nation.<br />
I could not help ask<strong>in</strong>g him once why he did not kill himself, and be<br />
done with it.<br />
"That," said he, "is not allowed. The temptation to kill one's self is<br />
one of the strongest that human nature can experience, but it is one<br />
that we must struggle aga<strong>in</strong>st, of course, for it is aga<strong>in</strong>st all law.<br />
The greatest bless<strong>in</strong>g must not be seized. It must be given by nature<br />
or man. Those who violate the blessed mystery of death are <strong>in</strong>famous."<br />
He assured me that he had all his life cultivated the loftiest<br />
feel<strong>in</strong>gs of love to others. His greatest happ<strong>in</strong>ess consisted <strong>in</strong> do<strong>in</strong>g<br />
good to others, especially <strong>in</strong> kill<strong>in</strong>g them. The bless<strong>in</strong>g of death,<br />
be<strong>in</strong>g the greatest of all bless<strong>in</strong>gs, was the one which he loved best<br />
to bestow upon others; and the more he loved his fellow-creatures<br />
the more he wished to give them this bless<strong>in</strong>g. "You," said he, "are<br />
particularly dear to me, and I should rather give to you the bless<strong>in</strong>g<br />
of death than to any other human be<strong>in</strong>g. I love you, Atam-or, and I<br />
long to kill you at this moment."<br />
"You had better not try it," said I, grimly.<br />
He shook his head despond<strong>in</strong>gly.<br />
"Oh no," said he; "it is aga<strong>in</strong>st the law. I must not do it till the<br />
time comes."<br />
"Do you kill many?" I asked.<br />
"It is my pleas<strong>in</strong>g and glorious office," he replied, "to kill more<br />
than any other; for, you must know, I am the Sar Tabak<strong>in</strong>" (chief of<br />
the executioners).<br />
The Chief Pauper's love of death had grown to be an all-absorb<strong>in</strong>g<br />
passion. He longed to give death to all. As with us there are certa<strong>in</strong><br />
philanthropists who have a mania for do<strong>in</strong>g good, so here the pauper