[87915] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
The sale is almost over for this amazing flashlight!
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Lana Katelyn)
Thu Sep 1 19:11:44 2016
Date: Thu, 1 Sep 2016 21:00:53 -0400
From: "Lana Katelyn" <lana.katelyn@rebeccas.stream>
To: <mit-talk-mtg@charon.mit.edu>
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<p>The sale is almost over for this amazing flashlight!<br /> Eymeric de=
Gironne; and there were passages in Pomponius Mela, about the old African =
Satyrs and Å?gipans, over which Usher would sit dreaming for hours. H=
is chief delight, however, was found in the perusal of an exceedingly rare =
and curious book in quarto Gothic - the manual of a forgotten church - the =
_Vigiliae Mortuorum secundum Chorum Ecclesiae Maguntinae_. I could not help=
thinking of the wild ritual of this work, and of its probable influence up=
on the hypochondriac, when, one evening, having informed me abruptly that t=
he lady Madeline was no more, he stated his intention of preserving her cor=
pse for a fortnight, (previously to its final interment,) in one of the num=
erous vaults within the main walls of the building. The worldly reason, how=
ever, assigned for this singular proceeding, was one which I did not feel a=
t liberty to dispute. The brother had been led to his resolution (so he tol=
d me) by consideration of the unusual character of the malady of the deceas=
ed, of certain obtrusive and eager inquiries on the part of her medical men=
, and of the remote and exposed situation of the burial-ground of the famil=
y. I will not deny that when I called to mind the sinister countenance of t=
he person whom I met upon the staircase, on the day of my arrival at the ho=
use, I had no desire to oppose what I regarded as at best but a harmless, a=
nd by no means an unnatural, precaution. At the request of Usher, I persona=
lly aided him in the arrangements for the temporary entombment. The body ha=
ving been encoffined, we two alone bore it to its rest. The vault in which =
we placed it (and which had been so long unopened that our torches, half sm=
othered in its oppressive atmosphere, gave us little opportunity for invest=
igation) was small, damp, and entirely without means of admission for light=
; lying, at great depth, immediately beneath that portion of the building =
in which was my own sleeping apartment. It had been used, apparently, in re=
mote feudal times, for the worst purposes of a donjon-keep, and, in later d=
ays, as a place of deposit for powder, or some other highly combustible sub=
stance, as a portion of its floor, and the whole interior of a long archway=
through which we reached it, were carefully sheathed with copper. The door=
, of massive iron, had been, also, similarly protected. Its immense weight =
caused an unusually sharp grating sound, as it moved upon its hinges. Havin=
g deposited our mournful burden upon tressels within this region of horror,=
we partially turned aside the yet unscrewed lid of the coffin, and looked =
upon the face of the tenant. A striking similitude between the brother and =
sister now first arrested my attention ; and Usher, divining, perhaps, my t=
houghts, murmured out some few words from which I learned that the deceased=
and himself had been twins, and that sympathies of a scarcely intelligible=
nature had always existed between them. Our glances, however, rested not l=
ong upon the dead - for we could not regard her unawed. The disease which h=
ad thus entombed the lady in the maturity of youth, had left, as usual in a=
ll maladies of a strictly cataleptical character, the mockery of a faint bl=
ush upon the bosom and the face, and that suspiciously lingering smile upon=
the lip which is so terrible in death. We replaced and screwed down the li=
d, and, having secured the door of iron, made our way, with toil, into the =
scarcely less gloomy apartments of the upper portion of the house. And now,=
some days of bitter grief having elapsed, an observable change came over t=
he features of the mental disorder of my friend. His ordinary manner had va=
nished. His ordinary occupations were neglected or forgotten. He roamed fro=
m chamber to chamber with hurried, unequal, and objectless step. The pallor=
of his countenance had assumed, if possible, a more ghastly hue - but the =
luminousness of his eye had utterly gone out. The once occasional huskiness=
of his tone was heard no more; and a tremulous quaver, as if of extreme te=
rror, habitually characterized his utterance. There were times, indeed, whe=
n I thought his unceasingly agitated mind was laboring with some oppressive=
secret, to divulge which he struggled for the necessary courage. At times,=
again, I was obliged to resolve all into the mere inexplicable vagaries of=
madness, for I beheld him gazing upon vacancy for long hours, in an attitu=
de of the profoundest attention, as if listening to some imaginary sound. I=
t was no wonder that his condition terrified - that it infected me. I felt =
creeping upon me, by slow yet certain degrees, the wild influences of his o=
wn fantastic yet impressive superstitions. It was, especially, upon retirin=
g to bed late in the night of the seventh or eighth day after the placing o=
f 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 wa=
ned away. I struggled to reason off the nervousness which had dominion over=
me. I endeavored to believe that much, if not all of what I felt, was due =
to the bewildering influence of the gloomy furniture of the room - of the d=
ark and tattered draperies, which, tortured into motion by the breath of a =
rising tempest, swayed fitfully to and fro upon the walls, and rustled unea=
sily 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 off =
with a gasp and a struggle, I uplifted myself upon the pillows, and, peerin=
g earnestly within the intense darkness of the chamber, harkened - I know n=
ot why, except that an instinctive spirit prompted me - to certain low and =
indefinite sounds which came, through the pauses of the storm, at long inte=
rvals, I knew not whence. Overpowered by an intense sentiment of horror, un=
accountable yet unendurable, I threw on my clothes with haste (for I felt t=
hat I should sleep no more during the night), and endeavored to arouse myse=
lf from the pitiable condition into which I had fallen, by pacing rapidly t=
o and fro through the apartment. I had taken but few turns in this manner, =
when a light step on an adjoining staircase arrested my attention. I presen=
tly recognised it as that of Usher. In an instant afterward he rapped, with=
a gentle touch, at my door, and entered, bearing a lamp. His countenance w=
as, as usual, cadaverously wan - but, moreover, there was a species of mad =
hilarity in his eyes - an evidently restrained _hysteria_ in his whole deme=
anor. His air appalled me - but anything was preferable to the solitude whi=
ch I had so long endured, and I even welcomed his presence as a relief. &qu=
ot;And you have not seen it ?" he said abruptly, after having stared a=
bout 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 casements, and threw it freely open to the =
storm. The impetuous fury of the entering gust nearly lifted us from our fe=
et. It was, indeed, a tempestuous yet sternly beautiful night, and one wild=
ly singular in its terror and its beauty. A whirlwind had apparently collec=
ted its force in our vicinity ; for there were frequent and violent alterat=
ions in the direction of the wind ; and the exceeding density of the clouds=
(which hung so low as to press upon the turrets of the house) did not prev=
ent our perceiving the life-like velocity with which they flew careering fr=
om all points against each other, without passing away into the distance. I=
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 f=
orth of the lightning. But the under surfaces of the huge masses of agitate=
d vapor, as well as all terrestrial objects immediately around us, were glo=
wing in the unnatural light of a faintly luminous and distinctly visible ga=
seous exhalation which hung about and enshrouded the mansion. "You mus=
t not - you shall not behold this !" said I, shudderingly, to Usher, a=
s I led him, with a gentle violence, from the window to a seat. "These=
appearances, which bewilder you, are merely electrical phenomena not uncom=
mon - or it may be that they have their ghastly origin in the rank miasma o=
f the tarn. Let us close this casement ; - the air is chilling and dangerou=
s to your frame. Here is one of your favorite romances. I will read, and yo=
u shall listen ; - and so we will pass away this terrible night together.&q=
uot; The antique volume which I had taken up was the "Mad Trist" =
of Sir Launcelot Canning ; but I had called it a favorite of Usher's more i=
n sad jest than in earnest ; for, in truth, there is little in its uncouth =
and unimaginative prolixity which could have had interest for the lofty and=
spiritual ideality of my friend. It was, however, the only book immediatel=
y at hand ; and I indulged a vague hope that the excitement which now agita=
ted the hypochondriac, might find relief (for the history of mental disorde=
r is full of similar anomalies) even in the extremeness of the folly which =
I should read. Could I have judged, indeed, by the wild overstrained air of=
vivacity with which he harkened, or apparently harkened, to the words of t=
he tale, I might well have congratulated myself upon the success of my desi=
gn. I had arrived at that well-known portion of the story where Ethelred, t=
he hero of the Trist, having sought in vain for peaceable admission into th=
e dwelling of the hermit, proceeds to make good an entrance by force. Here,=
it will be remembered, the words of the narrative run thus: "And Ethe=
lred, who was by nature of a doughty heart, and who was now mighty withal, =
on account of the powerfulness of the wine which he had drunken, waited no =
longer to hold parley with the hermit, who, in sooth, was of an obstinate a=
nd maliceful turn, but, feeling the rain upon his shoulders, and fearing th=
e rising of the tempest, uplifted his mace outright, and, with blows, made =
quickly room in the plankings of the door for his gauntleted hand ; and now=
pulling therewith sturdily, he so cracked, and ripped, and tore all asunde=
r, that the noise of the dry and hollow-sounding wood alarummed and reverbe=
rated throughout the forest." At the termination of this sentence I st=
arted, and for a moment, paused ; for it appeared to me (although I at once=
concluded that my excited fancy had deceived me) - it appeared to me that,=
from some very remote portion of the mansion, there came, indistinctly, to=
my ears, what might have been, in its exact similarity of character, the e=
cho (but a stifled and dull one certainly) of the very cracking and ripping=
sound which Sir Launcelot had so particularly described. It was, beyond do=
ubt, the coincidence alone which had arrested my attention ; for, amid the =
rattling of the sashes of the casements, and the ordinary commingled noises=
of the still increasing storm, the sound, in itself, had nothing, surely, =
which should have interested or disturbed me. I continued the story: "=
But the good champion Ethelred, now entering within the door, was sore enra=
ged and amazed to perceive no signal of the maliceful hermit ; but, in the =
stead thereof, a dragon of a scaly and prodigious demeanor, and of a fiery =
tongue, which sate in guard before a palace of gold, with a floor of silver=
; and upon the wall there hung a shield of shining brass with this legend =
enwritten - Who entereth herein, a conqueror hath bin ; Who slayeth the dra=
gon, the shield he shall win; And Ethelred uplifted his mace, and struck up=
on the head of the dragon, which fell before him, and gave up his pesty bre=
ath, with a shriek so horrid and harsh, and withal so piercing, that Ethelr=
ed had fain to close his ears with his hands against the dreadful noise of =
it, the like whereof was never before heard." Here again I paused abru=
ptly, and now with a feeling of wild amazement - for there could be no doub=
t whatever that, in this instance, I did actually hear (although from what =
direction it proceeded I found it impossible to say) a low and apparently d=
istant, but harsh, protracted, and most unusual screaming or grating sound =
- the exact counterpart of what my fancy had already conjured up for the dr=
agon's unnatural shriek as described by the romancer. Oppressed, as I certa=
inly was, upon the occurrence of this second and most extraordinary coincid=
ence, by a thousand conflicting sensations, in which wonder and extreme ter=
ror were predominant, I still retained sufficient presence of mind to avoid=
exciting, by any observation, the sensitive nervousness of my companion. I=
was by no means certain that he had noticed the sounds in question ; altho=
ugh, assuredly, a strange alteration had, during the last few minutes, take=
n place in his demeanor. From a position fronting my own, he had gradually =
brought round his chair, so as to sit with his face to the door of the cham=
ber ; and thus I could but partially perceive his features, although I saw =
that his lips trembled as if he were murmuring inaudibly. His head had drop=
ped upon his breast - yet I knew that he was not asleep, from the wide and =
rigid opening of the eye as I caught a glance of it in profile. The motion =
of his body, too, was at variance with this idea - for he rocked from side =
to side with a gentle yet constant and uniform sway. Having rapidly taken n=
otice of all this, I resumed the narrative of Sir Launcelot, which thus pro=
ceeded: "And now, the champion, having escaped from the terrible fury =
of the dragon, bethinking himself of the brazen shield, and of the breaking=
up of the enchantment which was upon it, removed the carcass from out of t=
he way before him, and approached valorously over the silver pavement of th=
e castle to where the shield was upon the wall ; which in sooth tarried not=
for his full coming, but fell down at his feet upon the silver floor, with=
a mighty great and terrible ringing sound." No sooner had these sylla=
bles passed my lips, than - as if a shield of brass had indeed, at the mome=
nt, fallen heavily upon a floor of silver - I became aware of a distinct, h=
ollow, metallic, and clangorous, yet apparently muffled reverberation. Comp=
letely unnerved, I leaped to my feet ; but the measured rocking movement of=
Usher was undisturbed. I rushed to the chair in which he sat. His eyes wer=
e bent fixedly before him, and throughout his whole countenance there reign=
ed a stony rigidity. But, as I placed my hand upon his shoulder, there came=
a strong shudder over his whole person ; a sickly smile quivered about his=
lips ; and I saw that he spoke in a low, hurried, and gibbering murmur, as=
if unconscious of my presence. Bending closely over him, I at length drank=
in the hideous import of his words. "Not hear it ? - yes, I hear it, =
and _have_ heard it. Long - long - long - many minutes, many hours, many da=
ys, have I heard it - yet I dared not - oh, pity me, miserable wretch that =
I am ! - I dared not - I _dared_ not speak ! _We have put her living in the=
tomb !_ Said I not that my senses were acute ? I _now_ tell you that I hea=
rd her first feeble movements in the hollow coffin. I heard them - many, ma=
ny days ago - yet I dared not - _I dared not speak !_ And now - to-night - =
Ethelred - ha ! ha ! - the breaking of the hermit's door, and the death-cry=
of the dragon, and the clangor of the shield ! - say, rather, the rending =
of her coffin, and the grating of the iron hinges of her prison, and her st=
ruggles within the coppered archway of the vault ! Oh whither shall I fly ?=
Will she not be here anon ? Is she not hurrying to upbraid me for my haste=
? Have I not heard her footstep on the stair ? Do I not distinguish that h=
eavy and horrible beating of her heart ? Madman !" - here he sprang fu=
riously to his feet, and shrieked out his syllables, as if in the effort he=
were giving up his soul - "_Madman ! I tell you that she now stands w=
ithout the door !_" As if in the superhuman energy of his utterance th=
ere had been found the potency of a spell - the huge antique pannels to whi=
ch the speaker pointed, threw slowly back, upon the instant, their ponderou=
s and ebony jaws. It was the work of the rushing gust - but then without th=
ose doors there _did_ stand the lofty and enshrouded figure of the lady Mad=
eline of Usher. There was blood upon her white robes, and the evidence of s=
ome bitter struggle upon every portion of her emaciated frame. For a moment=
she remained trembling and reeling to and fro upon the threshold - then, w=
ith a low moaning cry, fell heavily inward upon the person of her brother, =
and in her violent and now final death-agonies, bore him to the floor a cor=
pse, and a victim to the terrors he had anticipated. From that chamber, and=
from that mansion, I fled aghast. The storm was still abroad in all its wr=
ath as I found myself crossing the old causeway. Suddenly there shot along =
the path a wild light, and I turned to see whence a gleam so unusual could =
have issued ; for the vast house and its shadows were alone behind me. The =
radiance was that of the full, setting, and blood-red moon, which now shone=
vividly through that once barely-discernible fissure, of which I have befo=
re spoken as extending from the roof of the building, in a zigzag direction=
, to the base. While I gazed, this fissure rapidly widened - there came a f=
ierce breath of the whirlwind - the entire orb of the satellite burst at on=
ce upon my sight - my brain reeled as I saw the mighty walls rushing asunde=
r - there was a long tumultuous shouting sound like the voice of a thousand=
waters - and the deep and dank tarn at my feet closed sullenly and silentl=
y over the fragments</p>=20
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