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"Perhaps that is no bad thing, Mr. Low," he remarked, "for at the end of the play Horatio is one of the few characters still in the land of the living, while the Prince of Denmark is, we presume, learning at first hand whether or not his views on the spiritual world were correct."
Flaxman Low laughed in his turn. "Well said, Mr. Holmes." Then his face turned grave. "You mentioned Lufford Abbey. May I enquire as to your interest in that house and its late owner?"
Holmes shrugged. "As to its late owner I admit of no knowledge, save for the fact of his death last year. The house, however, is our destination, hence my interest in any particulars relating to it." He gazed at Low thoughtfully. "I am not mistaken, I think, in stating that Lufford Abbey is your destination also, and that you have been summoned thence by Mr. John Fitzgerald, to look into a matter which has been troubling him."
"You are quite correct, Mr. Holmes," acknowledged Low. "Mr. Fitzgerald wrote and asked if I would be available to look into a series of events which is proving troubling to his household, and appears to be beyond the capabilities of the local police force."
"And we have received a similar letter from Mrs. Fitzgerald," said Holmes. "It appears, Mr. Low, that we shall have a practical means of comparing our methods; it will be interesting to see what results we achieve."
"Indeed." Low paused, and looked from one of us to the other. "You say that you know nothing of Julian Karswell, save for the few facts surrounding his death. Perhaps, if you will allow me, I can give further elucidation as to the character of the late owner of Lufford Abbey."
"By all means," said Holmes. "At present I am working in the dark, and any information which you can provide would be of the greatest interest."
"I am not surprised that you know little of Julian Karswell," said Low, settling back into his seat and clasping his hands behind his head, "for while I, and a few others who knew of him, felt that he had the makings of a distinguished criminal, he never committed any crimes which broke the laws of man as they currently stand."
Holmes raised his eyebrows. "Are you saying that he committed crimes which broke other laws?"
"Yes, Mr. Holmes. Karswell was interested in the occult, or the black arts-call it what you will-and he had the means to devote himself to his studies, for he was reputed to be a man of great wealth, although how he acquired this wealth was a question for much speculation. He used to joke about the many treasures of his house, although no one that I know of was ever permitted to see them. He wrote a book upon the subject of witchcraft, which was treated with contempt by most of those who bothered to read it; until, that is, it appeared that Mr. Karswell took a somewhat more practical approach to the occult than had been suspected."
"Practical?" I interjected. "In what way?"
Our companion paused before replying. When he did, his tone was grave. "Certain people who had occasion to cross Mr. Karswell suffered fates which were… curious, to say the least. A man named John Harrington, who wrote a scathing review of Karswell's book The History of Witchcraft, died under circumstances which were never satisfactorily explained, and another man, Edward Du
It was my turn to utter an exclamation, and both Holmes and Low turned to look at me. "Edward Du
"Yes," replied Low in some curiosity, while Holmes gazed at me quizzically. "Why, do you know him?"
"As a matter of fact I do," I replied. "He came to me on the recommendation of a neighbour-oh, eighteen months or so ago-and we struck up a friendship of sorts; enough that when he was seriously incommoded by illness in his household I invited him to di
"When was this?" asked Low, with an eagerness which somewhat surprised me.
"Why"-I paused to think-"this was in the spring of last year; April, as I recall. His two servants were struck down by a sudden illness-food poisoning, I suspect-and the poor man seemed somewhat lost, so I invited him to di
"You are very close to the truth, Doctor," said Low gravely. "The agitation which Edward Du
"Death!" exclaimed my friend. "Surely that brought Karswell within reach of the law?"
"Yes and no," replied Low after a pause. "You see, gentlemen," he continued, "Karswell was a very clever man in some ways, and was familiar with practices which would allow him to exact revenge against someone while ensuring that he himself remained safe from prosecution; there were rumours that he was preparing another book on the subject, although nothing came of it. Unfortunately for him, he ran up against two people-Edward Du
"Are you saying that you believe this Karswell used supernatural means to accomplish his ends?" asked Holmes in astonishment.
"That is precisely what I am saying, Mr. Holmes," replied Low gravely. "I agree with the words of St. Augustine: Credo ut intelligam [11]." Holmes shook his head.
"I am afraid I must side with Petrarch: Vos vestros servate, meos mihi linquite mores [12]. It has been my experience that no case, no matter how bizarre or otherworldly it may seem when it commences, ca
"As to your last point, Mr. Holmes, we are in complete agreement. Where we differ, it seems, is in our willingness to accept that not everything we see or hear or experience can be rationalised. I enter every case I undertake with a perfectly clear mind, and no one is more pleased than I when it can be proved that something which appears to be supernatural has a completely logical explanation that would stand up in a court of law. And yet it is my belief that we are standing on the frontier of an unknown world, the rules of which we do not comprehend and can only vaguely grasp, in flashes, as our unready senses catch broken glimpses of things which obey laws we ca
It was an extraordinary speech to hear in the prosaic surroundings of a first-class carriage rattling through the placid English countryside; but Flaxman Low's earnest face and steady voice carried a conviction that it was impossible to ridicule. I could tell that my friend was impressed despite himself, and when he replied it was in a tone more restrained and conciliatory than would have been the case only a few minutes earlier.
"Well, Mr. Low, we must agree to disagree on certain points; but I look forward to the experience of working with you on this case. Perhaps, if you would be so good, you might tell us more of Mr. Karswell."
"But what can he have to do with this?" I interjected. "He died almost a year ago, and surely can have nothing to do with the matter in hand."