“It’s a mistake to take these things too seriously,” replied his friend, “it is better to have lived as I have, caring for no one and regretting no one--for you see when a gap occurs I am able to fill it up without delay or compunction.” “Ah! I could not live like that!” said the Professor with a sigh. “With me it must be all, or nothing! Leonora was my All. I could kill her, but I could not replace her. Well! are you ready?” “Certainly, when you are.” Ricardo rose, and (Hannah having re-appeared with the hot water) produced various pungent spices and gums, and with dried herbs and other mysterious preparations from a drawer, commenced to separate them into measured portions and to crumble them into a bowl. “What is all this about?” demanded Steinberg, who having lit his pipe and got a tumbler of hot grog by his side, was disposed to view his friend’s doings from a humorous point of view. “It would take too long to explain a mixture to you, which it has taken me years to collect and assimilate,” said Ricardo, “but it is the only potion that I have found really effectual--the only one that has brought the spirits round me. Some of these essences and oils came from India. An old friend of mine out there, took the trouble to collect and preserve them for me, and others I have paid far more than I can afford, for, but the result has been worth it all, as you shall judge for yourself!” “But how, in the name of all that’s wonderful, can a few scents, however potent, have the power to attract, or cause to be visible, spirits of air?” demanded the Doctor. “You must tell me first what those spirits are composed of,” replied the Professor. “You, as a medical man, know that our bodies are composed of chemicals--it stands to reason therefore, that our spiritual bodies are composed of the same, though varying from the earthly ones, as they themselves do. When you can give me a list of the chemicals, or essences, composing the spiritual part of ourselves, I may be able to find out why certain decoctions attract them hither and enable them to become visible to mortal sight. The fact is, Steinberg, it is all a great Mystery, which perhaps we are not intended to solve. But what is not a Mystery? Can you tell me that? What are Birth and Death, but unfathomable Mysteries, that we shall never know the meaning of, in this world? We accept them as ordinary things, because we see them happen every day, but we know no more about them--how they happen or how they are to be prevented--than you know of this mixture, which is now ready to be set alight to.” “Come on, old friend, then,” replied the Doctor, as he led the way into the séance chamber.