New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1858-05-31

Blood was Its AVIATOR and its seal-the redness and
the horror OF blood. There were sharp pains. aud
sudden dizziness. and then pr0fuse bleeding az the
pores with dissolution. The scarlet stains upon the
body, and especially upon the face OF the victim,
were the pest ban which shut him out IRON the aio
and the sympathy OF his fellow-men. And the whole
seizure progress and Termination OF the disease we're
the incidents of bali an hour.
But the Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless
and saracous. When his dominions were half de
populated he summoned TO his presence thousand
bae and lichthearted friends from among the knights
and DANES OF his court and with these retired 10 the
deep seclusiDn Of one OF his casteated abbeys.
This was an extensive and magnificent structure, the
creation OF the Princes own eccentric yet august
taste. A strong and ioity wall girdled j 10. This
wall had gates of iron. The courtiers having entered
brought furnaces and MASSEY hammers and welded
the bolts. They resolved TO leave means neither Of
ingres egress to the sudden impulse OF despair
the frenzy from within The Abbey was amply pro-
visioned With such precautions the courtiers might
bid defiance TO contagon. The external world could
take care Of ITSELF In the meantime it was folly to
grieve to thiak The Prince had provided all the
appliances OF pleasure There were balloons. there
were improvsators there were ballet dancers there
were musicians, there was beauty, there was wine.
All these and security were within. Without was
the g Red DEATH" 1t was toward the close OF the
ffth or sixth month Of bis seclnsion aud while the
pestilence ragged most furiousy abroad, that the
Prince Prospero entertained his thousand friends at
masked ball OF the most unusual magnihcence.
1t was yoluptuous scene, that masquerade. Bat
first let me tell OF the rooms Ia which 1t was held
There were imperial suit. In many places,
however, such suits follow long and straight vista.
while the foldngdoors slide back nearly to the walls
on either hand 50 that the view of the whole extent
is scarcely mpeded Here the case was very difier-
ent, as might have been expected from the dukes
love OF the bi-ayTe The apartments were so irregu
larry disposed that the vision embraced but little more
than one at time. There was sharp turn at every
twenty or thirty yards and at each turn q novel
efecs To the right and left, IN the middle Of each
upon closed corridor, which pursued the windings
OF the suit. These windows were OF stained glass,
whose color varied In accordance with the prevail
ing hue Of the decorations of the chamber into which
il opened That at the eastern extremity was hung,
for example, in blue-and wildly blue were the win
dows. The second chamber was purple in its orna-
ments and tapestries, and here the panes were
purple. The third was green throughout and
so were the casementsl The fourth was fur
nished and lighted with orange = the fifth with
white-the sixth with violet. The seventh apart
ment was closely shrouded IN black velvet tapestries
that hung all over the ceiling and down the walls,
falling in heavy folds upon carpet Of the same
terial and hue But in this chamber only, the color
of the windows failed to correspond with the decora
tons. The panes here were scarlet-a deep blood
color. Now, in no one Of the seven apartments was
there any lamp or candeIabrum. amid the profnsion
of golden ornaments that lay scattered TO and fro
depended from the roof There was no light OF any
kind emanating from lamp candle within the suit
OF chambers. But In the corridors that followed the
suits, there stood, opposite to each window, heavy
tripod, bearing brazier Of fire, that projected its
rays through the tinted glass aud SO glaringly u-
mined the room. And thus were produced a multi
tude Of gaudy aud fantastic Appearances But in the
western black chamber, the effect OF the freight
that streaned upon the dark hangngs through the
blood-tinted panes, CHASTITY in the extreme, and
produced so wild look upon the couDtenances Of
those who entered, that there were few Of the com
pany bold enough to set foot within its precincts at
all li
It was In this apartment, also, that there stood
against the western wall gigantic clock of ebony
Its pendulum swung to and fro with dull, heavy,
monotonous Chang and when the minute hand made
the circuit OF the face, and the hour was to be
stricken, there came from the brazen lungs Of the
clock sound which was clear and loud aud deep and
exceedingly musical, but Of SO peculiar q note and
emphasis that at each lapse Of hour the musicians
were constrained TO pause momentarily in theft per
Torrance TO .hearken TO the sound and thus the
perforce ceased their evoutons and there
was brief dsconcert Of the whole gay company
and while the chimes Of the clock yet rang it was
observed that the giddlest grew pale and the more
aged and sedate passed their hands their brows
as il confused in reverie or meditation. But when
the e7hoes had fully ceased, light laughter at once
pervaded the assembly the musicians looked at each
other and smiled, ii at their and
folly, and made whispering VOWS each to the other
that the next chirming Of the clock should produce
similar emotion. and then after the lapse OF sixty
minutes (which embace three Thousand and six hun
bred seconds OF the time that fies) there yet
another Ginning OF the clock. and then were the
same discomfort aud tremulousness and meditation
before.
But, in spite Of these things, it was gay and mag
nicent reve The tastes OF the Prince were pecu-
liar He had fine eye for color and effects. He
dsregarded the decora OF mere fashion, His plans
bold and fiery, and his conceptions glowed with
harbaric Ulster. There are some who would have
thought him mad. His followers felt that he was
not. Il was necessary TO hear and see and touch
him tdsbe sure that he was not.
n ~ a.
bellishments OF the seven chambers, upon occasion
OF this great fete and It was bis own guiding taste
which had given character to the masqueraders. Be
sure they were grotesque. There were much glare
aud glitter and piquancy and phantasm- -much OF
what has been seen since in "HeInani.n There were
arahesques with unsnited limbs and appointments.
There were delirious ances, such the mailman
fashions There were much of the beautiful, much
Of the wanton. much Of the bizarre something Of
the terrible, and not little OF that which might
have excited disgust.
10 and fro in the seven chambers there stalked, in
fact, multitude of dreams. And then these-th
dreams-wriihed in and about taking hue from the
rooms and causing the wild music OF the orchestra
TO seem as the echo Of their footsteps And, anon,
there strikes the ebony clock which stands in the
hall OF the velvet And them for a moment, all Is
still and all Is silent, save the voice OF the clock.
The dreams are stif.frozen as they stand. But the
echoes OF the chime die away-they have endured
bat an instant--and light, halfsubdued laughter
floats after them as they depart. And now again the
music swes, and the dreams live, and writhe to and
fro more merriIy than ever, taking hue from the
many-tinted windows through which stream the rays
nom the tripods. But to the chamber which lies
most westwarly Of the seven there are now none of
the maskers who venture for the night is waning
away. and there flows ruddier light through the
blo0dcolored panes, and the backness OF the sable
drapery appas aud to him whose foot falls upon the
sable carpet, there comes from the near clock of
ebony muiiied peal more solemnly emphatic than
any which reaches their ears who indulge in the
more remote gaieties of the other apartments.
Bat these other apartments were densely crowded.
and in them beat feverishly the heart of life And
the reyel went whrlingy on, until at length there
commenced the sounding OF midnight upon the clock.
And then the music ceased, as | have told, and the
eyolntons of the walters were quilted, and there
was an uneasy cessation OF all things as beore. But
now there were twelve strokes to be sounded by the
bell OF the clock and thus it happened perhaps that
more OF thought crept, with more Of time, into the
meditations OF the thoughtful among those who re.
yelled. And thus. too, Il happened. perhaps, that
before the last echoes of the last chime had utterly
sunk It TO silence, there were many individuals in
the crowd who had foand leisure to become aware
OF the presence Of a masked figure, which had ar.
rested the attention OF single individual before
And the rumor of this new presence having spread
itself whspefngly around there arose at length from
the whole company buzz, or murnnr, expressive of
dsapprobation and surprisethen, finally, Of terror
OF horror, and Of disgust.
Ia an assembly Of phantasms such as | have