The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-10

of a long archway through which it was
reached we're carefully sheathed in cop
per- The door was of massive iron, and
its immense weight caused an unusual
sharp, grating noise as 1t turned upon
it's hinges.
Having deposited their mournful burden
upon some trestles which had been pro-
vided the two mourners at this strange
burial turned back the coffin lid, which
had not been fastened down, and looked
upon the face of the tenant The friend
noticed a remarkable resemblance be-
tween the face of the dead woman and
that of her brother and mentioned 1t.
Roderick told him that they were twins
and that sympathies of scarcely intel
ligible nature had always existed between
them. What was especially noticeable
was the conditions which existed in the
deceased, marks which are generally
present in all persons after death who die
from strictly cataleptic diseases. There
was a faint flush upon the face and
bosom and that peculiar smile about the
lips which is so terrible in death. Not
long did they gaze upon the gruesome
slight, but closing the coffin left the
vault, fastening the great door after them
and making their way thence with toll to
the upper, but scarcely less gloomy. por-
lions of the house.
Some days of bitter grief followed for
Roderick, in which he mourned his dead
sister after a manner which, while not
entirely free from exhibitions of his
centricities, was STILL for him, peculiarly
normal of character; his grief had some
what pushed his abnormalities temporar-
lily into the background. Then, suddenly,
a great change came over him. His for
mer occupations were neglected and his
ordinary manner had vanished. The
pallor of his countenance assumed, II
possible, a more CHASTITY hue; but the
strange luminousness of his eyes had van
ished utterlyl It was as IL some wild
weird light which had burned behind
them had suddenly gone out into ashes.
The change was terrifying.
That strange, cultural, well-balanced
and modulated speech, which he had for
merly used in alienation with his voice
of undecided. trembling quaver, was now
| habitual with him. He spoke always as
one under the influence of extreme and
awful terror. He spent his time mostly
in roaming from chamber to chamber
with a hurried, unequal and objectess
step. His friend thought, at times, that
his increasingly agitated mind seemed
laboring under the possession of some
oppressive secret, to divulge which he
vainly struggled for the necessary cour-
age. Then at times he would sit gazing
into vacancy as one with strained ear
listening to some imaginary sound. His
| friend set all this down to the vagarfes
| of a mailman and had now no doubt
that the reason of Roderick Usher had
been entirely dethroned the final blow
having been given to it by his sisters
death. The friend felt that he himself,
was being infected by this continual as
ISOLATION with the madness of Roderick.
Creeping over him by degrees he felt
the wild influences OF Usher's impressive
| yet fantastic superstitions and vagarieA
! 1t was upon the seventh or eighth day
| after the Lady Madeline had been
| placed in her temporary tomb that the
| friend, upon going to bed. felt with
unusual force these terrifying ideas
come over him. Sleep would not APP
proach him while the hours passed, and
he tried to reason himself out of his
fancies in vain. He tried to tell HIM
self that his gloomy surroundings. the
tragedy of his friends fate, the death
: of Lady Madeline and the moaning Of
rising tempe which was rapidly in