^^^= O <"'',■ ^^=1 vi fe;^.--#'^^*' m ^ Herbert feiitoii. mroovchonby THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES THE HAUNTED HOUSE A Romafjce THE HAUNTED HOUSE BY THOMAS HOOD ILLUSTRATED BY HERBERT RAILTON WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY AUSTIN DOBSON London: LAWRENCE AND BULLEN 1 6 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN MDCCCXCVI Richard Clay and Sons, Limited, london and bungav. INTRODUCTION T/ie Haunted House is pathetically connected with the close of its author's life. It belongs to the period comprised in the final pages of those simple and unaffected Memorials by his son and daughter, which — until, from the pen of the Master of the Temple or some one equally capable, we are furnished with an ampler and a more critical biography — must remain the chief record of Thomas Hood. It was in the May of 1845 that he died ; and The Haunted House was probably composed in the last months 959380 vi INTRODUCTION of 1843, when he was ah'cady a doomed man, though still struggling gallantly, in spite of everything, to carry on his literary pursuits. Already, for several years past, his condition had been more or less critical. He suffered from heart disease, and periodic haemorrhage of the lungs, combined with minor ailments ; all of which, according to his faithful friend and physician, Dr. William Elliot, had been aggravated by the necessity that he should, in all cir- cumstances and " at all times continue his literary labours, being under engage- ments to complete certain works within a stated period." In the train of insom- nia had come its attendant troubles, depression and exhaustion, and these INTRODUCTION vii again had increased his malady," bringing on renewed attacks, and reducing him to such a state that he had been ren- dered utterly incapable of mental effort." These quotations are from a letter of 1840, but they represent with even more accuracy his condition in 1843. Yet his endurance, his courage, his buoyancy, and his cheerful spirit kept him active almost to the end. Several times dur- ing the progress of his last enterprise, his friends, of whom happily he seems to have had no lack, were obliged to make fresh excuses for the absence of his familiar pen. Now and then a little drawing, executed with difficulty in his sick bed, did duty for the defaulting pages of prose or verse ; and many of viii IXTRODUCTIOX his later papers were dictated to his wife — that kind and lo\in<^ nurse who for so brief a space survived her husband — in the intervals of terrible paroxysms of pain. The moment he could return to work he did so, pouring out his " whims and oddities," scrawling off admirable letters to childish favourites, or drawing up eloquent appeals to those in power on behalf of the poor and the oppressed. And strangely enough, to this period of his life belong not only The Haunted House, but two more of his most successful and enduring poetical efforts, TJie Song of the Shirt and The Bridge of Sighs. The Song of the Shirt came out anonymously in the Christmas Number INTRODUCTION ix of Punch for 1843, and its instantaneous and extraordinary popularit)' is matter of history. But The Haunted House 2i.nd The Bridge of Sighs both appeared in that ill-starred and short-lived serial Hood's ]\Iagaai)ie and Comic HHscel/any. The three volumes of this are now so rarely to be found, and it is, more- over, so intimately connected with its Editor's final struggle with that " long disease," his life, that before proceed- ing to the main duty of this " Intro- duction," it ma}' be worth while to give some account of it. A periodical which, in addition to the beautiful Stanzas — " Farewell, Life ! My senses swim," includes, not onU' two of Hood's best pieces, but half a dozen of X INTRODUCTION Robert Browning's Dramatic Lyrics and Romances, two or three poems by Keats, a poem and a conversation by Walter Savage Landor, and contributions by Monckton Milnes (Lord Houghton), " Barry Cornwall " (B. \V. Procter), the Hon. Mrs. Norton, G. H. Lewes, and G. r. R. James, — to say nothing of a humorous epistle from Charles Dickens, — scarcely deserves to fall into complete oblivion. Its prospectus, which was issued at the end of 1843, was in Hood's best manner, bristling of course with wit and puns, and betraying not the least indication of the writer's miserable state of health. There was to be a total abstinence from the stimulating topics and fermented ques- IXTRODUCTIOX xi tions of Politics and Polemics, it said, but " for the Sedate there would be papers of becoming gravity ; and the lover of Poetry would be supplied with numbers in each Number." " It would aim at being merry and wise, instead of merry and otherwise." "A critical e}'e was to be kept on current Literature, — a regret- ful one on the Drama, and a kind one on the Fine Arts, from whose Artesian well there would be an occasional draiviiigr More than half of the first number, which was published in January with, for those days, considerable success, (1,500 copies being sold), was contrib- uted by Hood himself The frontispiece was an exceedingly good steel engraving by J. Cousen, after Thomas Creswick, xii INTRODUCTION R.A., of The Haunted House ; and it is quite possible that the original picture, which, we arc told, was never in Hood's possession, supplied the initial sugges- tion for the poem it was employed to decorate. There were other verses by the Editor in the first part, which also included a metrical description, by an anonymous hand, of Hogarth's Rah^'s Progress, — a description scarcely to be described as an improvement on IIoadl}''s contemporary verses. The start whicli the maga/Jne obtained was, however, speedily obstructed by the usual financial difficulties. The proprietor turned out to be a man of straw, who had been tempted into the speculation by the Editor's name, but was without suf- INTRODUCTION xiii ficient capital to float the enterprise. After changing printers twice, Hood managed to get out the second num- ber, which opened with another of his more serious poems, The Ladfs Dream, — the title, by the way, of one of Stothard's water-colour designs in the William Smith Bequest at South Kensington. Hood's Lady's Dream, however, — notable for the couplet, " Evil is wrought by want of Thought As well as want of Heart," — was illustrated b}- himself, with some obvious assistance from its en- graver, Samuel Williams, and it had also an exceedingly picturesque tail-piece of a " Church Porch," the " scene of Gray's Elegyl' which, from the initials " T.C.," xiv INTRODUCTION was apparcnth' by Crcswick. Among Hood's colleagues in this part were Charles Mackay and Mrs. S. C. Hall, the latter of whom had offered to assist out of " veneration to the author of the Song- of the Shirty In No. HI. again, the initial poem, The Key: a MoorisJi Romance, was editorial \ but the most ambitious contribution was a blank verse treatment by Mackay of that theme of the death of Pan which, in this same year, Mrs. Browning also handled so supremely. Other " numbers in the Numbers " that succeeded were by Samuel Lover and the Hon. ]\Irs. Norton. In Part V., after a Threatening Letter to Thomas Hood from Dickens, came The Bridge of INTRODUCTION xv S/^/is and the beginning of the Editor's unfinished novel, Oi/r Family. In the next part Browning arrived to the rescue with The Laboratory and Claret and Tokay, which two latter pieces (supplemented by Bcer^ figure in his works under the title of Nationality in Drinks. These contributions he after- wards followed up by Garden Fancies, The Boy and the Angel, The Tomb at St. Praxed's, and TJic Flight of the Duchess. Apparently this assistance was procured for the magazine by Milnes, to whose good ofifices is no doubt also due the song of Old -il/eg, which Keats was stated to have written during his tour in Scotland in 1818, and which made its first appearance in No. VI., heralding xvi INTRODUCTION one or two other minor pieces from the same pen. ]Uit before the first volume was finished, work and worry had aijain brought Hood to the brink of the grave. " During several days," says an an- nouncement at the end of the number for June, " fears were entertained for his life." ]5ut he had rallied, and was recovering, though slowly, — in earnest of which he sent forth from his sick chamber two little sketches bearing unmistakable traces of the disadvan- tages under which the\' had been pro- duced. One, Hood' s J/c?i,'-, was a magpie in a hawk's hood ; the other, an "arrange- ment " of blisters, leeches, and physic bottles, symbolised and expressed The Editor^ s Apologies. INTRODUCTION xvii- It is needless to describe in detail the contents of the two remaining \olumes. Apart from Browning's poems, the most important of the pieces that followed were Landor's Prayer of the Bees for AlcipJiron, and the dialogue (in prose) between Dante and Beatrice, while in the number for November, 1844, figured a DeatJi of Clytemiiestra hy Bulwer Lytton, also but recently recovered from illness. Our Family dragged on to its twenty-third chapter ; but with the ex- ception of the Lay of the Labourer and the stanzas beginning " Farewell, Life !" already referred to, nothing else of im- portance came from the Editor himself His last prose contribution was a Note from my Note Book, in which he called C xviii INTRODUCTION attention to tlic curious fact that Collins's Ode to Evening is but one unbroken sen- tence ; his last metrical effort, a not ver)- remarkable epigram on Lord Brougham. This latter appeared in the March number of Vol. II., the frontispiece to which was the engraving by F. A. Heath (familiar in the old editions of Hood's poems) of his bust b}- Edward Davis. The same March number announced that he was " more .seriously ill than even Jic had ever been before." In April the hope- less character of his malady was defin- itely announced. He lingered, however, for a month longer, dying, as he said, *' inch b\- inch," but tranquil, resigned, and affectionate as of old. The end came at last on the 3rd of Maj-, 1845. INTRODUCTION xix It has already been hinted that The Haunted House may have been first prompted by Creswick's picture, for which the artist's name was no doubt the same. Indeed, the motto from Wordsworth prefixed to the poem is just such an one as might be expected in an Exhibition Catalogue. But even if this conjecture be well founded, the result is onl}- to increase one's sense of the extraordinary fertility of fancy which has accumulated around a suggestive title such a succession of images of solitude and decay, — such a brooding horror of ancestral crime and desolation. It is true that to-day the manner of the work is a little in the melodramatic taste of the forties and C 2 XX INTRODUCTION' fifties, but it is not the less ghostly on that account. And in this connection, it ma\' be observed that an acute and accompHshed critic of poctr\-, the poet Mr. lulmund Clarence Stedman, has been careful to notice a certain similarity between Hood's method in verse and some of Dickens's cognate pictures in prose. Mr. Stedman instances, for ex- ample, the touch of kinship between the old Hall in TJie Haunted House and " the shadowy grand-staircase in the Dedlock mansion" or " Mr. Tulkinghorn's cham- ber [in Lincoln's Inn Fields], — where the Roman points through loneliness and gloom to the dead body on the floor." Dickens had no need to borrow from any one ; but, as we have seen, he had IxXTRODUCTION xxi himself contributed to Hood's Magazine, and it may well be that something of its opening verses had lingered in his memory, though there are ten years between them and the publication of Bleak House in 1853. But in recalling Mr. Stedman's attractive pages, we must not forget that the most steadfast admirer of this poem — upon which the sympathetic pencil of Mr. HERBERT Railton has here lavished its wealth of ingenious interpretation — was also an American poet and critic. It is to The Haunted House that Edgar Allan Poe devotes the entire final paragraph of his review of Hood. In all probability no more keenly perceptive analyst of this particular effort could be found than xxii INTRODUCTION the author of The Raven, and for this reason �c shall take leave to close this preface by quoting his "appreciation" with a minimum of excision. After say- ing that he prefers The Haunted House to any composition of its author, he goes on : " It is a masterpiece of its kind — and that kind belongs to a �r}- lofty — if not to the ver\' loftiest order of poetical literature. . . . Not the least merit of the work is its rigorous simplicit}-. . . . The thesis is one of the truest in all poetry. As a mere thesis it is really difficult to conceive anything better. The strength of the poet is put forth in the invention of traits in keeping with the ideas of crime, abandonment, and ghostly visita- tion. Every legitimate art is brought in INTRODUCTION xxiii to aid in conveying the intended effects ; and (what is quite remarkable in the case of Hood) nothing discordant is at any point introduced. He has here very Httle of what we have designated as the fantastic — Httle which is not strictly harmonious. The metre and rhj'thm are not only in themselves admirably adapt- ed to the whole design, but, with a true artistic feeling, the poet has preserved a thorough monotone throughout, and ren- ders its effect more impressiveby the repe- tition (gradually increasing in frequency towards the finale) of one of the most pregnant and effective of the stanzas : ' O'e all there hung a shadow and a fear, A sense of mystery the spirit daunted. And said, as plain as whisper in the ear. The place is Haunted ! ' XX iv INTRODUCTION Had Mood only written TJie Haitiited House, it would have sufficed to render him immortal." Austin Dobson. Ealing, August, 1S95. The Haunted Houfe 77/t' Haunted Hoiife A Romance Part I Some dreams we have are nothing elfe but dreams^ Unnatural^ and full of contradictions ; Tet others of our mofi romantic schemes Are something more than fictions. It might be only on enchanted ground ; It might be merely by a thought' s expanfion ; But, in the spirit or the fefi, I found An old deferted Manfon. Jhe Haunted Iloufe A refidence for zvoman, child^ and man, A dwelling place,— and yet no habitation ; A Hou/e, — but under some prodigious ban Of Excommunication. Unhinged the iron gates half open hung^ Jarrd by the gufiy gales of many winters^ "That from its crumbled pedefial had flung One marble globe in splinters. No dog was at the threjhold, great or small ; No pigeon on the roof — no houfehold creature- No cat demurely dozing on the wall — Not one domeflic feature. 28 The Haunted Houje No human figure stirrd^ to go or come^ No face looked forth from shut or open cafement ; No chimney smoked — there was no sign of Home From parapet to bafement. With shatter d panes the graffy court was starrd 1'he time-worn coping-stone had tumbled after ! And thro the ragged roof the sky shone^ barr d With naked beam and rafter. O'er all there hung a shadow and a fear ; A senfe of myftery the spirit daunted., And said., as plain as whifper in the ear. The place is Haunted ! 29 The Haunted Houje The floixir greiv wild and rankly as the weed^ Rqfes with thiftles struggled for efpial, And vagrant plants of parafttic breeds Had overgrown the Dial. But gay or gloomy^ steaafaft or infirm^ No heart was there to heed the hour s duration ; All times and tides were lofi in one long term Of stagnant defolation. The wren had built within the Porch^ she found Its quiet lonelinefs so sure and thorough ; And on the lawn^ — within its turfy mound^ — The rabbit made his burrow. 30 The Haunted Houfe The rabbit wild and grey^ that flitted thro' The shrubby clumps, and frijk'd, and sat, and vanijh'd But leifurely and bold, as if he knew His enemy was banijh'd. The wary crow, — the pheafant from the woods — Luird by the still and everlajiing samenejs, Clofe to the manfion, like domefiic broods. Fed with a " shocking tamenefs^ The coot was swimming in the reedy pond, Befide the water-hen, so soon affrighted ; And in the weedy moat the heron, fond Of solitude, alighted. 31 The Haunted HouJ'e The moping heron^ motionlejs and stiff. That on a stone, as silently and stilly. Stood, an apparent sentinel, as if To guard the water-lily. No sound was heard except, from far away. The ringing of the witwalfs shrilly laughter. Or, now and then, the chatter of the jay. That Echo murmur d after. But Echo never mock' d the human tongue ; Some weighty crime that Heaven could not pardon, A secret curje on that old Building hung And its deferted Garden. 32 'The Haunted Houfe The beds were all untoucK d by hand or tool ; No footfiep mark' d the damp and mojjy gravel, Each walk as green as is the mantled pool. For want of Human travel. The vine unpruned, and the neglected peach, Droop'd from the wall with which they used to grapple ; And on the kankerd tree, in eajy reach. Rotted the golden apple. But awfully the truant shunnd the ground. The vagrant kept aloof, and daring poacher. In spite of gaps that thro' the fences round Invited the encroacher. 33 The Haunted Houfe For over all there hung a cloud of fear, A senje of myftery the spirit daunted^ And said, as plain as ivhijper in the ear, The place is Haunted ! The pear and quince lay squandered on the grafs ; The mould was purple with unheeded showers Of bloomy plums — a Wildernejs it was Of fruits, and weeds, and flozvers ! The marigold amidjl the nettles blew. The gourd embraced the rofe-bujh in its ramble ; The thijlle and the stock together grew. The hollyhock and bramble. 34 T'he Haunted Houfe The bear-bine with the lilac interlaced^ The sturdy burdock choked its slender neighbour. The spicy pink. All tokens were effaced Of human care and labour. The very yew Formality had train d To such a rigid pyramidal stature, For want of trimming had almojl regained The raggednefs of nature. The Fountain was a-dry — neglect and time Had marr'd the work of artifan and mafon. And efts and croaking frogs, begot of slime. Sprawl' d in the ruin d bafon. 35 D2 The Haunted Uouje The Statue^ fallen from its marble bafe, Amidft the refufe leaves^ and herbage rotten^ Lay like the Idol of some bygone race^ Its name and rites forgotten. On evry side the afpect was the same. All ruin d, defolate, forlorn and savage : No hand or foot within the precinct came To rectify or ravage. For over all there hung a cloud of fear, A senfe of myjiery the spirit daunted. And said, as plain as whifper in the ear, The place is Haunted! 36 The Haunted Houfe Part II O very gloomy is the Houfe of Woe^ Where tears are falling while the bell is knelling^ With all the dark solemnities which show 'That Death is in the dwelling. O very., very dreary is the room Where Love^ domejiic Love^ no longer nejiles. But., smitten by the common stroke of doom.. The Corpfe lies on the treflles ! But House of Woe, and hearfe., and sable pall., The narrow home of the departed mortal., Ne'er look'd so gloomy as that Ghoflly Hall., With its deferted portal ! 37 The Haunted Houfe The centipede along the threjhold crept^ The cobweb hung acrojs in mazy tangle^ And in its winding sheet the maggot slept^ At every nook and angle. The keyhole lodged the earwig and her broody The emmets of the steps had old pojfejfion^ And march' d in search of their diurnal food In undijiurb'd proceffion. As undifiurFd as the prehenftle cell Of moth or maggoty or the spider s tijfue^ For never foot upon that threfJiold fell^ To enter or to ijfue. 38 The Haunted Houfe O'er all there hung the shadow of a fear^ A senje of myftery the spirit daunted, And said^ as plain as whijper in the ear^ 'The place is Haunted ! Howbeity the door I pufid — or so I dream' d — Which slowly^ slowly gaped^ — the hinges creaking With such a rusty eloquence^ it seern d That Time himfelf was speaking. But Time was dumb within the Manfion old., Or left his tale to the heraldic banners., That hung from the corroded walls., and told Of former men and manners : — 39 The Haunted Houfe TJiofe tatter d flags^ that "tvith the open d door. Seem d the old wave of battle to remember. While fallen fragments danced upon the floor. Like dead leaves in T)eceviber. The startled bats flew out^ — bird after bird, The screech-owl overhead began to flutter. And seemed to mock the cry that she had heard Some dying victim utter ! A shriek that echo d from the joifted roof^ And up the stair^ and further still and further^ Till in some ringing chamber far aloof It ceafed its tale of murther ! 40 The Haunted Houfe Meanwhile the rufty armour rattled rounds The banner shudder d^ and the ragged streamer ; All things the horrid tenor of the sound Acknowledged with a tremor. The antlers, where the helmet hung, and belt, Stirrd as the tempeft stirs the foreft branches. Or as the stag had trembled when he felt The bloodhound at his haunches. The window jingled in its crumbled frame. And thro' its many gaps of defiitution Dolorous moans and hollow s ighings came, hike those of di/folution. 41 The Haunted Jloufe The woodlouje dropp'd^ and rolCd into a bally Touch' d by some impulfe occult or mechanic ; And namelejs beetles ran along the wall In univerjal panic. The subtle spider^ that from overhead Hung like a spy on human guilt and error. Suddenly turn d and up its slender thread Ran with a nimble terror. The very stains and fractures on the wall Ajfuming features solemn and terrific^ Hinted some Tragedy of that old Hall., Lock' d up in hieroglyphic. 42 The Haunted Houfe Some tale that mighty perchance^ have solved the doubt ^ Wherefore amongji thoje flags so dull and livid, 'The banner of the Bloody Hand shone out So ominoufly vivid. Some key to that infcrutahle appeal. Which made the very frame of Nature quiver ; And every thrilling nerve and fibre feel So ague-like a shiver. For over all there hung a cloud of fear, A senfe of my fiery the spirit daunted ; And said, as plain as whifper in the ear. The place is Haunted ! 43 The Haunted Houfe If but a rat had linger d in the houje^ To lure the thought into a social channel I But not a rat remain d^ or tiny mouje^ To squeak behind the panel. Huge drops roWd down the zvalls, as if they wept; And where the cricket ufed to chirp so shrilly., The toad was squatting., and the lizard crept On that damp hearth and chilly. For years no cheerful blaze had sparkled there., Or glanced on coat of buff or knightly metal ; The slug was crawling on the vacant chair., — The snail upon the settle. 44 The Haunted Houfe The floor was redolent of mould and muft^ The fungus in the rotten seams had quicken d ; P^hile on the oaken table coats of duft Perennially had thicken d. No mark of leathern jack or metal can^ No cup — no horn — no hofpitable token^ — All social ties between that board and Man Had long ago been broken. There was so foul a rumour in the air. The shadow of a presence so atrocious : No human creature could have feajied there, Even the moft ferocious. For over all there hung a cloud of fear, A senfe of my fiery the spirit daunted^ And said^ as 'plain as whifper in the ear. The place is Haunted ! 45 The Haunted Houfe Part III '•lis Jiard for human actions to account^ Whether from reafon or from impul/e only — But some internal prompting bade me mount The gloomy stairs and lonely. Those gloomy stairs^ so dark^ and damp^ and cold^ With odours as from bones and relics carnal^ Deprived of rights and conjecrated mould., The chapel vault or charnel. 46 The Haunted Houfe Thofe dreary stairs^ where with the sounding strejs Of ev'ry step so many echoes blended^ The mind^ with dark mijgivings^ feared to guefs How many feet afcended. The tempefi with its spoils had drifted in. Till each unwholefome stone was darkly spotted. As thickly as the leopard' s dappled skin^ With leaves that rankly rotted. The air was thick — and in the upper gloom The hat — or something in its shape — was winging And on the wall., as chilly as a tomb. The Death' s-Head moth was clinging. 47 The Haunted Houfe That myjiic moth^ which, ivith a senje profound Of all unholy prejence, augurs truly ; And with a grim significance flits round The taper burning bluely. Such omens in the place there seemed to be. At evry crooked turn, or on the landing, The straining eyeball was prepared to see Some Apparition standing. For over all there hung a cloud of fear y A senfe of myftery the spirit daunted. And saidy as plain as whijper in the ear. The -place is Haunted ! 48 The Haunted Houfe Tet no -portentous Shape the sight amazed ; Each object plain ^ and tangible^ and valid ; But from their tarniJK d frames dark Figures gazed^ And Faces spectre-pallid. Not merely with the mimic life that lies Within the^com.pafs of Art's simulation ; Their souls were looking thro' their painted eyes With awful speculation. On evry lip a speechlefs horror dwelt ; On evry brow the burthen of affliction ; The old Ancefiral Spirits knew and felt The Houfe's malediction. 49 The Haunted Houfe Such earneft woe their features overcajl, They might have stirrd^ or sigh' d^ or wept, or spoken ; But, save the hollow moaning of the blafl^ The stillness zvas unbroken. No other sound or stir of life was there., Except my steps in solitary clamber^ From flight to flight., from humid stair to stair. From chamber into chamber. Deferted rooms of luxury and state. That old magnificence had richly furnifKd With pictures, cabinets of ancient date. And carvings gilt and burnifi d. 50 "The Haunted Houfe Rich hangings^ storied by the needle's art With Scripture hiJior)\ or clajfic fable ; But all had faded, save one ragged part, JVhere Cain zvas slaying Abel. The ilent zvafte of mildew and the moth Had marrd the tijfue with a partial ravage ; But undecaying frown' d upon the cloth Each feature stern and savage. The sky was pale ; the cloud a thing of doubt ; Some hues were frejh, and some decayed and duller But still the Bloody Hand shone strangely out With vehemence of colour ! 51 E 2 The Haunted Houje The Bloody Hand that zvith a lurid stain Shone on the dujly floo}\ a dijmal token^ Projected from the cajement" s fainted panCy IVhere all befide "juas broken. The Bloody Hand significant of crime ^ That glaring on the old heraldic banner^ Had kept its crimjon unimpaired by time. In such a wondrous manner. O'er all there hung the shadow of a fear, A senfe of myflery the spirit daunted^ And saidy as plain as whijper in the ear^ The place is Haunted ! 52 The Haunted Houje The Death Watch tick'' d behind the paneW d oaky Inexplicable tremors shook the arras^ And echoes strange and myftical awoke. The fancy to embarrajs. Prophetic hints that filTd the soul with dread^ But thro one gloomy entrance pointing mofily. The while some secret injpiration said. That Chamber is the Ghofily ! Acrojs the door no gojfamer fejloon Swung pendulous — no web — no dusty fringes. No silky chryfalis or white cocoon About its nooks and hinges. 53 The Haunted Hcuje The spider shiinn d the interdicted room, The moth^ the beetle^ and the fly were banifli dy And where the sunbeam fell athwart the gloom The very midge had vanipid. One lonely ray that glanced upon a Bed^ As if with awful aim direct and certain. To show the Bloody Hand in burning red Embroidered on the curtain. And yet no gory stain was on the quilt — The pillow in its place had slowly rotted; The floor alone retain d the trace of guilt. Those boards obfcurely spotted. 54 The Haunted Houfe Objcurely spotted to the door, and thence With mazy doubles to the grated ca/ement — Oh what a tale they told of fear intenfe^ Of horror and aynazement I What human creature in the dead of night Had courjed like hunted hare that cruel di fiance ? Had sought the door, the window in his flight. Striving for dear exiftence ? What shrieking Spirit in that bloody room Its mortal frame had violently quitted? — Acrojs the sunbeam, with a sudden gloom, A ghoftly Shadow flitted. 55 The Haunted Houje Acrojs the sunbeam^ and along the ivall^ But fainted on the air so very dimly ^ It hardly veil'd the tapejiry at all. Or portrait frowning grimly. O'er all there hung the shadow of a fear^ A senfe of myjiery the spirit daunted. And said^ as plain as whifper in the ear. The place is Haunted ! 56 mftovrP ^Vl^maTic^^ "fey Th^Hooo qhc Ilk^ratic>iy" ^ J . 1/ ''" ■ i>-f 4 . ^ v^. AilMV-'ill* ^U^' dreony" ^ hsve are, noihiiib el/e but dreairi/" \^inoK'i-e>l , and /vlJ cy^ conlic\didicnr ; .et oikerf a/^ ovr w.ofl: rcmanhc ycheme/ re /ometKiiib more ihen /i?.lionr . m &p\ be only cm. eJicJ-sanie'd E'rovnd ; lit m^hl be merely hy a ibc'^Ktjr expan/ico.; 40)^'^ .'^^- ^Ke ypint or ihe /fe/K, I /c'vacl G^n old de/ei-ted yAf^njica . G^ rejidtnct /or ^/oms^n , child , ond m^ii , '^yu. cl veil uib -ploce,- ^nd S'd no hevbitdion; i OLije,— bul" under rome prop.^.'iij f I cXccMiimt J n\ ce>ii on ..^ v^'t ^/^^^fw 1 -vWrnf" nhin^jad fhe iron^ater haL^ open kviibj , r 6)h5t /I'oin ijj" crunibled pe^Wtel heel /^Jui& "j//^ le rnDrble j4'-''^^ ^^ jP^^'^-*^' r\;-3 o doc w<2\5 dl the mre/'holcl ,^ree»b or /mall j -JI^Lo picem on iJie roc/* — no hov/diolcl ■cr'<2oti-ire — ''o) cesJ' demurely doynx^ on Ihe nvo.11 --/ /'---"^'- Nci tI^II* ill ,iM '^-^;«5=^^ ^te|- |i:-\l^cpeii hvi^ .A^^*^ hu:iian /Tenure j-hnxi , io ^ cr come , ic' /c X No chimneyymokecl - there Wdf no p^n c)/^^'^1on■le."■ jer nd a /^r ^ f- 0^=*^ jaxst of nryjterjy" Ifie ypinl dounied , ^ ''^^-^ ^'^^ nd jaid e/ plain, ej" wkjper in iKe ec>r , <]/ "^^ pl5ce I/JHiunied. . .W^^'^^ he f\>^r opcw wild ^ncl raiildy" cj lji£ ' v7eeclft, .jj - ^J^c^ej wilK ihyilc/ jirijc^c^led /ct cspieJ Dd ovi ^ei^Town the jJJ :' 'm^^sS/^''^^i„m:' i]or oO(x dll thoe v[ 05^ or iJooipy , yi'eevd/2sjl' or iiyTnn . oyyo Kx-c^rt vvaj iKere i«s. ^\i^ci eva"!65liP-t; j'ajiKntiff, lojc to Jnc '^neNPjiop. , like doip.e/hc brooclj . jie cool �c>j yvcimmii-^b in iKe reedy pcnx:l Q^/Oejide the vCc�-lx;iV /ojoca e7?njjited •. ^ C>VJ^^- i-'"^ ^-2 vveedy mod: tRe lierop. '^ . - ». - /^Jclilucie , didk'-ed . ?ikI "^' ^^ KS^^ moplnc, heroQ , mohunlejj" c>nd jlipM'!'*-' ■.|ii!j:g!!iifiv:':':f::.lv p Jcuncl we/ hc:£^rd j^ccept , /rem /Sr evv7&^ , ke nntyi^ c/' the wUlw^H/ J-ha\]y l^^Jiter. r.ncw evp.cl ^^'^ ^^ >r, Ajecret curje cri that old BvikLi^ huifc^ Axvd itf dejiaied Qarden . ' Ivl' fcho never mock'd Ike humDn lonj^ue, ^/ome wei^Kry" crime , tneJ JuledVeJi cculd noi peM'dcn , he bedj were cJi nn.touch'd by Kesud crtfc>c!. ir- , {{^&i Wc>lls. a/ breen e^r ij Hie^ mcNnlled^ pool , j ; he viiie. unpi-Liiied , csnd ]:!ie);1'i'edt^&^i-~>^i^?^^^,P-^ i^C■'p^ c^Joo/^ Mid Jen nb pc\xhei7; ,ci' over es|l iKcie Ihiiac, cn clouci/c/' /ec , O-^yeiye cf nvyiilery tiie jpinl' de\unted , J^nd /e^id , Cn/ pliMii (Sj wKy'per m tAc eevr he pl^ce \J jnresvjiiltfd ' .^/ i^ ' ^X-^p(^ v^eol. 1 ._Hs Ke pecM csncl quince levy jqucMider'd en the b"-- Uj, 5.nd sv-cedj, Mid '^ - -' -:'''^'>*^*'' ^ 1 /lower;! -■ ;3y^|^'.^ e cMi i^yH^ lio!!y-hocK- eoid brcMnble. ^'^ v\' '' '[' f '^^ O JJKe becsr- biae v?itA ike lAisC 'lak'!"l^cal , (iJ^KcjKircl^ bur-dccK chcKecl ij| jlcixlci-Xj^cjJ^bcur, iKe vti-y ^yew J^mevlib/ Ke^l i^'*^"^^^ l.'^^f.C^.^j*'^ he ■idhhi^wyj ^f lu^ '-> ^>m - ^ --^^k- >-- A^^.Tf ,/. V v,» The EiiJiifoin v?os n-cliy > > ^'^^ ( |i > J|Ke Jounlaiji Wey^ c>-cUy — nccJect cmk\ hme _jQl?jd mevrirl TRe work c/cvilifeNn evncl ni^Ai^n ,^ ''y /plc^w^d in /he ruin.'d be^/on Jt-V.^:' - p^yJik the Jdol of Jcmz ^^^p'^t^mc^^^^^^ 1|| mine cvnd •rite/' y^M35S^^^^Syl^W;^^•'^™l'i^ n ev'i^ j"ide ine eyped W5j" ihe j'^mz , n n.iin d , de/clate, /oYloin micI /e^vev6e : hevnd or /vc\ wit-Ain fne preciiKi: ce ie i2 rechf^ c>r ra^evOe • 10*% X MO y^ he vv'eedy moet '; ' ' 'iV"!::-^ or over dl there hmb ?> cJolicI cy^ /eesr, ^ejye oF nv£/}ery the Jpinl cievunjeci , Q^/nind j'eMcl ^ ey pJcMii evf wh^per in. mt ecv , ^:r^ 4 1 -^o- 1/Av ^^^^ .;rf =-. —-— Jtr . .i Mr. f: ;•! ■ I fl: ^^^ .^ ,^J^ l'l«^ I >^5 h A.y^^^^\ <'*■ '^.'^ A-^> v.- L-. ,) iPmilL" <0 veiy gloomy if iKe Mov/e o/^ \Voe , itn C\ fh.e d.diix JCikninitieJ wl^ich yKc>w Ke\l DedK y ip. the "civrellint^. very , very dyecsi'y ij me room \^ Kere JlA^ve , dome/he love , no kmber neftle;, 4[j)ut , Jm'ilteii by t common jlrcke cf doom , ^^p (T^^ oriye lie/ 011 }.(� tre|tle( 1 ' ' '' ' 'j ii (jilep^rl-ed n^cl1(^l , he i^evrrow hoine ^ -^-i> • Vf:" n^ -^ \ V- X. (the ceiihpcde cslonh ihe tKre/hcld crept , ^|he cobweb hui\6 dciof/" in. mazy l-iM\L'le , ey%d m i� vTindm^ jbeet fKe mc 6c\i jkp\ , [ evciy nock CNi^^d cii6le *^ he Keyi")cle Jc'd6ed CcsrWi^ Mid her brooci , (f ll^c cm)^K\j of the /lep/ hcsd Jc poJJeJSion , C/ilnd iTiMcHed in Jee cK o/ iKeir diu)-j-)2\l /cod jjn undijfurbecl pidce^ion VJ/ mcfl^ or niev^bol-. ci tt� ypidct)*'/ tijfuerTr'"^ JCpr never /coi upon lAe»l thre/Hold /til, kf)^ MjLo enJei' or io liiue,. ^iM 2 'ei' d) there huh5 fife J^hilov^^g/^ ts %^jo\j(L op m^T/kry the" ypirit dduiitecl , [he pl2 E'l ae^'cT /cot upt'p. \hA ,JL/\owbcit , t"Kc doer I pufh d — or jo X clrecMnd Vs/Hi<^H ylt'wly, jlc'wly 6c\pcd , — lAe Kia^e/ cit-ovkind V ^JJitr\ yi^ch cN ru/ty doc^ence. , it" jeemed. \ ^ | '1* 0:^ or - r W'-^sT ul" (Jm^e Wd/ dumb �iihin 'ALKc>ty�MTj'ion cJd (Or le/J K]/ }c^le te ike hcroklic bc^nn.cr/". iihci] Kunb /Fom the concded xvcJIf , Mid fold yormer men Dnd mMinerf. (^Ijhc/e- tdtej""d A<>^ , tkcA witK the opep.'d door, /ean d. the eld wevve of bcsmz to reinanber , V^Kile /e^Hep. /rcNbiv.ci'dj' Sj^nced upon ike /joor, jKe decNd leave; in JLDec^rnber iKe j-teii/ccl b^ /few- oLii, — bn-d cybr BM' , Ke ycrecch — owl cverhe<^d bc&on to /Ititta" , nd /ccmcd to mock tKc cry thevl Jlie Kevcl KcM'd ome dyiiib victim ulter ! (^c)/nLjhnck lhe\l echo'd /rem iKe ]o� iKe evntleij , where \ ^ he wmxlc'vc^ unblc£l v\ � crun^bled /rw-ne , (^x/jiB*^ ^-^'^ ^--^ mcMiy ^pj of dzjiiUAion . I .'4 ^^^ ^^n^ wmWp k-'iMnfm^' '^V ' • ^^|l" " No/See loc'Ka/erfl^.- Kc wocd-loLi[£ clioppcd, mkI rolled m\o cn boLi, JjoijcK'd by jcmc inipulje occult or mcchismc/;/ fVGmd namelerr beetlef ran. cslonb^jKe vsali'', / _ j[ii univer/'al pc^l1lC jr^^:?^^^^^^ V^'v tun^'d Mid up ][f jich<^<^r thread CM1 WLti\ D niinble teitor" Cjx'j^^umin^ /e^tu^ef ydcmn. ^nd terri/ic , JI^\inred yome ^^^edy c/^ ihd eld He^ll , [ocK'd up m hiercblvphic ome ble thd mi^Kt , perchcMKe , hove reived the doubl' , hcre^re eNmci-^i" iho/£ fi?^ jo dull fti<6' livjd , ^ bc^nncr of tKe BMXPQy ]^N^j'-H'0!le Vjo oti-up.oufiy Vivid out iov[ JP bul cN i'c>t Kescl Im^c) ci jn tke Koi^e , jj Ic lure the ihciibht into r. j"ccic\l ch.cMin.e! '• i^'l ,_.lKut not ^ rcsi remcMi')"d or tiivy mouye /l"^! ^2B^ feo jQupl^ bdMiid the f^i^4"i^TF^^^£^^" ' ' ■W-i'^*i-,- lube d /or yec^rj }-)0 chcei/iA hlcof, hc^d jpisiKlecl iKcie r 6leMiced on cool of bu/p or knibhllsT md&l; / j"Jiil; w^ a"c^vvlln6 cmti ' Ihe 'y«^C^snt^^h^^^::a (f Ke /iocr we^ redoleiit oP i^iould '£MT(d"~lriu/t ^ J[he /ui^.^ty 111 Ine loUcn jccswj hc■^d ciuiickeii'd •, yVnile on the ceskei^ ievble co^]| oP ciufl j-^rennic>lKr he\d ihicken.'d . ojyo itjcmK of lec ncrn ie here w^; jo /l-u\ es rumour m [Ke e^ir, JLhe jKc\dow ^ e\ prc/cnce Jo ^^kco.ouj ■ Q r^o hi-imgvn creeslurc ccmld Kesvt /eafleci iKere ci^. ike nuy} /crcciou/" vci^. / .^/jt-^..'! t^ r^ cloud o/" ?_y%/^j^ of m.yJh-y ihe /pu'it dexuiited -.^^ Ke pl^ce j/ Jh.Dunted ' ''^^^^ ^Ci - "^^^^? .,r -M ^. _ —^^i^^^im^i?;W :**'»=•- ^,>'T .ill) 'I ^r' ^"%*M^^isate?fi- c ij heM'd /or human. ^adioiiX 'To a.^^nt' , ctkcr from rcofon. oi- /rom in>puj|e onhT" ■^" [ jt'me inicrnevl promptuib bade me nicui-^!: le docnp.y J^'^^IT <3i^-d icnciy Kcye ^icoHTy vJcNicT, J'o dark, Jodomp, j"o odd ' vVifK oclc'Lirf &^ fujni bonef and reijcf airnal , vlLJ^-prived of �\ and Coii/ecroled ip.culd. , ke ch^pe! vcjuit ajid cKarnd ■~^^- joclemp , Jo colci, , ' iT-f hc'/e dreciry"' J^curf , wh.cre with. tke^^jiGMno'.^^iejr Or '^'^'J'y y^cp /o many cchocf blended /■ ''Z;^,-:!: iKe mind , with dark mij'6iv-in&/ , /ecvred b bue/T ow many /ecf OfCcnded . [ne tempc/-! with itj Jpoilf had dii/fed iii, Jiil each uiiwhde/tniie yk-iie wof darkly ypctled ^^^-^L/ thicky- of the iecpardf dcippled j%n ^ ,l\K lee^ve/- that raiilxkr rotted ; cJm^in^ O/ ciil unholy prcjoACt, cju&ur; Iiujj^'^'^ /3ind vvitk a brim jl5m/iccmce Aim io^DK'" Jhe toper burnn\5 bluely ji^^'^- omen/ in iKe phct tKcre /eem'd to be , i cvi 'y crocked turn , cr on the laixlmt' , he j-'lrcMn.ih'c> eyebll waj prepereci k- Jtt /omc /IppcM^'iticn. jtcMidiiib .or over oil iherc hi^inc e^ clcud of /ec ^^^^x^ jo^j^ of HTyjrery Hie ypu'it dauniccL , ici r^:d ;'i||'il'-^ ([^ch object plain, and tanblble J:ii;i^||iK^^:l3l*'..ii9j! IKut /rem their icMi-dfii'ci A-^inS oy^iTid JlSvcef ypedre - pallid, i^-'-. ^_Ji^ xol" merely wilhlKc inimic ii/e ^athia the cciT!f a/j" ofly\ilf Jimulalica j (flKeir j'oulj* were k'ckinb ti^.ro' their painted eye/ ^^lih aw/ul j-pecuicNlion. . ([J)i\ cvry lip cN ypecchkjj" hoirol- dwelt , '^iM"^ '^ ev'ry brow me burthen of 'cmjidion- •^fflfvn-^'jf Ke JPVpa/ej' metedidien uch earner^ woe iKeir /kduicj ovefba/t , Key mi^t hexve flind . ci JiUi'd . cr �tpl: , or /poKcn. ut , yove the hollow mc>aninb o/' Ihe bieyl , Ke /Hllaen" waj unbixiken rR^ ■ -liter f it f' 11 ■-' -^^/^ De/ertel ;t)i)iii/ if Ltx "Kr — \ ' and j^oit' ^j:!- * O V Ut\' /ouiid or yhr of life wo/ tl-iti'e .xapt my j'lepj in yclitaiy clamber , , HrL^ni /"liW-it k' /li6h.t , /rem Kum.id ylciir tL'Jloin,; C>^cm chambci into chamber """''t^-^'^' „ ':^s=JiWfi^ iKat ekl mati-ii/Tcencc had richly /urni/h ci'i ^ ^^^ith piclure/' ccibi'net/" o/" ancieni date lul caiwinb^ bilt and bumi/K'd ch heipl'inci , Jhned bv itie "needle',' ^ o ihfcnplurz hi/toiy , or claJJic /able, ^ ^' . m lS«^iWM uf dl he>d /bded . J6.vc one ro56ed pSrf ,i ^. ere {p^m wq/ ( ne jilepl wa/te of mildew e^n.cf the molK. _ ll^ nr.l mcuT'd the tixfue �ifK a partial rovev^e, i)ut undece^yuib Acwn'd upon. iKc cloth le jky wcj p<:>ie ■, the cicad £\ thin?:' of doubt ^ Jjome -Kuef weic fejh , and Jome decay 'd ciad dulla" JJ ul jfdl tke B'^'O'^ rVmrid Acns. jlronbely out vV't^ vehemence of colour ! /and lha[ wifk a [mna f!c \. /hone oil tne du/fy /iccr, o di/nx'J^^ic''^^^^-' .^ere csW be/ide W(5/ broken MlKe J5)Wldic banner, Jl ([JPer all tKere hun.^ lae /.KeNclow of <^ y^r . /^ J^^y^ ^r my/tery the Jpn'^^ daunieci . nd juici of piau\ a/ whyper m iIm? ^. "Jie place \j jL^uiikd ! ke J_j)eGtK V/cifch tick'd behuid iiie panel! cL oak, JjnexpliCcNbk Irenicr/* /hock the. SMTa/ , nd echoef yironce ^nd mxi/iical eswoke , rcpheiic hhitf IHcnI /[lid the jou\ wilh drcocl, ^ J)ul ifiro one •blooiri^'" entrance pouihnfe, mo/ti^.' ' , ^ l|l he^wKilc yome j*eciei in/piKNlion ^id , '^^^^"^'^^ ^ -/ ' M r,: ^\i ^rr'.U -T-jE p»^ /I II V 1 uQw' ^'t'^.r^ -^'' ^ III' Hi El' 'mil hS^ m -^[y:s. But tfu'o' one I £-loojny eiiti'cMicc ,^5^WLin^ peaduiour — nc web — no dufl^^iiYru'y^,'^^. __ Jl ^ Ao J"i!iv/" chr^Jevli; or vvhite acco; (l/)�out \j iK'ckf and hini:)e/'. I ^h.e jpiclcr jKunn d iKe jnia'dided room , I he inotk , the betne , and the /ly vvere bcmi/K d , jid Vv'+iere the junbeam /^li atkwcMi ihe bK'<-"'i"i-"i [he vajy Budte had vcmi/K' d ([^ic Icnet'y ray that glanced upon o\3ccl., C^: _ if wliK ciw/ul aim dircct ai-\dL certai^.^f, / V ['mbrciclerecL on. the Curtair^' MTr- '-•-K- mm \ //' /"''J ■' ''V 1 upon & ncL yei no ^cry ylaiii vvoj" on the oiJilt — _J[Ke pillciw jji il/" place had jicwiy rotted i ^Ijme /loor alone retain 'd the Irace of bmilr , J[h.o;e bccird/' cbycurely" ypoiied . Otycurely jpciied b ihe door , and. thence ilK moz^y" clou bier io the brated aiy6niei^^-v;^*''j- \j)h. whai a tale iKey bid o/" /mr r'^t^^2ti[;^'ijf<*|^ qjy Korrcf and omcgement >^/hal: human creature ia Hne dead, o/'ni^t ^^jQad cour/ecl liK.e Kui-died. hare "that cruel dyiiuice' ir^ ad Jou^lii ike door , ike v7indow~ m hi/* /i^ , ^^^invni^ /or dear e/ylaice' hai rhnekinb (fpini: in IKcit bkjfdyfjro^ jt/" mortal /r-ame had violeatij^ ;^j^ (o_^/K^i'Qj/ the /unbeairv , with a^«iQ|i.ei\'^.^ ^^^gx^itly fhadow- ykted. .;j X , ^*^-- ,,,«;f ';"3ny Q^^P^crcjf fhe /unbeai-n , aacL evLcp.5 the wail, yojul poiiifed on the air jo very diinly, J^ kardly v-eil'd iKe tape/fry ^t ail , (M)r pcrtrciit /fownin^ g;rimhr (Mjcr al! there huD-6 H.-ie, /hciclovsT c^ a /ecu", C/xj^iye cV" mvTfteiy tke jplrii daunted , �d j-duL.oj plaax of whi/per in ike asr , IKe place if jr"^aunted ^Ih^ 'Y' ^ m UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. Form L9-40m-7.'56(C790s4)444 M Hood - ii797 The haunted house H22 PR 1797 H29 PR4797 m^q""^ yr •H29 '''/i'fii, L 009 539 iT;- UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILIT A A 001 427 215 169