"The deep chuckle ceased, and in its place came a frantic, ululant yelp as of a thousand ghouls in torment."
Editor's Note—Dr. de Castro was author with Ambrose Bierce of The Monk and the Hangman's Daughter. (At that time he used his full name, Gustaf Adolf de Castro Danziger, which he has since shortened to his ancestral Spanish form, Adolphe de Castro.) We commend The Last Test to those who appreciate a truly artistic story, with its suggestions of unthinkable horrors from the elder world, which sweep through the story like a cold breeze from the tomb.
Few persons know the inside of the Clarendon story, or even that there is an inside not reached by the newspapers. It was a San Francisco sensation in the days before the fire, both because of the panic and menace that kept it company, and because of its close linkage with the governor of the state. Governor Dalton, it will be recalled, was Clarendon's best friend, and later married his sister. Neither Dalton nor Mrs. Dalton would ever discuss the painful affair, but somehow the facts have leaked out to a limited circle. But for that, and for the years which have given a sort of vagueness and impersonality to the actors, one would still pause before probing into secrets so strictly guarded at the time.
The appointment of Dr. Alfred Clarendon as medical director of San Quentin Penitentiary in 189— was greeted with the keenest enthusiasm throughout California. San Francisco had at last the honor of harboring one of the greatest biologists and physicians of the period, and solid pathological leaders from all over the world might be expected to flock thither to study his methods, profit by his advice and researches,
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