The Mystery of M. FelixFarjeon, B. L. (Benjamin Leopold)
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The Mystery of M. Felix
Farjeon, B. L. (Benjamin Leopold)
Detective and mystery stories; English fiction -- 19th century
"'Sir--I am a Spiritualist, and I possess the power of summoning from
the Caverns of the Unseen and Unknown the spirits of any individual
upon whom I may call. There is but one way of arriving at the truth of
the disappearance of the body of M. Felix, and I offer to you the
exclusive privilege of revealing this truth to an anxious and eager
public. My fee will be five guineas. Upon your remitting to me this
sum I undertake to summon the spirit of M. Felix, and to ascertain
from his own lips what has become of his body. The power I possess is
worth considerably more than the sum I name, and you, with this
exclusive information in your possession, will obtain an advertisement
for your valued newspaper which you could not otherwise obtain for
five hundred times the amount. I enclose you my name and address,
which you may or may not publish as you please, and upon the receipt
of the five guineas I will set to work at once. If you decline my
offer the disappearance of this particular body will forever remain a
mystery. I urge you, in your own interests, not to neglect this
opportunity.
"Another correspondent wrote:
"'Honored Sir--I have been reading all about M. Felix, and now comes
the cruel news of his disappearance. Just as I was going to see his
body and identify it! Just as I was going to realize a life-long
dream! Will you allow me to explain, and will you render an
inestimable service to a poor widow? I feel that you will, for you
have a heart. Thirty-two years ago my husband left me suddenly. We
were having tea, and in the middle of it he got up and said, "I'm off,
and you'll never see me again." We had had a dispute about something
(I beg you not ask me what; it was a private matter), when he acted
thus. He was a most overbearing man, and I had enough to do to bear
with him. He left the house there and then, and I have never set eyes
on him since. His name was not Felix, but are you sure that was M.
Felix's proper name. I advertised for him, and said all would be
forgiven and forgotten, but he didn't turn up. I heard he had gone to
Australia, and no doubt he made his fortune there, and came home to
England to enjoy it; and as _he_ was a man who never forgot and never
forgave, he took the name? of Felix, and lived the lonely life he did.
It was only yesterday the idea flashed across me that he was my long
lost husband, and that, if he did not make a will disinheriting me,
his lawful wife, his fortune belongs to me by every legal and moral
right. I would put two or three questions to you, sir, to you who are
always ready to help the oppressed. Did the supposed M. Felix make a
will? If he did, where is it? Is there any portrait of him extant? I
have a portrait of my poor husband--alas! much faded--but it stands to
reason that it must differ considerably from the late portraits taken
of the deceased. Show me M. Felix's portrait and I am ready to swear
to my husband. I put only one more question. In the absence of any
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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