Chapter 8 The Wonderful Trail of Green Valley
In the autumn of 1827, while I was living in Charlottesville, Virginia, I became acquainted with Mr. Augustus Bedlow.This young gentleman was in every respect excellent, and aroused my great interest and curiosity in him.I found this man very unpredictable.He never talked to me about his family.I don't know where he is from either.I don't know even his age, though I call him a young gentleman.Of course he seemed very young, and he often said he was young, but sometimes I felt like a centenarian.But that's just his appearance.He was tall and thin, and kind of stooped.His limbs were thin and long, his forehead was broad and low, his face was pale, his mouth was large and soft, and his teeth were very irregular, but they were extremely strong, stronger than any teeth I had ever seen.He is still quite cute when he smiles, but his smile is always the same, without any change.He is always so melancholy.His eyes were very large and round, like cat's eyes.The pupils, like cat's eyes, get smaller or bigger as the light increases and decreases.When he was excited, his eyeballs would sparkle, not as a reflection, but as a jet of light, like a candle or the sun.However, in normal times, these eyes are always cloudy and dull, like the eyes of a dead fish.
These traits of his obviously bothered him greatly, and he kept alluding nervously to them in a sort of explanation, part apology.The first time I heard him hint like that, I felt bad.However, I quickly got used to the hint and began to take it in stride.It seems that he wanted to let people know that he was not like this before by hinting rather than directly explaining.In fact, he used to be extremely handsome, but it was only because of long-term neuralgia that he became the virtue he is now.
Many years ago in Saratoga, he met a 70-year-old doctor named Templeton, who gave him some treatment, and the effect was quite good.Therefore, the very rich Bedlow asked Dr. Templeton to be his personal doctor, and Dr. Templeton was lured by the generous salary, so he devoted all his time and medical experience to the treatment of Bedlow. and nursing.
Dr. Templeton traveled a great deal in his youth, and in Paris he became a disciple of Mesmer.Relying on magnetic therapy, he successfully relieved Bedloe's severe nerve pain, and Bedloe also believed in the theory of the therapy.However, the doctor, like all ecstasies, did everything possible to convince the patient of his tricks, and he persuaded Bedlow to carry out a series of experimental treatments.After repeated treatments, the effect finally appeared. This effect seems so common now that it is not worth mentioning at all, but at that time, this kind of therapeutic effect was still very new in the United States; namely: Dr. Templeton and Dr. A distinct telepathic, or magnetic, relationship gradually developed between the Bedloes.I do not mean, however, that this relation goes beyond the limits of ordinary hypnosis, but that hypnosis itself is strengthened by it.The first time Dr. Templeton tried magnetic hypnosis, he was unsuccessful.On the fifth or sixth attempt, it took a long time, with great effort, and with only partial success.It wasn't until the 12th time that he achieved complete success.After that, the doctor was able to drive the patient's mind very quickly. When I saw them for the first time, as long as the doctor's mind moved, the patient would immediately fall asleep even if he was not aware of the doctor's existence.It is only on this day in 1845, when hundreds of people witness the miracles of hypnotism every day, that I have the audacity to describe this seemingly impossible effect as a real fact.
Bedlow was naturally sensitive and easily excitable.His imagination was also very rich, and his mind became more active because of his frequent use of morphine.He was on such high doses of morphine that he felt he could not live without it.Immediately after breakfast, or morning cup of coffee (he had nothing in the morning), he took a large dose of morphine and was alone, or with a dog, in the Take a walk in the mountains.This mountain has a majestic name: Langya Mountain.
One day at the end of November, the weather was warm, foggy, and dark. It was at the time when the seasons changed from cold to warm. Americans call this weather Xiaoyangchun.Mr. Bedlow went up the hill as usual.The day passed and he did not return.
At eight o'clock in the evening he was still late, and we couldn't help but feel rather worried about it, so we were going out to look for him, when he unexpectedly returned.He looked good and was in good spirits.
Yet the story he tells us of his late arrival is highly unusual.
"You probably remember,"
He said, "I went out at 9 o'clock in the morning. As soon as I went out, I went up the mountain. At 10 o'clock, I came to a canyon that I had never been to. I followed the path with great interest. Both sides of the road Although the scenery is not earth-shattering, it is also delicious, especially I think there is a kind of lonely beauty here. This place is almost inaccessible. I can't help but feel that the green grass and bluestone I am stepping on have never been trampled on by human beings before. Yes. This place is so closed, if it were not for a series of accidental factors, people would never enter this Grand Canyon. It is very likely that I am the first person to set foot in this place.
"Because of the dense fog, the already very misty scenery became even more misty. This beautiful mist is so thick that I can only see things ten meters away. The path under my feet is winding, and I can't see the sun. , I soon lost track of where to go. Meanwhile, the morphine was at work—making me curious about the outside world. The trembling leaves, the green grass, the oddly shaped clover, the buzzing The bees, the glistening dew, the breeze on my face, and the faint scent of the woods filled my imagination and filled my heart with ecstasy.
"I was so busy admiring the beautiful scenery that I walked away for several hours. The fog became thicker and thicker. Finally, I couldn't see anything clearly, so I had to grope forward. At this moment, an indescribable anxiety suddenly arose in my heart. I felt nervous, hesitated, and trembled all over. I didn't dare to take a step, for fear of stepping into the abyss.
I also recalled some strange stories about Langya Mountain. It is said that there are some fierce wild people who live in the woods and caves here.Numerous imaginings faintly emerged in my mind, and because these imaginings were very vague, my heart became more and more congested.Suddenly, there was a loud drumbeat from nowhere.
"Of course, I was greatly surprised. There are no drums in these mountains. I would not have been so surprised if I had heard the archangel blowing his trumpet. But then something more interesting and strange happened. I heard another violent ding, like a great bunch of keys dangling, and then a dark-faced, half-naked man screamed and ran past me. He ran so close to me that he breathed his warm breath into me. He was holding an object covered with iron rings, and he was shaking the object vigorously as he ran. Just as his back disappeared into the fog, a beast with a wide mouth and wide eyes was chasing after him. I climbed up. I saw at a glance that it was a hyena.
"Seeing this hyena, instead of being scared, I felt more relaxed, because now I believed that I was dreaming, and I was going to try to wake up. I bravely walked forward, rubbed my eyes, With a yell, I pinched my thigh. A small stream appeared in front of me. I bent down and washed my hands, hair, and neck in the stream. The cold water stimulated me to wake up a lot. When I straightened up, I felt a big difference So I am full of confidence and walk firmly along this road full of unknowns.
"Later I was tired from walking, and the air was very stuffy, so I sat down under a tree. Suddenly, a faint sun broke through the clouds, and the shadows of the leaves fell on the grass. I stared at the tree. I stared at the shade for a long time. I suddenly felt that something was wrong with the shade of the tree. When I looked up, I found that the tree was actually a palm.
"I got up hastily, very excited, because I felt the dream-like hallucination disappear. I knew--I felt that my mind was very rational, and this reason was giving me a strange feeling. Feeling. I felt at once that the heat was unbearable, and I felt a strange smell in the breeze. I heard a sound like the gurgling of a river, mixed with the sound of people talking.
"While I listened with great astonishment, a gust of wind swept away the thick fog with one blow, as if by magic.
"I found myself at the foot of a high mountain, with a large plain below it, and a great river meandering through the plain. By the river was an oriental city that looked like something out of the Arabian Nights, Even more peculiar. The terrain where I live is much higher than the city, so every corner of the city is displayed in front of my eyes, as clearly as a map. There are countless streets in the city, criss-crossing each other in a mess In addition, there are some winding alleys that are longer than the streets, and the alleys are full of people. The houses are beautiful and unique. Balconies, verandahs, minarets, temples, and exquisitely carved doors and windows abound. There are also many bazaars, and the goods on the bazaar are dazzling and colorful: silk, cotton cloth, shining swords, gorgeous gems, everything you expect to find. In addition, you can also see the Eight Carriers with Flags and Banners Large sedan chairs, fully covered soft sedan chairs for women's families, magnificently attired elephants, grotesque puppets in Buddhist niches, and countless gongs and drums, flags, spears and maces inlaid with gold and silver. Among the crowd, in the noisy In the middle of the chaos, among the countless blacks, yellows, turbans, robes, and bearded people, swaggered a lot of bulls dressed in red and festooned as sacred, There are also countless ugly monkeys enshrined as gods on the eaves of temples and on the minaret windows of mosques, jumping up and down, screaming. From the crowded streets to the riverside, there are countless steps leading to bathing places, and the river is full of big cargo ships, which seem to block the water. At the other end of the city, there are huge palm trees and cocoa trees, mixed with some other magical, Tall old trees. You can also see paddy fields, thatched farmhouses, small ponds, small classrooms, squares of gypsy camps, and a beautiful girl with a water pot on her head, facing the river. go.
"Of course, you'll say I'm dreaming, but I'm not dreaming. What I see, what I hear, what I feel, what I think is nothing like dreaming. Everything is so real. At first I doubted whether I was really awake, so I conducted a series of experiments, and I immediately found that I was indeed awake. When a person is dreaming, if he suspects that he is If he is dreaming, then he must be able to verify whether he is really dreaming. He will wake up from the dream immediately. So, Novalis is right: 'When we dream that we are dreaming, we can't wake up. It’s far away.” If I saw such a scene and didn’t suspect that I was dreaming, then this is probably a Nanke’s dream. However, seeing such a scene, I doubted that I was dreaming and went on for a long time. test, then I'd have to classify this as a non-dream phenomenon."
Dr. Templeton said: "That makes sense, go on. You stand up and walk towards the city."
"I stood up,"
Bedloe looked at the doctor in astonishment, and continued, "As you said, I stood up and walked towards the city. Along the way, I met a large group of people, all of whom looked excited, walked along the street, towards the city. Running in the same direction. In an instant, my heart was also excited, and I began to have a strong interest in what happened here. I seem to feel that I am playing an important role in this matter, although I don't know what role it is. I don't know. But somehow, I felt a deep hatred for the people around me. I avoided them and took a detour into the city. There was a fight in the city.
A small party, some in Indian dress and some in European uniform, under the command of a gentleman in British uniform, was fighting a mob which greatly outnumbered them.I joined the few, picked up the weapon of a fallen officer, and fought valiantly, knowing not who my opponent was.Outnumbered, we were soon forced back into a pavilion.We've sealed off the perimeter of the pavilion, and it's safe now.From a lookout at the top of the pavilion, I saw a great excited crowd laying siege to a fine palace by the river.At this time, a weak man climbed out of the window of the palace, and his servants tied a rope with a turban and hung him down.A boat was waiting for him under the window, in which he fled to the other side of the river.
"At this time, I suddenly had a new idea. I gave a brief and powerful appeal to my companions, mobilized a few like-minded people, and then bravely rushed out of the pavilion and rushed into the crowd surrounding the pavilion. They Started to retreat, then regrouped, frantically fighting with us, and then retreated again. At this time, we were far away from the pavilion, lost in the intricate narrow alleys, the alleys were full of tall houses, some corners The place where there is no sunshine all year round. The mobs are pressing on us, stabbing us with spears and shooting us with arrows. Their arrows are especially powerful. Some of them are like Malays' wave-edged knives. These arrows are shaped like snakes crawling Caused by, long, black, with poisonous arrowheads. Suddenly I was hit by an arrow in the right temple. I turned around and fell down. I felt dizzy immediately. I struggled - I gasped - I died gone."
"You can no longer say that your adventures are not dreams,"
I said with a smile. "Are you going to change your mouth and say that you are not dead?"
I expected Bedlow to make a joke when he heard me say this.But to my surprise, his face was pale, trembling all over, hesitating, and remained silent for a while.My eyes turned to Templeton.He sat upright in the chair, his teeth were chattering, and his eyes were wide open.
"Go on!" he said hoarsely at last to Bedlow.
Bedlow continued: "For a long time, I lost all consciousness, my mind was blank, and I had no consciousness at all. Finally, my soul finally felt a powerful blow like an electric current. So I feel alive, I feel the light. The light is not seen, but felt. For a moment, I want to get up, but I have no body, no sight, no hearing, no touch. The mob has The riots subside. The city calms down. Beneath me lies my dead body, with poisoned arrows in my temples, and my whole head is swollen and disfigured. But I feel it all—not see it. Yes. I'm not interested in anything. I don't even care about my own dead body. I didn't want to move, but I floated out of the city and floated back along the same way I came into the city. When I returned Valley, when I arrived at the place where I met the hyena, I felt a feeling of electric shock again. I felt that I had weight again, a desire, and a real self. I regained my original form and hurried home Go. But to this day the event remains so vivid in my mind that I don't for a moment think it was a dream."
Templeton said solemnly: "It's not a dream, but it's hard to explain what kind of phenomenon it is. Let's assume that your soul is on the verge of some kind of spiritual discovery. Taking this assumption as a premise, Then I can explain the rest. Look at this water-colour painting, which I should have shown you long ago, but which I did not show because of its indescribable pathos and terror. "
Let's look at the painting he showed.I don't see anything unusual about it, but it had a huge influence on Bedlow.He stared at the painting and almost fainted.However, this is only a small portrait, and it is precisely Bedlow himself who is painted on it.At least that's what I thought when I saw the painting.
Templeton said: "You look at the date of the painting - here, not sure, in the corner - 1780. That's when it was painted. It's a portrait of a deceased friend, My friend's name is Rodby. I was very close to Mr. Rodby when Warren Hastings was Governor. I was only 20 years old at the time. Mr. Bedlow, when I first met him in Saratoga When I came to you, I thought you were very like Mr. Rodby, so I took the initiative to make friends with you, and then I became your personal doctor. I did this mainly out of mourning for the dead, but also partly because Out of a kind of awe-inspiring curiosity about yours.
"The place you just described is actually the city of Borona on the banks of the Ganges in India. And the riots, fighting, and massacres you are talking about are actually the Chet Singh riots that took place in 1780, when Hess Tings was nearly killed. It was Chet Singer himself who escaped from the palace by the ropes of the turban. The party trapped in the pavilion were Indian soldiers under Hastings' command and British officers, I was one of them. At that time, I tried my best to stop my best best friend Rod Bay from attacking. He would not listen to me and must fight to the death. died. If you don’t believe me, just read this text.”
While talking, he took out a notebook, and there were a few pages of text in the notebook that were obviously newly written. "Just when you were experiencing this mirage in the mountains, I was writing this memory for the newspaper at home."
A week or so after this conversation, a Charlottesville newspaper carried the following news.
It is with deep sadness that we announce the sad passing of Mr. Augustus Bedero.The gentleman was an amiable gentleman, endeared by the inhabitants of Charlottesville for his many virtues.
Bei's long-term suffering from neuralgia, the disease often attack, threatening the patient's life.But the disease was only one of the causes of Bayesian death.The immediate cause of his death was peculiar.When he was hiking in Langya Mountain a few days ago, he suddenly fell ill. His body was hot and cold, and his head was congested.So Dr. Templeton performed local bloodletting on him.Doctors placed leeches on his temples.In a short time the patient died of exhaustion, apparently because the doctor had accidentally put a poisonous leech in the leech tank, which is often found in the ponds in this area.The poisonous leech was tightly sucked on a small artery at the right temple. Because it looked very similar to a medical leech, it was not discovered in time.
NOTE: The main difference between the Charlottesville leech and the medical leech is that the leech is black in color and wriggles much like a snake.
When I was discussing this strange incident with the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, it suddenly occurred to me that the article had written the deceased's surname as Bedro.I asked: "I remember that the deceased's surname was Bedro, not Bedro. Your newspaper wrote the last word as 'Luo'. Maybe you have your reasons."
"Reason? No, no," he replied. "It's just a clerical error. There is only one surname in a hundred surnames, and there is no one with the surname Bedro."
"Then this is the greatest wonder in the world,"
I muttered to myself as I turned to leave. "Pedro reversed and wrote exactly Rodby! And this guy told me it was a clerical error!"
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