int
binding I at once recognised--"The Letters of a Dead Musician." A card
lay beside it, on which was written in pencil:

"Knowing of your wish to possess this book, I herewith offer it for
your acceptance. It teaches you a cheerful devotion to Art, and an
indifference to the world's opinions--both of which are necessary to
you in your career.--HELIOBAS."

Delighted with this gift, I opened the book, and found my name written
on the fly-leaf, with the date of the month and year, and the words:

"La musica e il lamento dell' amore o la preghiera a gli Dei." (Music
is the lament of love, or a prayer to the Gods.)

I placed this treasure carefully in a corner of my portmanteau,
together with the parchment scrolls containing "The Electric Principle
of Christianity," and the valuables recipes of Heliobas; and as I did
so, I caught sight of myself in the long mirror that directly faced me.
I was fascinated, not by my own reflection, but by the glitter of the
electric gem I wore. It flashed and glowed like a star, and was really
lovely--far more brilliant than the most brilliant cluster of fine
diamonds. I may here remark that I have been asked many questions
concerning this curious ornament whenever I have worn it in public, and
the general impression has been that it is some new arrangement of
ornamental electricity. It is, however, nothing of the kind; it is
simply a clear pebble, common enough on the shores of tropical
countries, which has the property of absorbing a small portion of the
electricity in a human body, sufficient to make it shine with prismatic
and powerful lustre--a property which has only as yet been discovered
by Heliobas, who asserts that the same capability exists in many other
apparently lustreless stones which have been untried, and are therefore
unknown. The "healing stones," or amulets, still in use in the East,
and also in the remote parts of the Highlands (see notes to Archibald
Clerk's translation of 'Ossian'), are also electric, but in a different
way--they have the property of absorbing DISEASE and destroying it in
certain cases; and these, after being worn a suitable length of time,
naturally exhaust what virtue they originally possessed, and are no
longer of any use. Stone amulets are considered nowadays as a mere
superstition of the vulgar and uneducated; but it must be remembered
that superstition itself has always had for it a foundation some grain,
however small and remote, of fact. I