The Facts in the Curious Case of H. Hyrtl, Esq
Hugh Hyrtl, a young unrecognized painter working in a garret on Tompkins Square, falls for Jenny Sisseton, the girl in the window across the courtyard, while laboring over his large canvas of Heliogabalus smothering guests in flowers. Jenny's father, Rufus Sisseton, a reclusive former grocery clerk, is haunted by a decade-old secret: on a train to Boston he survived a catastrophic railway collision and, at the request of a dying stranger, took possession of a pocketbook containing eighty-seven thousand-dollar banknotes belonging to a man named Humphery Anderson. Unable to find any heir despite advertising, Sisseton has hoarded the money for years, alternately fearing and hoping no claimant would appear, and has grown into a timid, secretive recluse who shields Jenny from the world. Hugh also befriends a starving, garrulous little vagabond named John Anderson, who claims fantastic exploits across the globe and repays a small loan. Sisseton invites Hugh to Jenny's birthday supper, and the two young people fall in love; Sisseton, having engineered the match, reveals Jenny will inherit the eighty-seven thousand dollars, though he evades questions about its origin. Before the engagement can be settled, John Anderson bursts in, identifies himself as the brother and next of kin of the deceased Humphery Anderson, and Sisseton honestly surrenders the fortune to him, refusing to keep more than a token sum. Anderson, however, is startled to learn Hugh's surname and hints at knowing something of Hugh's parentage before rushing off. Sisseton then declares he will never let Jenny marry a poor man and forbids the match; furious, Hugh threatens legal action, and Sisseton and Jenny vanish from the building before he can return. After a fruitless search and a bout of illness, Hugh resumes painting and sells Heliogabalus for a good price. Grieving, he travels to his late mother's cottage near Richmond to arrange a monument for her grave, and there discovers a hidden letter revealing that his father, Humphery Hyrtl, had faked his death at sea years earlier, assumed the name Humphery Anderson, and was the very man killed in the railway accident — meaning the eighty-seven thousand dollars was rightfully Hugh's, and that John Anderson, the letter's author, was not Humphery's brother but a former partner who had written to warn Hugh's mother of her husband's desertion, a discovery that ultimately caused her death. Hugh confronts John Anderson, who confesses he has since lost the entire fortune through reckless stock speculation and offers only apologies and empty promises, appearing destitute and despairing. Hugh, devastated but too honorable to seek revenge, gives him a parting sum of money in memory of his mother. Sunk in depression and contemplating suicide, Hugh is roused by a picture dealer offering a lucrative commission to decorate a wealthy client's new house on Irving Place. There he unexpectedly finds Jenny, who had also come seeking work. Sisseton appears and again forbids the match, until John Anderson arrives in fine new clothes, reveals that the house belongs to Hugh himself under the anagram name "Thughlyrh," and produces the recovered eighty-seven thousand dollars along with jewels as a wedding gift, explaining he had engineered the reunion after regaining his fortune to make amends for his past wrongs. Sisseton is reconciled, the engagement is restored, and the story ends with the household preparing to celebrate the betrothal feast beneath the very Heliogabalus painting that began Hugh's fortunes.
By Edgar Saltus · First published 1892 · Genre: Romance, Melodrama, Mystery · 8 chapters · 21,144 words
First lines
A. M. Lorillard Ronalds, Dans les cendres, et qui est tombé depuis dans celles de l'oubli. Je l'eu releve et je vous l'offre.
A year or two ago Hugh Hyrtl was absolutely unknown; if it be different today, it is because of the following curious circumstances:
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Genres
- Romance — The central plot revolves around Hugh's passionate love for Jenny, his pursuit of her, and the tragic separation that forms the emotional core of the narrative.
- Melodrama — The work employs exaggerated emotional expression, dramatic coincidences, heightened dialogue ('Thundering guns!'), sudden reversals, and theatrical plot twists characteristic of melodramatic literature.
- Mystery — The inheritance plot—the unknown source of the $87,000, the identity of the dying man, and the connection between John Anderson and Hugh's family—drives suspense and plot development throughout.
- Tragedy — The narrative arc concludes bleakly with Hugh losing Jenny despite discovering his inheritance, descending into despair and suicidal contemplation, fulfilling tragic requirements.
Tags
decadent-aestheticism · supernatural-romance · fin-de-siècle · class-conflict · fate-and-destiny · dark-irony · epigrammatic-prose · paradoxical-narrative · melodramatic · psychological-mystery · mortality-and-death · gothic-sensibility
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The Facts in the Curious Case of H. Hyrtl, Esq is listed on Textopian as a short story by Edgar Saltus, dated 1892 CE.
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- Work type: Short story
- Author: Edgar Saltus
- Date: 1892 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Romance, Melodrama, Mystery, Tragedy, Social Novel
- Length: 21,144 words
- Structure: 8 chapters, 543 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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