The Gold-Bug
What ho! what ho! this fellow is dancing mad!
He hath been bitten by the Tarantula.
âAll 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 Sullivanâs 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 friendshipâfor 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;âhis 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 âMassa Will.â 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 Sullivanâs 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, 18â, 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 weeksâmy 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 fitsâhow else shall I term them?âof enthusiasm. He had found an unknown bivalve, forming a new genus, and, more than this, he had hunted down and secured, with Jupiterâs assistance, a scarabĆus which he believed to be totally new, but in respect to which he wished to have my opinion on the morrow.
âAnd why not to-night?â I asked, rubbing my hands over the blaze, and wishing the whole tribe of scarabĆi at the devil.
âAh, if I had only known you were here!â said Legrand, âbut itâs 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 Gâ, 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!â
âWhat?âsunrise?â
âNonsense! no!âthe bug. It is of a brilliant gold colorâabout the size of a large hickory-nutâwith two jet black spots near one extremity of the back, and another, somewhat longer, at the other. The antennĆ areââ
âDey aint no tin in him, Massa Will, I keep a tellin on you,â here interrupted Jupiter; âde bug is a goole bug, solid, ebery bit of him, inside and all, sep him wingâneber feel half so hebby a bug in my life.â
âWell, suppose it is, Jup,â replied Legrand, somewhat more earnestly, it seemed to me, than the case demanded, âis that any reason for your letting the birds burn? The colorââhere he turned to meââis really almost enough to warrant Jupiterâs idea. You never saw a more brilliant metallic lustre than the scales emitâbut of this you cannot judge till to-morrow. In the mean time I can give you some idea of the shape.â 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.
âNever mind,â said he at length, âthis will answerâ; 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.
âWell!â I said, after contemplating it for some minutes, âthis is a strange scarabĆus, I must confess: new to me: never saw anything like it beforeâunless it was a skull, or a deathâs-headâwhich it more nearly resembles than anything else that has come under my observation.â
âA deathâs-head!â echoed LegrandââOhâyesâwell, 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 mouthâand then the shape of the whole is oval.â
âPerhaps so,â said I; âbut, 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.â
âWell, I donât know,â said he, a little nettled, âI draw tolerablyâshould do it at leastâhave had good masters, and flatter myself that I am not quite a blockhead.â
âBut, my dear fellow, you are joking then,â said I, âthis is a very passable skullâindeed, I may say that it is a very excellent skull, according to the vulgar notions about such specimens of physiologyâand your scarabĆus must be the queerest scarabĆus 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 scarabĆus caput hominis, or something of that kindâthere are many similar titles in the Natural Histories. But where are the antennĆ you spoke of?â
âThe antennĆ!â said Legrand, who seemed to be getting unaccountably warm upon the subject; âI am sure you must see the antennĆ. I made them as distinct as they are in the original insect, and I presume that is sufficient.â
âWell, well,â I said, âperhaps you haveâstill I donât see them;â 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 meâand, as for the drawing of the beetle, there were positively no antennĆ visible, and the whole did bear a very close resemblance to the ordinary cuts of a deathâs-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 redâin 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.
âWell, Jup,â said I, âwhat is the matter now?âhow is your master?â
âWhy, to speak de troof, massa, him not so berry well as mought be.â
âNot well! I am truly sorry to hear it. What does he complain of?â
âDar! datâs it!âhim neber plain of notinâbut him berry sick for all dat. â
âVery sick, Jupiter!âwhy did nât you say so at once? Is he confined to bed?â
âNo, dat he aint!âhe aint find nowharâdatâs just whar de shoe pinchâmy mind is got to be berry hebby bout poor Massa Will.â
âJupiter, I should like to understand what it is you are talking about. You say your master is sick. Has nât he told you what ails him?â
âWhy, massa, taint worf while for to git mad bout de matterâMassa Will say noffin at all aint de matter wid himâbut 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 timeââ
âKeeps a what, Jupiter?â
âKeeps a syphon wid de figgurs on de slateâde 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 dâd good beating when he did comeâbut Ise sich a fool dat I had nât de heart arter allâhe look so berry poorly.â
âEh?âwhat?âah yes!âupon the whole I think you had better not be too severe with the poor fellowâdonât flog him, Jupiterâhe canât very well stand itâbut 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?â
âNo, massa, dey aint bin noffin onpleasant since denâât was fore den Iâm fearedâât was de berry day you was dare.â
âHow? what do you mean?â
âWhy, massa, I mean de bugâdare now.â
âThe what?â
âDe bugâIâm berry sartain dat Massa Will bin bit somewhere bout de head by dat goole-bug.â
âAnd what cause have you, Jupiter, for such a supposition?â
âClaws enuff, massa, and mouff too. I nebber did see sich a dâd bugâhe 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 youâden was de time he must ha got de bite. I did nât like de look ob de bug mouff, myself, no how, so I wouldnât 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 mouffâdat was de way.â
âAnd you think, then, that your master was really bitten by the beetle, and that the bite made him sick?â
âI donât tink noffin about itâI 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.â
âBut how do you know he dreams about gold?â
âHow I know? why cause he talk about it in he sleepâdatâs how I nose.â
âWell, Jup, perhaps you are right; but to what fortunate circumstance am I to attribute the honor of a visit from you to-day?â
âWhat de matter, massa?â
âDid you bring any message from Mr. Legrand?â
âNo, massa, I bring dis here pisselâ; and here Jupiter handed me a note which ran thus:
MY DEARâ
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?âhe 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 âbusiness of the highest importanceâ could he possibly have to transact? Jupiterâs 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 momentâs 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.
âWhat is the meaning of all this, Jup?â I inquired.
âHim syfe, massa, and spade.â
âVery true; but what are they doing here?â
âHim de syfe and de spade what Massa Will sis pon my buying for him in de town, and de debbilâs own lot of money I had to gib for em.â
âBut what, in the name of all that is mysterious, is your âMassa Willâ going to do with scythes and spades?â
âDatâs more dan I know, and deb...