The Gold-Bug
What ho! what ho! this fellow is dancing mad!
He hath been bitten by the Tarantula.
āAll in the Wrong.
MANY YEARS AGO, I contracted an intimacy with a Mr. William Legrand. He was of an ancient Huguenot family, and had once been wealthy; but a series of misfortunes had reduced him to want. To avoid the mortification consequent upon his disasters, he left New Orleans, the city of his forefathers, and took up his residence at Sullivanās Island, near Charleston, South Carolina.
This Island is a very singular one. It consists of little else than the sea sand, and is about three miles long. Its breadth at no point exceeds a quarter of a mile. It is separated from the mainland by a scarcely perceptible creek, oozing its way through a wilderness of reeds and slime, a favorite resort of the marsh-hen. The vegetation, as might be supposed, is scant, or at least dwarfish. No trees of any magnitude are to be seen. Near the western extremity, where Fort Moultrie stands, and where are some miserable frame buildings, tenanted, during the summer, by the fugitives from Charleston dust and fever, may be found, indeed, the bristly palmetto; but the whole island, with the exception of this western point, and a line of hard, white beach on the seacoast, is covered with a dense undergrowth of the sweet myrtle, so much prized by the horticulturists of England. The shrub here often attains the height of fifteen or twenty feet, and forms an almost impenetrable coppice, burthening the air with its fragrance.
In the inmost recesses of this coppice, not far from the eastern or more remote end of the island, Legrand had built himself a small hut, which he occupied when I first, by mere accident, made his acquaintance. This soon ripened into friendshipāfor there was much in the recluse to excite interest and esteem. I found him well educated, with unusual powers of mind, but infected with misanthropy, and subject to perverse moods of alternate enthusiasm and melancholy. He had with him many books, but rarely employed them. His chief amusements were gunning and fishing, or sauntering along the beach and through the myrtles, in quest of shells or entomological specimens;āhis collection of the latter might have been envied by a Swammerdamm. In these excursions he was usually accompanied by an old negro, called Jupiter, who had been manumitted before the reverses of the family, but who could be induced, neither by threats nor by promises, to abandon what he considered his right of attendance upon the footsteps of his young āMassa Will.ā It is not improbable that the relatives of Legrand, conceiving him to be somewhat unsettled in intellect, had contrived to instil this obstinacy into Jupiter, with a view to the supervision and guardianship of the wanderer.
The winters in the latitude of Sullivanās Island are seldom very severe, and in the fall of the year it is a rare event indeed when a fire is considered necessary. About the middle of October, 18ā, there occurred, however, a day of remarkable chilliness. Just before sunset I scrambled my way through the evergreens to the hut of my friend, whom I had not visited for several weeksāmy residence being, at that time, in Charleston, a distance of nine miles from the Island, while the facilities of passage and repassage were very far behind those of the present day. Upon reaching the hut I rapped, as was my custom, and getting no reply, sought for the key where I knew it was secreted, unlocked the door and went in. A fine fire was blazing upon the hearth. It was a novelty, and by no means an ungrateful one. I threw off an overcoat, took an arm-chair by the crackling logs, and awaited patiently the arrival of my hosts.
Soon after dark they arrived, and gave me a most cordial welcome. Jupiter, grinning from ear to ear, bustled about to prepare some marsh-hens for supper. Legrand was in one of his fitsāhow else shall I term them?āof enthusiasm. He had found an unknown bivalve, forming a new genus, and, more than this, he had hunted down and secured, with Jupiterās assistance, a scarabÅus which he believed to be totally new, but in respect to which he wished to have my opinion on the morrow.
āAnd why not to-night?ā I asked, rubbing my hands over the blaze, and wishing the whole tribe of scarabÅi at the devil.
āAh, if I had only known you were here!ā said Legrand, ābut itās so long since I saw you; and how could I foresee that you would pay me a visit this very night of all others? As I was coming home I met Lieutenant Gā, from the fort, and, very foolishly, I lent him the bug; so it will be impossible for you to see it until morning. Stay here to-night, and I will send Jup down for it at sunrise. It is the loveliest thing in creation!ā
āWhat?āsunrise?ā
āNonsense! no!āthe bug. It is of a brilliant gold colorāabout the size of a large hickory-nutāwith two jet black spots near one extremity of the back, and another, somewhat longer, at the other. The antennÅ areāā
āDey aint no tin in him, Massa Will, I keep a tellin on you,ā here interrupted Jupiter; āde bug is a goole bug, solid, ebery bit of him, inside and all, sep him wingāneber feel half so hebby a bug in my life.ā
āWell, suppose it is, Jup,ā replied Legrand, somewhat more earnestly, it seemed to me, than the case demanded, āis that any reason for your letting the birds burn? The colorāāhere he turned to meāāis really almost enough to warrant Jupiterās idea. You never saw a more brilliant metallic lustre than the scales emitābut of this you cannot judge till to-morrow. In the mean time I can give you some idea of the shape.ā Saying this, he seated himself at a small table, on which were a pen and ink, but no paper. He looked for some in a drawer, but found none.
āNever mind,ā said he at length, āthis will answerā; and he drew from his waistcoat pocket a scrap of what I took to be very dirty foolscap, and made upon it a rough drawing with the pen. While he did this, I retained my seat by the fire, for I was still chilly. When the design was complete, he handed it to me without rising. As I received it, a loud growl was heard, succeeded by a scratching at the door. Jupiter opened it, and a large Newfoundland, belonging to Legrand, rushed in, leaped upon my shoulders, and loaded me with caresses; for I had shown him much attention during previous visits. When his gambols were over, I looked at the paper, and, to speak the truth, found myself not a little puzzled at what my friend had depicted.
āWell!ā I said, after contemplating it for some minutes, āthis is a strange scarabÅus, I must confess: new to me: never saw anything like it beforeāunless it was a skull, or a deathās-headāwhich it more nearly resembles than anything else that has come under my observation.ā
āA deathās-head!ā echoed LegrandāāOhāyesāwell, it has something of that appearance upon paper, no doubt. The two upper black spots look like eyes, eh? and the longer one at the bottom like a mouthāand then the shape of the whole is oval.ā
āPerhaps so,ā said I; ābut, Legrand, I fear you are no artist. I must wait until I see the beetle itself, if I am to form any idea of its personal appearance.ā
āWell, I donāt know,ā said he, a little nettled, āI draw tolerablyāshould do it at leastāhave had good masters, and flatter myself that I am not quite a blockhead.ā
āBut, my dear fellow, you are joking then,ā said I, āthis is a very passable skullāindeed, I may say that it is a very excellent skull, according to the vulgar notions about such specimens of physiologyāand your scarabÅus must be the queerest scarabÅus in the world if it resembles it. Why, we may get up a very thrilling bit of superstition upon this hint. I presume you will call the bug scarabÅus caput hominis, or something of that kindāthere are many similar titles in the Natural Histories. But where are the antennÅ you spoke of?ā
āThe antennÅ!ā said Legrand, who seemed to be getting unaccountably warm upon the subject; āI am sure you must see the antennÅ. I made them as distinct as they are in the original insect, and I presume that is sufficient.ā
āWell, well,ā I said, āperhaps you haveāstill I donāt see them;ā and I handed him the paper without additional remark, not wishing to ruffle his temper; but I was much surprised at the turn affairs had taken; his ill humor puzzled meāand, as for the drawing of the beetle, there were positively no antennÅ visible, and the whole did bear a very close resemblance to the ordinary cuts of a deathās-head.
He received the paper very peevishly, and was about to crumple it, apparently to throw it in the fire, when a casual glance at the design seemed suddenly to rivet his attention. In an instant his face grew violently redāin another as excessively pale. For some minutes he continued to scrutinize the drawing minutely where he sat. At length he arose, took a candle from the table, and proceeded to seat himself upon a sea-chest in the farthest corner of the room. Here again he made an anxious examination of the paper; turning it in all directions. He said nothing, however, and his conduct greatly astonished me; yet I thought it prudent not to exacerbate the growing moodiness of his temper by any comment. Presently he took from his coat pocket a wallet, placed the paper carefully in it, and deposited both in a writing-desk, which he locked. He now grew more composed in his demeanor; but his original air of enthusiasm had quite disappeared. Yet he seemed not so much sulky as abstracted. As the evening wore away he became more and more absorbed in reverie, from which no sallies of mine could arouse him. It had been my intention to pass the night at the hut, as I had frequently done before, but, seeing my host in this mood, I deemed it proper to take leave. He did not press me to remain, but, as I departed, he shook my hand with even more than his usual cordiality.
It was about a month after this (and during the interval I had seen nothing of Legrand) when I received a visit, at Charleston, from his man, Jupiter. I had never seen the good old negro look so dispirited, and I feared that some serious disaster had befallen my friend.
āWell, Jup,ā said I, āwhat is the matter now?āhow is your master?ā
āWhy, to speak de troof, massa, him not so berry well as mought be.ā
āNot well! I am truly sorry to hear it. What does he complain of?ā
āDar! datās it!āhim neber plain of notinābut him berry sick for all dat. ā
āVery sick, Jupiter!āwhy did nāt you say so at once? Is he confined to bed?ā
āNo, dat he aint!āhe aint find nowharādatās just whar de shoe pinchāmy mind is got to be berry hebby bout poor Massa Will.ā
āJupiter, I should like to understand what it is you are talking about. You say your master is sick. Has nāt he told you what ails him?ā
āWhy, massa, taint worf while for to git mad bout de matterāMassa Will say noffin at all aint de matter wid himābut den what make him go about looking dis here way, wid he head down and he soldiers up, and as white as a gose? And den he keep a syphon all de timeāā
āKeeps a what, Jupiter?ā
āKeeps a syphon wid de figgurs on de slateāde queerest figgurs I ebber did see. Ise gittin to be skeered, I tell you. Hab for to keep mighty tight eye pon him noovers. Todder day he gib me slip fore de sun up and was gone de whole ob de blessed day. I had a big stick ready cut for to gib him dād good beating when he did comeābut Ise sich a fool dat I had nāt de heart arter allāhe look so berry poorly.ā
āEh?āwhat?āah yes!āupon the whole I think you had better not be too severe with the poor fellowādonāt flog him, Jupiterāhe canāt very well stand itābut can you form no idea of what has occasioned this illness, or rather this change of conduct? Has anything unpleasant happened since I saw you?ā
āNo, massa, dey aint bin noffin onpleasant since denāāt was fore den Iām fearedāāt was de berry day you was dare.ā
āHow? what do you mean?ā
āWhy, massa, I mean de bugādare now.ā
āThe what?ā
āDe bugāIām berry sartain dat Massa Will bin bit somewhere bout de head by dat goole-bug.ā
āAnd what cause have you, Jupiter, for such a supposition?ā
āClaws enuff, massa, and mouff too. I nebber did see sich a dād bugāhe kick and he bite ebery ting what cum near him. Massa Will cotch him fuss, but had for to let him go gin mighty quick, I tell youāden was de time he must ha got de bite. I did nāt like de look ob de bug mouff, myself, no how, so I wouldnāt take hold ob him wid my finger, but I cotch him wid a piece ob paper dat I found. I rap him up in de paper and stuff piece ob it in he mouffādat was de way.ā
āAnd you think, then, that your master was really bitten by the beetle, and that the bite made him sick?ā
āI donāt tink noffin about itāI nose it. What make him dream bout de goole so much, if taint cause he bit by de goole-bug? Ise heerd bout dem goole-bugs fore dis.ā
āBut how do you know he dreams about gold?ā
āHow I know? why cause he talk about it in he sleepādatās how I nose.ā
āWell, Jup, perhaps you are right; but to what fortunate circumstance am I to attribute the honor of a visit from you to-day?ā
āWhat de matter, massa?ā
āDid you bring any message from Mr. Legrand?ā
āNo, massa, I bring dis here pisselā; and here Jupiter handed me a note which ran thus:
MY DEARā
Why have I not seen you for so long a time? I hope you have not been so foolish as to take offence at any little brusquerie of mine; but no, that is improbable.
Since I saw you I have had great cause for anxiety. I have something to tell you, yet scarcely know how to tell it, or whether I should tell it at all.
I have not been quite well for some days past, and poor old Jup annoys me, almost beyond endurance, by his well-meant attentions. Would you believe It?āhe had prepared a huge stick, the other day, with which to chastise me for giving him the slip, and spending the day, solus, among the hills on the main land. I verily believe that my ill looks alone saved me a flogging.
I have made no addition to my cabinet since we met.
If you can, in any way, make it convenient, come over with Jupiter. Do come. I wish to see you to-night, upon business of importance. I assure you that it is of the highest importance.
Ever yours,
WILLIAM LEGRAND.
There was something in the tone of this note which gave me great uneasiness. Its whole style differed materially from that of Legrand. What could he be dreaming of? What new crotchet possessed his excitable brain? What ābusiness of the highest importanceā could he possibly have to transact? Jupiterās account of him boded no good. I dreaded lest the continued pressure of misfortune had, at length, fairly unsettled the reason of my friend. Without a momentās hesitation, therefore, I prepared to accompany the negro.
Upon reaching the wharf, I noticed a scythe and three spades, all apparently new, lying in the bottom of the boat in which we were to embark.
āWhat is the meaning of all this, Jup?ā I inquired.
āHim syfe, massa, and spade.ā
āVery true; but what are they doing here?ā
āHim de syfe and de spade what Massa Will sis pon my buying for him in de town, and de debbilās own lot of money I had to gib for em.ā
āBut what, in the name of all that is mysterious, is your āMassa Willā going to do with scythes and spades?ā
āDatās more dan I know, and deb...