A Search and an Evocation
Chapter 1
CharlesWard,aswehaveseen,firstlearnedin1918ofhisdescentfromJosephCurwen.Thatheatoncetookanintenseinterestineverythingpertainingtothebygonemysteryisnottobewonderedat;foreveryvaguerumorthathehadheardofCurwennowbecamesomethingvitaltohimself,inwhomflowedCurwen’sblood.NospiritedandimaginativegenealogistcouldhavedoneotherwisethanbeginforthwithanavidandsystematiccollectionofCurwendata.
Inhisfirstdelvingstherewasnottheslightestattemptatsecrecy;sothatevenDr.Lymanhesitatestodatetheyouth’smadnessfromanyperiodbeforethecloseof1919.Hetalkedfreelywithhisfamily—thoughhismotherwasnotparticularlypleasedtoownanancestorlikeCurwen—andwiththeofficialsofthevariousmuseumsandlibrarieshevisited.Inapplyingtoprivatefamiliesforrecordsthoughttobeintheirpossessionhemadenoconcealmentofhisobject,andsharedthesomewhatamusedskepticismwithwhichtheaccountsoftheolddiaristsandletter-writerswereregarded.HeoftenexpressedakeenwonderastowhatreallyhadtakenplaceacenturyandahalfbeforeatthePawtuxetfarmhousewhosesitehevainlytriedtofind,andwhatJosephCurwenreallyhadbeen.
WhenhecameacrosstheSmithdiaryandarchivesandencounteredtheletterfromJedediahOrnehedecidedtovisitSalemandlookupCurwen’searlyactivitiesandconnectionsthere,whichhedidduringtheEastervacationof1919.
