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

by Eliza Parsons

  "The villagers are not yet punished," continued he, "for having assisted them, but they shall not escape their doom. Our future safety demands the destruction of the village, and its environs, but, tell me, what shall we do with that fellow there? He is well fed, and seems not to be without strength, my advice is to make him our companion."

  "We will, we will," roared the whole troop.

  "Then their terrible leader resumed, "he must give us tonight a specimen of his dexterity."

  "He shall, he shall," was the universal cry. I trembled like a wretched culprit who hears his sentence pronounced, when the speaker addressed me thus:--"Fellow! thou hast heard what an honour we have conferred on thee, we expect that thou wilt be faithful to us, oaths are as little valued among robbers as they are in hell, and a hand-stroke will satisfy us, give me thy right hand as a token of unshaken fidelity."

  "Trembling did I obey his stern command, and he bade me to take courage, to abandon all fear, and to follow him. The torches were extinguished, the robbers began to converse in an unintelligible accent, the horns were sounded, the whole troop set spurs to their horses, rushing over the fields like a midnight tempest; I felt myself seized by the arm, and my horse pulled by the bridle after them. After a short ride the voice of the terrible leader ordered us to halt.

  "Here," said he to me, "is a gun and a whistle! The former thou art to use in case of necessity, and the latter as soon as a wagon or a coach passes the road."

  "This said, he rode away, but methought I heard another horseman not far from me.

  "Now I began to consult with myself what I should do, whether I should betray the innocent traveller, or suffer him to escape. My mind shrank back from the horrid idea of becoming accessory to the destruction of a fellow-creature, but how could I avoid it if I would not myself fall a victim to the cruelty of my infernal companions? Life is the sweetest gift of heaven, and not easy to be parted with.

  "While I was in deliberation with myself what course to take, I heard the rattling of a coach within a little distance from me, and a violent trembling seized my limbs: the coach came nearer and my trembling increased. Without knowing what I was about, I was going to apply the whistle to my lips, my hand trembled, a sudden stupor seized me, the whistle dropped to the ground, and the coach passed by in full speed; at the same time I heard somebody whistle behind me, soon after the report of three guns, accompanied with cries and lamentations, struck my ear; a female voice was praying for mercy, loud acclamations filled the air, and soon after all was hushed in profound silence.

  "I was sitting on my horse in dumb stupefaction, when on a sudden I perceived somebody laying hold of the bridle of my steed, and pulling her forcibly after him. After a few minutes I saw at a distance a glimmering light shining through the bushes; as we came near to the spot I beheld in my conductor the terrible leader of the band, and we at length arrived at a place surrounded with bushes, where the robbers were seated round a fire, dividing the spoil; they all gave a loud shriek, as if they already knew how badly I had acquitted myself of my first task.

  "Let us pronounce sentence against the rascal!" exclaimed my conductor, with a thundering voice.

  "Let us knock his brains out," roared one of the robbers.

  "Send him to the dungeon," exclaimed a second.

  "The latter we will do," resumed the Captain, "punishment may, perhaps, recall him to reason."

  "Having said this, he ordered two of the gang to carry me to the place of confinement; they mounted their horses, took me between them, and hurried away with me at a furious rate. We arrived with the first dawn of day at the bottom of a hill, where I forcibly was dragged through the bushes and thorns fettered with heavy chains, and carried through a narrow passage into a dark dungeon; groping about I found myself surrounded with straw, the muddy smell of which left me no doubt that it was half rotten.

  "Having lingered many hours in that terrible abode of misery, without either hearing or seeing anybody, I at last was hailed by the distant, hollow sound of approaching footsteps, dying away sometimes, and then vibrating again faintly on my ear; at once they grew more and more audible, and the glimmering of a light began to illuminate the subterraneous cave.

  "Turning round with much difficulty, I perceived that it emerged from a deep grotto behind me. The glimmering grew lighter, and the sound of footsteps drew nearer; at length I beheld a figure more frightful than the robbers themselves; the old hideous hag, adorned with all the graces of hell, ascended with alacrity from the gloomy abyss, panting for breath; and now I had a full view of the horrors of my den: the faint rays of my lamp were reflected in a grisly manner from the lofty walls, hewn into the solid rock, and mixed with the midnight darkness, which was hovering beneath the high-vaulted ceiling. My dungeon was of a small circumference, but appeared to be far removed from the surface of the earth; the dreadful abode of horror was infected by a damp, pestilential air, through which the light was glimmering as if through a bluish fog.

  "The antiquated scare-crow began to pity and to bemoan my miserable doom, exhorting me to obey more strictly the commands of my masters, and, having put a pitcher with water, and a piece of bread before me, unfettered my hands, admonishing me to submit patiently to my fate, and never to attempt an escape, which not only would prove abortive, but at the same time prolong and increase my punishment. I uttered not a syllable, and she left me to muse in solitude on my forlorn and unhappy situation.

  "Three gloomy days of misery and dismay were now elapsed since I had been thrown into that terrible abode of silence and melancholy, before I saw anybody except the old witch, by whose visits alone I could guess the progress of time. No year of my whole life has ever appeared to me so long as those three days of woe; I strove in vain to loosen the fetters which chained my feet, the lock that confined them together baffled all my endeavours, and, after many fruitless efforts, I was obliged to bid a mournful adieu to every ray of hope of making my escape from the fangs of my cruel tyrants: black despair hovered over me with sooty wings, the greedy tooth of grief was gnawing on my vitals, and the recollection of former times of ease and tranquillity served only to heighten my misery.

  "The fourth day brought me the visit of the Captain, who entered my dungeon with a lighted torch.

  "Well, rascal!" exclaimed he, "how dost thou like this beautiful apartment? art thou tired of thy sepulchre, or dost thou prefer to be entombed alive for ever, to the honor of being one of our brave party? art thou sensible of the foolishness of thy stubborn disobedience, and may I expect that thou wilt be more obsequious in future?"

  "I groaned a lamentable yes, the result of my resolution, which I had been driven to by despair and my forlorn situation.

  "Well," resumed my tyrant, unfastening my chains, "I hope thou art sensible that it is more eligible to be a gentleman of the high road than to be buried alive amid spiders and toads; I will try once more whether I can make thee a worthy member of our society, rise and follow me!"

  "I attempted to get on my legs, but I sunk down again upon my damp couch; my legs, which were become quite useless by the pressure of the chains, were now pierced with most excruciating pains, and unable to support my miserable carcase. The robber seeing me struggle in vain to obey his command, seized me with a powerful arm, and dragged me forcibly over the rocky ground. I was trailed along the winding passage of the subterraneous fabric, like a victim to the altar, where it is to receive the finishing stroke. I was every now and then forced to crawl on my knees through narrow holes, and to climb with much difficulty over gaping chasms in the rock, till at length an iron door obstructed our passage; my conductor opened it, and I beheld a spacious lofty hall, illuminated with a great number of torches, where some of the robbers were seated at table, eating, drinking, and conversing merrily with each other, and some cleaning guns and pistols, and charging them.

  "They all spoke kindly to me, inviting me to partake of their blithesome meal, and congratulating me on the wise resolution I had taken to beco
me a sharer of their fortune. I relished the roasted meat, the turkeys, and hams exceeding well, and swallowed plentiful draughts of most delicious wine. Though I was not remiss to ply briskly the knife and fork and the cheerful goblet, and strove to do honour to the table, yet the robbers chided me every now and then, finding fault with my tardiness.

  "The exhilarating juice of the grape spread mirth and cheerfulness around; the spacious cavern re-echoed their jocund songs, the tales of their exploits gave variety to the entertainment, and it seemed as if the sting of conscience had entirely lost, with them, its pungent point. The cloth was at length removed, the beldam who had been waiting at table began now likewise to eat, and the robbers made themselves ready to leave their subterraneous haunt.

  "To-day," said the captain to me, before they departed, "thou shalt stay at home, but to-morrow thou art to be of our party, and thy deportment must decide whether we can enlist thee in our noble company, or shall knock thy brains out."

  "Then the whole crew sallied forth through the iron door, without giving me time to answer, and left me alone with the old woman, who was very assiduous to amuse me, relating with much garrulity, many stories of the dear gentlemen, as she called the robbers, and extolling their generosity to the skies.

  "Perceiving that I did not relish her tiresome tales, she fetched books, cards, and dice, leaving it to my choice what sort of amusement I should fix upon. I preferred reading to a tête-à-tête with the old witch, and endeavoured to dispel the gloom of my mind, by perusing an old book of chivalry.

  "At night my rusty companion wanted me to sit down to supper with her, which I refused, requesting her to show me to my bedroom. Vexed by my refusal, she mumbled something between her few remaining teeth, and opened the door of a small side-room where I found a couch, made of clean straw, and covered with a blanket; throwing myself upon it, I slept for the first time sweet and soundly after eight painful nights of horror.

  "The next morning the old woman thundered at my door, telling me it was broad day, and past nine o'clock, and that our gentlemen would soon return to dinner. I got up much refreshed, and assisted her in the kitchen, which pleased her so well that she promised to recommend me to the good graces of the Captain."

  "Thus far had my servant proceeded in his narration, without having been interrupted by me, though he had been very circumlocutious, and spoken above an hour. It gave me great pleasure to hear a circumstantial description of the robbers and their cave, and honest John's simplicity afforded me great amusement, which proved a very seasonable relief in my then gloomy state of mind; I therefore was very much vexed when one of the serjeants entered to tell him that they were waiting for him to proceed on their march, and bade him make haste, just as he was going to give me a full account of the robbers" deportment towards him after their return, of the splendid dinner which the old woman had prepared, assisted by him, and of their discourses at table.

  "I entreated the rough son of Mars to resign this recruit to me, and to accept from me double the binding money he had given him, but he did not relish my proposal, and John himself was little inclined to enter again into my service; at last I prevailed, by fair words and a small present, on the serjeant to wait a quarter of an hour longer, and he left the room after we had promised to be as expeditious as possible.

  "When he was gone I asked John why he would rather be a soldier than enter again into my service.

  "What else would you advise me to do?" replied he, with weeping eyes, "my life is exposed to the greatest danger in these parts, and would you like to have a servant who has been a robber?"

  "You have not been a robber," interrupted I the poor fellow, but recollected soon that he had not finished his narration, and perhaps might have been compelled at last, by menaces, to become a member of the gang, I therefore requested him to continue his tale, and to be as brief as possible, which he in vain strove to do, going every now and then astray. The substance of his confused continuation was as follows:

  "The robbers returned, treated John again with kindness, ate, drank, and left him once more, without mentioning a word about his going with them, which did not in the least displease him; he amused himself with reading, and when night invited him to sleep, he went to his couch with a much lighter heart than when he had left it in the morning. That manner of life he led eight days, during which time the robbers always returned to dinner, in greater or lesser number; the whole gang consisted of twenty-four stout men besides the Captain.

  "On the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and the three succeeding days, the robbers did not return, but on the fifteenth they all appeared in high spirits, though with empty hands; John concluded, from this circumstance, and what he could gather from their mysterious discourses, that they must have had several other haunts, where they hoarded up their spoils; the old castle on the skirts of the Black Forest seemed, however, to be their usual residence.

  "After dinner was over, and the goblet had freely circulated, the captain recollected that John was to give them a second sample of his capacity, ordered him to mount a horse, and conducted him, accompanied by two of his associates, to the high road leading through the forest, where he commanded him to lay in ambush, and to rob the first traveller he should see coming along the road.

  "Poor John was thunderstruck at the stern command of the Captain, fell at his feet, and entreated him to have mercy on him; but the ruffians laughed at him, and their leader repeated his order, swearing he would kill him on the spot, if he did not instantly comply with his desire. The hapless fellow seeing there was no alternative, but to be killed, or to prey on his fellow creatures, concealed himself in a thicket, and the robbers posted themselves opposite to him, behind some bushes, taking the three horses along with them.

  "The first travellers that passed by were two monks, and John thanked God in his heart that they were two. A little while after a ruddy countryman appeared, he was on horseback, as it seemed returning from the market, carrying two empty sacks behind him, and counting money. That will be an easy task, thought John, but when he was going to leave his hiding-place, his knees trembled he was unable to stir, and the clown pursued his way without being disturbed.

  "The robbers began to hem, and poor John seized with terror, was going to run after the swain, but, thinking him too far advanced, resolved to wait for the next traveller, and to attack him vigorously.

  "He had waited a good while for another opportunity to acquit himself of his task, till at length a travelling journeyman appeared. John rushed out of his hiding place before his prey was near enough and as soon as the frightened traveller saw a man running towards him with a pistol, he took to his heels and luckily got out of his reach.

  "The Captain and his companions seized with a fit of roaring laughter, exhorted their awkward pupil, in a low accent, to have a little more patience in future.

  "Before John could reach his lurking place, a Jew made his appearance; the sight of the poor Israelite fired the novice in robbery with an unusual courage; he rushed upon the terrified Hebrew like lightning, and, having seized him by the collar, demanded his money with a thundering voice. The petrified Israelite feeling himself thus roughly handled, shrieked and lamented most ruefully, and stoutly refused at first to deliver up his mammon, but when he saw his life at stake, and John put his pistol to his breast, yielded at last, with a woeful visage, to the uncouth demands of his aggressor, "I will give--I will give--all the money I have about me." So saying, he untied a leathern bag with money, fastened round his waist, and offered it to the greedy robber, who, transported with joy at his success, was thrown off his guard, and the cunning Jew taking hold of an opportunity to recover his treasure, seized, with much adroitness, the pistol, wrested it from poor John's trembling hand, and ordered the affrighted fellow, who was almost petrified, to return him his money instantly, if he would not have his brains blown out; John hesitated not a moment to submit to the Jew's demand, restored him his bag, and took to his heels, but the two robbers sallying forth fr
om their hiding-place, retook him soon, while the cunning Israelite got clear off with his money and John's pistol.

  "The unfortunate fellow was instantly carried back to the robbers" den, and shut up again in the subterraneous dungeon which he had but lately left. Having been confined there some weeks the robbers took him one day out of his hole, and gave him his liberty, and a small sum of money, after he had sworn a dreadful oath never to reveal the least thing of what he had heard and seen in the cavern during his stay with them, and to leave the country as soon as possible.

  "This is the substance of my late servant's narrative; he had entirely forgotten his oath until he mentioned it, yet he silenced soon his murmuring conscience, persuading himself not to have committed perjury, because he had been intimidated by dreadful menaces to make it, and an oath of that nature could never be binding; he at the same time alleged, that the Captain himself had declared that among robbers swearing was of no importance, and thus soothed his conscience.

  "I did not think it necessary to undeceive, but gave him a handsome sum of money as a token of my gratitude for his faithful services, and bade him an affectionate farewell. He thanked me with weeping eyes and left the room. When he was gone I mounted my horse, and arrived after a few hours at N----.

  "Now I come to the last and most important incident I ever met with during the whole time of my recruiting business, which will clear up all the above-related events, and dispel the clouds which are still hanging over some parts of my wonderful tale.

  "Two years were now elapsed since my last adventure, and I had heard nothing farther either of the Necromancer or his associates. The frequent unwelcome visits at the Castle and their alarming consequences, very likely had made both parties more circumspect, which appeared to me to have been the principal motive of those ruffians to release my servant, lest I might be induced to make a strict search after him; whatever may have been their motive for doing so, I had no farther trace either of the robbers or Volkert, and even at F----, the Necromancer's principal place of action, whither I went shortly after, even there, everything relating to our former adventures was entirely forgotten--the haunted inn had been sold to a new master, the apparition was frightened away, and the house was a respectable auberge.