The Argosy — page 71: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

58 In the Black Forest. of clear, rippling water. ‘The banks are clad with an emerald green, that stands out in vivid, refreshing contrast with that far-off back- ground of sombre heights. Soon the New Castle is reached, a building old enough to satisfy an antiquarian, and only called new in contradistinction to the Old Castle—now long since gone to wreck and ruin. I turned into the New Castle, as in duty bound, and inspected the state rooms, where hung portraits of dead and gone members of the Grand Ducal Family, and of the Royal Families of Europe with which they have intermarried in the course of centuries. One of the fairest and pleasantest faces was that of Louisa, Queen of Prussia, taken when almost a girl, and full of sweetness as well as firmness of character. The dungeons were, perhaps, the most interesting part of the castle, where Lynch law is said to have reigned, and tortures and horrors to have been committed in past ages. Such an atmosphere still clings about them. ‘The old woman who conducted us (some half a dozen Germans were waiting the inspection when I entered) led the way down a mysterious and gloomy staircase of thick masonry, terminating in a square chamber, damp and earthy, the abode, it might well be, of ‘innumerable creeping things.” Here she opened a suspicious looking closet, which seemed full of instruments of torture and miniature gallows. But these, on closer - inspection, turned out to be nothing more terrible than lanterns, and long tallow candles on flat pieces of wood. Lighting them, she gave us one each, and we filed off one after the other, a weird pro- cession headed by a woman, going to do battle with the powers of darkness. So we marched through the chambers, flashing out such feeble rays into the gloom as our lanterns gave forth. Massive walls surrounded us; thick doors composed of one huge block of stone, that scarcely yielded to the whole weight of the body. For a moment the heart of the assembled group stood still, and the old woman’s face turned pale, as she swung one of these heavy doors behind us, and swung it too far: there was neither bolt nor bar nor handle to bring it back. We thought ourselves entombed in a room whose walls were many feet thick, whence no voice or sound could reach to the outer, breathing world. Not an enviable position, for soon our candles would expire, and leave us in the blackness of darkness. The little group began to feel a sense of suffocation, of being walled up alive. No bell here to sound an alarm. ‘There are times when I verily believe the spirit of the evil deeds of the past still lurks in these dungeons,” cried our conductress. ‘Only once before has this abominable door served me this trick ; and then, as now, it seemed as if invisible hands had pushed-to the . heavy stone work and oiled the rusty hinges.” ‘The spirit of a demon,” suggested one; ‘‘ Mephistopheles himself, perhaps thirsting for more victims; enraged that we have fallen upon ECOMNIE OOOKS.CO© m