The Complete Northanger Horrid Novel Collection (9 Books of Gothic Romance and Horror)

by Eliza Parsons

  "Just as we were going to leave this abode of gloom and horror, I perceived a little door in the remotest corner of the room, it was likewise unbolted, and we entered a second room, which bore the same gloomy aspect with the former apartment, being covered with half-rotten remains of broken furniture; another door led us at length into a spacious hall, where the cheering light of the day hailed us at last, many of the arched windows being either open or broken to pieces; the fresh air, the beautiful view meeting our eye from every side, chased at once from our countenance the solemn awe.

  "Here," exclaimed the Lieutenant, "here we will meet the airy Lords of this Manor; Let us try, gentlemen, whether we cannot fit a table and some seats among the rotten relics of furniture."

  "We succeeded in our attempt, dragged a round massy table in the middle of the hall, supported it by four worm-eaten poles, then we fetched some pieces of wood from the adjacent apartments, placing them upon large stones round the table, and thus secured a resting place for the night.

  "Now we rambled through several apartments on the other side of the hall, and meeting with nothing worthy of our notice, except the traces of desolation, we returned by the way we had entered that gloomy mansion.

  "We descended into the court-yard and made there likewise our observations: spurred on by curiosity, we entered through a ruinous side building, a garden, which still bore some marks of former grandeur; broken statues of marble were here and there lying on the ground. We cleared with our sabres a way through brambles and nettles to a grove of beech trees; it likewise was hardly penetrable.

  "Having worked our way for more than half an hour, with much toil and difficulty, through a thicket of thistles and brambles, we arrived at length wearied and fatigued at an open spot; in the middle of it we beheld a statue, bearing in one hand an urn of black marble--we approached and read the following inscription on the pedestal:--

  "HIC JACET

  GODOFREDUS HAUSSINGERUS,

  PECCATOR.

  (Here lieth Godfrey Haussinger, a Sinner.)

  "A little lower down we perceived a cross engraved in the stone, and under it

  A.D. 1603.

  "We stared at each other in dumb amazement, and being already too much fatigued, we did not like to work our way farther into the garden, and returned.

  "Gentlemen," began the officer, as we were going back, "what do you think of the inscription on that tomb?"

  "I think," replied I, "it strongly corroborates what the landlord has told us."

  "My companions smiled, and we came again into the court-yard, looking around we observed and arched wall opposite the staircase; as we came nearer we saw a flight of steps leading to a cellar, which was shut up by a massy iron door, strongly secured by an enormous padlock.

  "Having now examined every corner we returned to our inn.

  "The landlord, who was ignorant of what we had been about, was struck with horror and amazement when we related where we had been, and did his utmost to persuade us to desist from our design; however, when he saw he was spending his breath in vain, he kept his peace, and mentioned not a single word more about it during the whole day--we did the same--for the Lieutenant's conversation amused us so well, that evening stole upon us unawares.

  "Our dinner was better than our scanty supper on the preceding day, because the Lieutenant had brought with him an ample provision of ham and cold beef; some bottles of excellent wine, which he was also provided with, raised our spirits, and increased his and the Baron's courage, in such a manner, that they expected the approach of night with the greatest impatience--they were constantly looking at their watches, and as soon as the clock had struck nine, thought it high time to go to the castle.

  "We called the landlord to pay our bill, and the poor fellow tried once more to persuade us not to go to the castle: he entreated us not to expose our lives thus daringly to certain danger, and at last fell on his knees;--but when we left the room, without taking notice of his entreaties and ardent prayers, he lamented before hand our untimely death, gave us a lamp, and bolted the door, fetching a deep sigh.

  "The Lieutenant's servant walked before us, carrying the lighted lamp in his hand, and a portmanteau stocked with provisions under his arm, and we kept close to his heels, armed with sabres and pistols.

  "It was autumn, and of course very dark. We arrived at the castle; the faint glimmering of the lamp spread a kind of awful twilight around us as we were walking through the lofty arches of the vaulted passage leading to the court-yard. Having fired our pistols and loaded them again with bullets, we ascended the staircase; the doors leading to the hall we left open, that we might have a view of the court-yard, and sat cheerfully down to supper; a bottle of wine we had taken with us to keep us alert, was handed round: however, we missed our aim, for every one of us began to grow drowsy soon after we had finished our meal--we rose and walked about in order to avoid falling asleep, but we were soon tired of it, the ground being so very uneven, and returned to our seats. I recollected now, very fortunately, that I had put the fables of Gellert in my pocket. I took the book out, and began to read to the company; then I gave it to the Baron, and he was relieved by the Lieutenant--thus we were enabled to resist the powerful charms of sleep.

  "Now it struck eleven. All around us was buried in awful silence, which only now and then was interrupted by the creaking of our feeble chairs; the Lieutenant wound up his watch and put it before him on the table.

  "One hour more," began now the officer, "and we shall be in another world." Then he awoke his servant, who was fast asleep, and the Baron began again to read to us.--When the Lieutenant's turn came for the second time, he looked at his watch and exclaimed, "three quarters past eleven, we must be on our guard."

  "He got up and went to the window, I followed him, impenetrable darkness surrounded us, no star could be seen; awful silence was still all around, interrupted only by the snoring John, and the creaking of the wood; the pale light of our lamp produced a horrid glimmering in the spacious dreary hall; the Baron, leaning his head upon his arm, struggled to forget every object around him, and the officer uttered not a single word.

  "Now we heard a clock toll twelve at a great distance, and I walked softly back to my seat, the Lieutenant did the same, taking up one of his pistols, and rubbing the lock with his handkerchief. We looked at each other, and every one of us strove in vain to hide the horror he was struggling against. The watchman cried the hour, the crowing of the cocks told us midnight was set in, and still all around us was as silent as the grave. The Baron laid the book upon the table, and the Lieutenant was going to raise a loud laughter, asking us where the spirits might be, when suddenly the trampling of horses and the sound of horns was heard--we all were fixed to our seats, staring at each other with a ghastly look; now the noise seemed to be under our window; the Lieutenant ran towards it, with a cocked pistol in his hand, but he was too late.

  "All was quiet again, and an awful stillness swayed around the castle: however, a few seconds after we heard suddenly a most tremendous noise in the court-yard, which was followed by a terrible trampling and a jingling of spurs on the staircase, as if a great number of people in boots was coming up. The noise came nearer and nearer, my feet began to fail, my teeth to chatter in my mouth, and my hair to rise like bristles, while every sense was lost in anxious bodings; at length the noise grew fainter and fainter, and soon we could hear it no more, and midnight stillness resumed her awful sway.

  "A long pause of dumb astonishment ensued, until at last the Lieutenant, who had recovered his spirits first, exclaimed, "Shall we go down?" I shook my head without uttering a word, and the Baron was likewise silent. "Then I will go alone," said the Lieutenant, snatched up a brace of pistols, drew his sabre, and hurried down. He returned a few minutes after, exclaiming, "It is surprising; I cannot see the least traces of either men or horses."

  "Now he retook his seat, casting down his looks in a pensive manner--his servant was still snoring--the Baron began again to
read, and I fell fast asleep. At once I was roused by the report of a pistol, I and honest John started up at the same moment, and we heard once more the trampling of horses and the sound of horns, but it soon died away at a distance, and the Lieutenant entered the hall with the Baron.

  "They also had not been able to resist the leaden wand of sleep, but the same noise in the court-yard we had heard at twelve o'clock had soon roused them from their slumber. "As soon as we heard the noise," said the Baron, "we hastened to the outer room, our pistols cocked, but before we could reach it the noise was under the window of the castle; the Lieutenant knocked through one of the windows in the room close to the hall, and sent a bullet after the troop, which was rushing by like an hurricane; however, he was prevented by the darkness of the night from distinguishing any thing except some white horses.

  "The spirits are afraid of us," exclaimed the Lieutenant now, "but come, let us return to our inn, we shall rest more comfortable on a bed of clean straw than on this damp ground." We all consented to it, and left the gloomy abode of those nocturnal sportsmen. We knocked a good while at the door of the inn before it was opened: and at last the landlord appeared, stammering, lost in wonder, "God be praised that you are still alive, how did you escape?"

  "The Lieutenant silenced him by some hasty lies, and promised to give him a full account of the whole adventure after he should have rested a little.

  "Gentlemen," said he, as soon as he got up in the morning, "next night I will go once more to the haunted castle, and spend the night in the court-yard, will you keep me company?"

  "The Baron looked at me as if he wished me to refuse the proposal; I did so. "We cannot," said I, "stay here a day longer, and such an undertaking would, besides, be too dangerous for only four people."

  "O!" exclaimed the Lieutenant, "if that is all you have to say against it, then I will soon make you easy. We will take a dozen stout fellows from the village with us, they will not hesitate to accompany us if we give them a couple of dollars and a good dram; it will be devilish good fun, and to-morrow, with the first dawn of day, I will depart with you."

  "The Baron consented to the proposal, and I myself did not dislike it; in short, we remained, and sent our postilion through the village to publish, "that all young fellows who would go with us to the castle next night, should have sixpence each, and as much brandy as they could drink."

  "In less than half an hour the whole village was assembled round the door of the inn. We selected fifteen of the stoutest, ordered them to provide themselves with proper arms, and to appear by ten o'clock at night at the inn. Our landlord, who beheld these preparations in dumb amazement, believed firmly that we must be arch necromancers, and his fancy having been fired by the wonderful account of our nocturnal adventure, which the Lieutenant had given him, he was himself not unwilling to go with us to the castle, and to bid defiance to the infernal hosts. However, as soon as it grew dark, his courage died away, and he wished success to our undertaking, telling us, he could not leave his house.

  "Our little army was assembled before ten o'clock, armed with scythes, poles, hay forks and flails. We ordered the landlord to give a dram to every one; took some tables, benches, lamps, and a small cask of brandy with us, and marched in triumph towards the castle.

  "We pitched our camp in the court-yard, not far from the entrance, the peasants placed themselves round the brandy cask, lighted their pipes, and expected with pleasure the appearance of the airy gentlemen.

  "Another advantage we reaped from that honest company was, that we had no need to keep sleep at a distance by reading, for the merriment of our little army soon rose to the highest pitch, and these jovial fellows, being heated by the contents of our little cask, challenged his satanic majesty and all his infernal hosts amid peals of roaring laughter.

  "It was now past eleven o'clock, and the noise began to abate, some of our gentlemen were nodding, and some snoring, we were therefore obliged to beg those who had not yet yielded to the powerful charms of sleep, to give us a song, which they instantly did in so vociferous a manner, that our hearing organs were most painfully affected--the sleepers started up when they heard that terrible noise, and joined the jovial songsters with all their might. Thus we chased away the god of sleep, who seemed not in the least to relish the disharmonious notes of our jolly companions.

  "Now the Lieutenant beckoned to the blithesome crew, and the clamorous noise was suddenly hushed in awful silence. It struck twelve o'clock, and the sound of horns and the trampling of horses was heard at a distance. The peasants listened, their mouths wide open, and gazed at each other struck with chilly terror. No sound was heard, except the palpitating of their hearts, and here and there the chattering of teeth--all of them moved their lips as if praying ardently. The noise came nearer and nearer, and now it seemed to be in the castle. Again everything was silent, but in an instant the former noise struck once more our listening ears, and the infernal hosts rushed by like lightning--the Lieutenant, the Baron, and I darted through the passage leading to the gate, but the airy gentlemen were already out of sight, and we could see nothing, save a faint glimmering of some white horses. The mingled noise of their horns and of the trampling of their horses soon died away; the stillness of midnight swayed all around, and we returned to the court-yard.

  "Our valiant crew was still fixed to the ground, seized with horror and astonishment. None of them were able to distinguish whether we were ghosts or their fellow-adventurers; however, they recovered their spirits by degrees, and prepared to leave the residence of the infernal sportsmen.

  "We left the castle, fully convinced that these nocturnal ramblers must be beings who were afraid of us, discharged our courageous troop and went to rest.

  "I awoke with the first ray of the morning sun, and roused the Baron and the Lieutenant; the latter seemed not to be inclined to fulfil his promise, being desirous to try his fortune once more, and to hide himself either in the court-yard, or before the gate. When he saw that we would not stay any longer, he postponed the execution of his design to a future time, and followed our example.

  "We left our inn at six o'clock, the morning was gloomy and rainy, the wind swept furiously over the heath, and drove the black clouds still closer and closer together; after a few minutes we entered the Black Forest. Looking out of the coach I saw the Lieutenant and his servant turn to the left towards a brook, where we beheld an odd incident. A reverend old man was sitting there, and reading in a large book; bewildered in profound meditation, he seemed to take no notice of the howling storm; and not to be sensible of the rain rushing down in large drops upon his uncovered head, the tempest was sporting with his reverend grey locks, and the rain beating in his face, yet he did not stir. His long brown robe seemed to denote a traveller from the East--a long staff and a black wallet were lying by his side.

  "I got out of the coach to view that strange being a little closer, and to speak to him, but before I could accost him, the Lieutenant exclaimed, "Greybeard, what art thou reading?"

  "The old man appeared to take no notice of his question, and went on reading as if nobody had been there.

  "What art thou reading?" exclaimed the Lieutenant once more, alighting and looking over his shoulder at the book.

  "The old man answered not a word, but still continued to read. I also was now standing behind him, and looking at the book, its leaves were of yellow parchment, the characters large and of different colours.

  "The Baron was close at my heels, and the Lieutenant being provoked by the man's obstinate silence, shook him now violently by the shoulder, thundering in his ears, "Greybeard, what art thou reading?"

  "Now the old man lifted his reverend head slowly up, stared at us with angry looks, and then said, with a solemn awful voice,

  "Wisdom!"

  "What language is it?"

  --(Reading again)--"The language of wisdom."

  "What dost thou call wisdom?"

  --"All that thou dost not comprehend."

  -
-"If thou knowest what other people cannot comprehend, then I should like to ask thee a question."

  --(Staring again at him)--"What question?"

  --"There is a castle not far from the next village, where every night a numerous troop of spirits make their entry; I and these two gentlemen have watched there these two nights."

  --(Interrupting him)--"And art not a bit wiser for't, for thou seemest not to be fit to converse with spirits."

  --"But thou--?"

  --"I understand the language of Wisdom."

  "The Lieutenant bit his lips, shaking his head with a contemptuous smile. Now the Baron accosted the old man, who again was immersed in profound meditation.

  --"Well, then, if thy book contains such a treasure of wisdom, then tell us why that castle is haunted by spirits, and for what reason they go their nightly rounds?"

  --"That the spirits must tell thee themselves."

  --"What does then thy book contain?"

  --"The ways and means of forcing them to a confession."

  --"But why hast thou not forced them long ago to confess every thing?"

  --"Because I never cared for it."

  --(Laughing)--"But if we should entreat thee to do it, and pull our purses, would'st thou not do us that favour?"

  --(Frowning)--"Vile mortal, can wisdom be bought with gold and silver?"

  --"How can one then purchase it?"

  --"With nothing--hast thou courage?"

  --"Else we could not have watched in the dreadful castle."

  --"Then spend another night in it. I will be there a quarter before twelve o'clock--now leave me."

  "We gazed at each other with doubtful looks. The old man resumed his reading, and seemed to take no further notice of us, who were still standing behind him lost in silent wonder. At length the Lieutenant mounted his horse, and we went back to our coach. "Well," said the officer, as we were getting in our carriage, "well, gentlemen, will you return with me?"