The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1914-06-18

| extending from the roof Of the build
ing in front, made its way down the
wall in Il zigZag direction until it be-
| came lost in the sullen waters of the
! tarn.
Noticing these things, l rode over
short causeway to the house. A serv-
| ant in waiting took my horse, and l
| entered the Gothic archway OF the
hall. \ valet Of stealthy step thence
| conducted me In silence through many
dark and Intricate passages in my
progress to the studio Of his master.
On a staircase l met the physi
| clan Of the family. His cOuntenance.
thought, wore mingled expression
Of low cunning and perplexity. He &C.
| costed me with trepidation and passed
on. The valet now threw open door
and ushered me into the presence of
his master.
The room in which I found myself
was very large and lofty. The win
dows We're long, narrow and pointed
and at so vast distance from the
black oaken floor as to be altogether
! ina ccessible from within. Feeble
CLEANS of encrims0ned light made
their way through the trellised panes
and served to render sufficiently dis
tinct the more prominent objects
around. l felt that l breathed an at
mosphere of sorrow. An air of stern,
deep and irredeemable gloom hung over
and pervaded all.
Upon my entrance Usher arose from
sofa on which he had been lying at
full length and greeted me with
| vivacious warmth which had much in
: it, at first thought. Of an overdone
cordiality-of the constrained effort of
| the ennuye man Of the world. A
glance, however, at his cOuntenance
convinced me Of his perfect sincerity.
We sat down, and for some moments,
while he spoke not. gazed upon him
with feeling half Of pity, half of
awe. Surely man had never before
50 terribly altered in so brief period
as had Roderick Usher. 1t was with
difficulty that could bring myself to
admit the identity Of the one being
before ME with the companion Of my
early boyhOOd. Yet the character of
his face had been at all times remarka-
BILE. A righteousness OF complexion;
an eye large. liquid and luminous be-
yOnd comparison; lips somewhat thin
and very pallid, but Of surprisingly
beautiful curve; a nose OF delicate
Hebrew model, but with breadth OF
nostril unusual in similar formations;
finely nodded chin, speaking In its
want Of prominence, Of want or
moral energy; hair OF more than
weblike softness and tenuity-these
features, with an inordinate expan-
sion above the regions Of the temple,
made up altogether countenance not
easily to be forgotten. The now ghast-
" pallor Of the skin and the now
mira culous luster of the eye, above all
things, startled and even awed me.
The silken hair, too, had been suffered
to grow all UNDECIDED. and as, in its
wild gossamer texture, it foated rather
than fell about the face l could not,
even with effort, connect its Arabesque
expression with any idea Of simple hu-
!, mainly.
In the manner Of my friend l was
at once struck with an indifference
an inconsistency, and soon found this
to arise from series Of feeble and
futile struggles to overcome an haoit-
val trepidancy-an excessive nervous
agitat ton.
His action was alternately vivaclous
and sullen His voice varied rapidly
from a tremplous indecision when the
animal spirits seemed utterly in aoey
ance) to that species OF energetic con-
cision-that abrupt, weighty, unhurrled
and hollow sounding enunciation; that
leaden, self balanced and perfectly
modulated cultural utterance, which
may be observed in the lost drunkard
or the irreclaimabe eater of opium,
during the periods Of his most intense
excitement
It was thus that he spoke of the OBJ
iect OF my visit. of his earnest desire
to see me and Of the solace he expect
ed me to afford him. He entered at
some length into what he conceived TO
he the nature Of his malady. 1t dis
played itself in a host of unnatural
sensations. He suffered much from a
morbid acuteness Of the senses; the
most insipid food was alone endurable;
he could wear only garments OF GER
! +o;, +ov%,,ro. fhc OdOrS Of all flowers
were oppressive; his eyes were tortur-
ed by even faint light. and there
were but peculiar sounds and these
from stringed instruments which did
not inspire him with horror.
70 an anomalous species of terror y
found him a bounden slave. q shall
perish. said be. q must perish y
this dsplcrable folly. Thus, thu. ana
80 - -. sAall I b lot .E dEoa4