The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-11-10


center was a winding stairway leading
to the lower story. In Its six sides
thea, We're six doorways leading into
as many bedrooms. / examined each OF
these chambers in turn and found them
all notably alike. The same richly.
stained mullion windows were in all OF
them: the same delicately- y-frescoed
walls and ceilings. the same luxurious
rugs and Louis Quinze inovables. In
each room there was quaint and mar
row bed with the whitest OF counter
panes, the softest Of mattresses and the
downiest Of pillows. tried one OF them,
like little Silver Hair In the house Of
the three bears: then, seeing how I had
disarranged 1t. felt exceedingly guilty,
and with haste and as silently as pos
sible withdrew to my own part OF the
chateau.
Again descending the tower stair
caSe to the bottom and turning to the
left, instead OF to the right, l passed
through a spacious. vaulted passage,
and coming to a great pair Of Oaken
doors, ] opened one Of them without
much trouble and found myself upon a
carved stone porch, which led down
into a courtyard. In this open space I
walked about and surveyed at my ease
the castle and its surroundings. 1t
would be difficult matter to describe
The building, or collection Of buildings,
As more properly 1t might be called. 1t
was a conglomeratiOn Of feudal Gothic
;tnd Moorish architecture; towers
round and square. great battlemented
walls, turrets and donjon keeps and all
that sort Of thing. And what made 1t
seem more incongruouS was that q con-
siderable portion Of It had been re-
modelled and made habitable in u COM
paratively modern way. A great part
1T it, crumbling and discolored with
time and almost covered with Ivy,
looked as though 1t were a thousand
wears old. while other parts seemed
new and comfortable and showed the
marks Of present occupancy.
outside the castle and the court there
rose stone wall about eight feet In
height, continuous save opposite the
castle porch, where there was break
or gap. some fifteen feet In width, or
wider. This gap had originally been
filled by two huge gates of wrought
and twisted iron, which, now rusted
from their hinges, lay back on either
side against the wall. Through this
open space l could see the black swirl
ing flood of fSchreckenstrohm go sweep
ing by; and beyond the water q wagon
road that wound up the hill through
The forest.
Advancing to this aperture in the
masonry, I found some stone steps
leading down into the water, and look
ing up the stream I noticed something
else, which struck me as remarkably
odd, namely, rope of iron wire, which.
coming from the highest easement In
tall tower, which rose some fifty feet
from where I stood, stretched across
the river and disappeared in the tree
tops Of the woods on the opposite side.
I climbed to the top Of the outer wall,
without much trouble, and walking up
on 1t for several hundred feet passed
around the upper end of the castle end
Of the island, and now was able to get q
much better idea of both, and Of the
plunging river or torrent, which swept
down, about sixty feet in width, on
either side. I now looked in vain for
any means Of communication between
the castle and the main land. The
flood was SO deep and the current so
furious. as 1t pounded against the rocky
banks, that crossing in q boat was ut
terly impossible. and the question of
how I was to get away became more
and more Of an enigma. The island
seemed to be about two hundred feet
In width and some five or six hundred
in length. 1t was completely encircled
at its outer edge by the wall upon which
! walked, excepting for the open space
have mentioned. The castle stood at
the lower end of the inclosure. BY low
er end, mean, Of course, the part down
stream. And the whole of the remain
ing ground, for five hundred feet per-
haps above the buildings. was covered
with trees and shrubbery. very dense
In some places. and at one point through
the leaves and branches caught sight
af o flower garden, and what seemed
TO be the white spray Of fountain.
l leaped down from the wall and
threaded my way through a labyrinth
Of foliage. that I might satisfy myself
into an open space. q most secluded
sylvan spot, there burst upon my gaze
sight which would have surprised me