Dennis Wheatley - The Rape Of Venice

'You speak as though you would have us believe you to be a magician,' Sheridan said in a slightly mocking tone.

'If, my friend, by that designation you imply a person who by will-​power can cause phenomena to occur which are ordinarily regarded as impossible, then I may certainly claim to be one.'

'My daughter has compelled me to recognise that some people are gifted with second sight,' the Colonel remarked, 'but I still cannot believe it possible to bring about material happenings solely through the exercise of will, even if given the help of the Devil.'

'Then, Sir, it is high time that someone showed you to be in error,' the Venetian retorted, 'and if you wish, on our return to Stillwaters, I will prove my point by a demonstration.'

'You shall, Sir, by all means,' replied the Colonel quickly, 'I have ever taken the greatest interest in all forms of science, and surely the moving of mountains, or even of molehills, without the application of physical force, must be counted a scientific triumph.'

No more was said on the subject at the time, but they had hardly descended from the carriages before Beckford raised it again by saying, 'I can hardly contain my impatience to witness the demonstration that Signor Malderini has promised us. When and where is it to take place?'

'Without preparations of an involved nature, and an opportunity to refresh my memory on certain rituals, it can be no more than a simple one,' replied the Venetian, 'but that I will give you whenever and wherever you wish.'

.Georgina was loath to pursue the matter. She had an uneasy feeling that no good would come of it; but, in view of Beckford's eagerness and that others in the party were backing him up, she had little option; so she said, 'Now that we are returned, a syllabub will shortly be served in the Orangery for our refreshment. Let us go there and drink it while Signor Malderini performs his promised marvels.'

In the lofty Orangery a semi-​circle of basket chairs was set among the brass-​bound tubs in which grew the bushes with their small, unripe, but decorative fruit. Malderini asked for some slips of paper to be brought, then, as they sipped from their cups of well-​iced wine beaten up with thick cream, he said:

'Four or five of you will oblige me by writing questions on these pieces of paper. They must be questions the answers to which might reasonably be supposed to come within my knowledge. I shall then mesmerise the Princess Sirisha and, when her mind has become completely under my control, put your questions to her. As you are aware, in her normal state she has the unhappiness to be deprived of the pleasure of conversing with you because she can speak no tongue other than her own. But, while she is in a state of trance, I shall imbue her with powers which she does not ordinarily possess. Having written your questions add to them the word French, English, Italian or German, and she will give you the answer in which ever language you have selected.'

There was a subdued murmuring as the papers were passed round, Colonel Thursby, Beckford, Sheridan, his wife, and Droopy Ned all wrote out questions. Malderini glanced through them and agreed them to be reasonable ones, then he led his wife to a vacant chair at one end of the semi-​circle, stepped a few paces back from her, and asked that complete silence should be observed. As the hush fell, he lifted his plump, heavily be-​ringed hands, and began to make a succession of slow complicated passes in front of his wife's face.

After a few minutes her eyelids drooped and closed, her breathing became irregular, her limbs jerked spasmodically and her head rolled about on her shoulders. Suddenly she became rigid, remained so for several moments, then as suddenly relaxed. She gave a heavy sigh and sat up. Her eyes opened again but they now held only a blank stare.

Taking one of the papers from his pocket, Malderini gave her in her own language a translation of the question written upon it. There was a tense moment while the muscles of her throat contracted and her mouth opened and shut soundlessly, as though in a desperate but futile effort to speak; then the words came, slowly at first but coherently, and in Italian she gave a perfectly sensible answer to the question.

The Venetian repeated the process with the other questions and to each she replied in the language requested on the paper. Her English and German were noticeably less good than her Italian and French, but Malderini had clearly implied that the power with which he intended to imbue her came from himself; so it was natural that her vocabulary in these languages should be limited to his own.

It was a most impressive performance and, when the last question had been answered, Clarissa exclaimed, 'How truly marvellous! Could you, Signor, perform such miracles with any of us?'

Malderini regarded her fixedly for a moment, then he shook his head. 'Not with anyone, Signorina. I need to be in close rapport with my subject. But, with people who are psychic, such a bond is not difficult to form, and I can tell at a glance anyone who would prove a suitable subject.'

'May one ask how?'

'By their aura. It was not without reason that the old Masters always depicted the Saints with golden haloes. All of us carry with us such an indication of our basic characteristics, as auras vary in colour. Those of born warriors are bright red, those for whom all things grow readily, apple-​green. A yellow aura denotes a religious nature and a magenta aura a person given over to evil.'

'Do you really mean that you can see such auras-​that we have them now, about our heads, at the present moment?'

'Yes; with what is termed “the third eye”. That is the focal point of psychic perception, and it lies beneath the bone in the centre of the forehead. Everyone has it but in most people it is rudimentary. Very few develop it, as I have done by long training, to a state at which I can use it consciously. Both Lady Georgina's aura and yours are blue, indicating the possession of psychic qualities. Hers is the stronger but, with either of you, I could, in quite a short while, establish a rapport.'. Clarissa's blue eyes lit up. 'I find the subject fascinating. Would it be asking too much that before you leave Stillwaters you will experiment upon me?'

He bowed. 'If you will later name a time and place, I shall be happy to do so, Signorina. But now I must arouse the Princess Sirisha from her trance.'

Roger had watched the proceedings with a jaundiced eye. His conviction that the Venetian had made use of his wife the previous evening to swindle them at cards filled him with a lively suspicion that this was another case of secret collaboration between the couple; yet he had to admit to himself that the whole procedure had followed the pattern of a skilled mesmerist operating on a medium. In any case, having seen, exhibitions of hypnotism by disciples of Dr. Mesmer in Paris, and on one occasion a woman who, while in a trance, had made a shocking spectacle of herself by writhing about in what were obviously erotic paroxysms, he was fully determined to prevent Clarissa exposing herself to anything of that kind.

He pondered the matter further while Malderini made the passes necessary to bring the Princess back to normal, and it struck him that as the Venetian had spoken to her throughout in her own language, although he appeared to have been giving her only a translation of the written questions, he might instead quite well have been furnishing her with the answers she should make to them. But that did not account for the fact that she had given the answers in four languages of which she was supposed to be entirely ignorant. That meant that, if a deception had been practised, she was as fluent in them as Malderini himself; and it was difficult to believe that if she could speak them she deliberately cut herself off from communication with everyone except her husband, solely to be able to aid him in occasional hoaxes such as this. Furthermore it did not appear, at first sight, that the couple had anything to gain by practising this type of deception.