Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1914-07-28

archway through which we reached II
were carefully sheated with copper.
The door, of massive iron. had been
also similarly protected. Its immense
weight caused an unusually sharp
grating sound as 1t moved upon Its
hinges.
Having deposited our mournful bur
den upon trestles within this region
of horror. we partially turned aside
the vet unscrewed lid Of the coffin and
looked upon the face Of the tenant. A
striking similitude between the broth
er and sister now first arrested my at
tention, and Usher. diyining perhaps
my thoughts. murmured out some few
words, from which learned that the
deceased and himself had been twins
and that sympathies Of scarcely In
telligible nature had always existed
between them. Our glances rested
not long upon the dead, for we could
not regard her unawed. There was
{, faint blush upon the bosom and the
face, with that suspiciously lingering
smile upon the lip which Is so terrible In
death. We replaced and screwed down
the lid and secured the door Of iron.
And now. some days Of bitter grief
having elapsed. an observable change
came over the features Of the mental
disorder of my friend. His ordinary
manner had vanished. His ordinary
occupations were neglected or forgot
ten. He roaIned from chamber to
chamber with hurried. unequal and
objectless step. The pallor of his coun'
tenance had assumed If possible
more CHASTITY hue. but the luminous
ness of his eye had utterly gone out
The once occasional huskiness OF his
tone was heard no more. and tremu-
lous quaver, as If of extreme terror.
habitually characterized his utterance.
l felt creeping upon me by slow yet
certain degrees the wild influences Of
his own fantastic yet impressive super
stitions.
It was especially upon retiring to
bed late in the night Of the seventh
or eighth day after the placing Of the
Lady Madeline within the donjon that
I experienced the full power of such
feelings. Sleep came not near my
couch, while the hours waned and
waned away. l struggled to reason of
the nervousness which had dominion
over me. endeavored to believe that
much. If not all Of what ! felt. was
due to the bewildering influence Of the
gloomy furniture of the rocm-of the
dark and tattered draperies which. tor
tured into motion by the breath Of a
rising tempest. swayed 6tfully to and
fro upon the walls and rustled uneas-
lily about the decorations Of the bed.
But my efforts were fruitless. An ir-
repressible tremor gradually pervaded
my frame. and at length there sat upon
my very heart an incubus Of utterly
causeless alarm. Shaking this of with
q gasp and struggle l uplifted myself
upon the pillows. and, peering earnest
~ within the intense darkness OF the
chamber, hearkened-I know not why,
except that an instructive spirit prompt
ed me-to certain low and indefinite
sounds which came through the
pauses Of the storm at long intervals,
knew not whence. Oyerpowered by
an intense sentiment of horror. unac-
countable yet unendurable, I threw on
my clothes with haste, for felt that
should sleep no more during the
night, and endeavored to arouse my
self from the pltiable condition into
which I had fallen by pacing rapidly
to and fro through the apartment.
had taken but few turns In this
manner when a light step on an ad-
Joining staircase arrested my attention.
I presently recognized 1t as that OF
Usher. In an instant afterward he
raped with a gentle touch at my door
and entered, bearing. a lamp. His coun-
tenance was, as usual. cadaverously
wan; but, moreover. there was a spe-
cies Of mad hilarlty in his eyes. an ev-
identity restrained hysteria In his whole
demeanor His air appalled, me. but
anything was preferable to the solitude
which ! had so long endured.
: "And you have not seen IT." be said
abruptly after having stared about
him for some moments In silence-"you
have not then seen It? But stay! You
shall" Thus speaking and having
carefully shaded his lamp. he hurried
to one of the easements and threw 1t
freely open to the storm.
The impetuous fury OF the entering
gust nearly lifted us from our feet. 1t
was, indeed. q tempestuous yet sternly
beautiful night. and one wildly singu-
lar In its terror and Its beauty. A
whirlwind had apparently collected its
force In our vicinity, for there were
frequent and violent alterations in the
direction of the wind, and the exceed
ing density Of the clouds (which hung
so low as to press upon the turrets of
the house, did not prevent our perceiv-
ing the lifelike velocity with which
they few careering from all points
against each other. without passing
away into the distance. l say that
even their exceeding density did not
prevent our perceiving this. Yet We
had no glimpse of the moon or stars
nor was there any flashing forth OF the
lightning. But the under surfaces OF
the huge masses Of agitated vapor. as
we'll as all terrestrial objects immedi.
ately around US. were glowing In the
unnatural light Of family luminous
and distinctly visible gaseous exhala-
tion which enshrouded the mansion.
"You must not-you shall not behold
this" said I shudderingly to Usher as
I led him, with gentle violence, from
the window to seat. These appear
ances which bewilder you are merely
electrical phenomena not uncommon.
or 1t may be that they have their
ghastly origin In the rank miasma OF
the tarn. Let us close this easement
The air Is chilling and dangerous to
your frame. Here is one of your ia.
vorite romances. will read. and you
shall listen and so we will pass away