During the whole of a dull , dark , and soundless day in the autumn of the year , when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens ,
I 0
had been passing alone , on horseback , through
a singularly dreary tract of country 1
; and at length found
myself 0
, as the shades of the evening drew on , within view of
the melancholy House of
Usher 3
2
.
I 0
know not how it was -- but , with the first glimpse of
the building 2
, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded
my 0
spirit .
I 0
say insufferable ; for the feeling was unrelieved by any of that half-pleasureable , because poetic , sentiment , with which the mind usually receives even the sternest natural images of the desolate or terrible .
I 0
looked upon the scene before
me 0
-- upon
the mere house 2
, and the simple landscape features of
the domain 2
-- upon the bleak walls -- upon the vacant eye-like windows -- upon a few rank sedges -- and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees -- with an utter depression of soul which
I 0
can compare to no earthly sensation more properly than to the after-dream of
the reveller 4
upon opium -- the bitter lapse into everyday life -- the hideous dropping off of the veil .
There was an iciness , a sinking , a sickening of the heart -- an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime .
What was it --
I 0
paused to think -- what was it that so unnerved
me 0
in the contemplation of
the House of
Usher 3
2
?
It was a mystery all insoluble ; nor could
I 0
grapple with the shadowy fancies that crowded upon
me 0
as
I 0
pondered .
I 0
was forced to fall back upon the unsatisfactory conclusion , that while , beyond doubt , there are combinations of very simple natural objects which have the power of thus affecting
us 5
, still the analysis of this power lies among considerations beyond
our 6
depth .
It was possible ,
I 0
reflected , that a mere different arrangement of the particulars of the scene , of the details of the picture , would be sufficient to modify , or perhaps to annihilate its capacity for sorrowful impression ; and , acting upon this idea ,
I 0
reined
my 0
horse to the precipitous brink of
a black and lurid tarn that lay in unruffled lustre by
the dwelling 2
7
, and gazed down -- but with a shudder even more thrilling than before -- upon the remodelled and inverted images of the grey sedge , and the ghastly tree-stems , and the vacant and eye-like windows .
Nevertheless , in
this mansion of gloom 2
I 0
now proposed to
myself 0
a sojourn of some weeks .
Its 2
proprietor 35
,
Roderick Usher 12
, had been
one of
my 0
boon companions in boyhood 8
36
; but many years had elapsed since
our 9
last meeting .
A letter , however , had lately reached
me 0
in
a distant part of
the country 11
10
-- a letter from
him 12
-- which , in its wildly importunate nature , had admitted of no other than a personal reply .
The MS gave evidence of nervous agitation .
The writer 12
spoke of acute bodily illness -- of a mental disorder which oppressed
him 12
-- and of an earnest desire to see
me 0
, as
his 12
best , and indeed
his 12
only personal friend 0
, with a view of attempting , by the cheerfulness of
my 0
society , some alleviation of
his 12
malady .
It was the manner in which all this , and much more , was said -- it was the apparent heart that went with
his 12
request -- which allowed
me 0
no room for hesitation ; and
I 0
accordingly obeyed forthwith what
I 0
still considered a very singular summons .
Although , as
boys 13
,
we 9
had been even intimate associates , yet
I 0
really knew little of
my 0
friend 12
.
His 12
reserve had been always excessive and habitual .
I 0
was aware , however , that
his 12
very ancient family 3
had been noted , time out of mind , for a peculiar sensibility of temperament , displaying itself , through long ages , in many works of exalted art , and manifested , of late , in repeated deeds of munificent yet unobtrusive charity , as well as in a passionate devotion to the intricacies , perhaps even more than to the orthodox and easily recognisable beauties of musical science .
I 0
had learned , too , the very remarkable fact , that the stem of
the Usher race 3
, all time-honoured as it was , had put forth , at no period , any enduring branch ; in other words , that
the entire family 3
lay in the direct line of descent , and had always , with very trifling and very temporary variation , so lain .
It was this deficiency ,
I 0
considered , while running over in thought the perfect keeping of the character of
the premises 2
with the accredited character of
the people 3
, and while speculating upon the possible influence which the one , in the long lapse of centuries , might have exercised upon the other -- it was this deficiency , perhaps , of collateral issue , and the consequent undeviating transmission , from
sire 14
to
son 15
, of the patrimony with the name , which had , at length , so identified the two as to merge the original title of
the estate 2
in the quaint and equivocal appellation of the "
House of
Usher 3
2
" -- an appellation which seemed to include , in the minds of
the peasantry who used it 16
, both
the family 3
and
the family mansion 2
.
I 0
have said that the sole effect of
my 0
somewhat childish experiment -- that of looking down within
the tarn 7
-- had been to deepen the first singular impression .
There can be no doubt that the consciousness of the rapid increase of
my 0
superstition -- for why should
I 0
not so term it ?
-- served mainly to accelerate the increase itself .
Such ,
I 0
have long known , is the paradoxical law of all sentiments having terror as a basis .
And it might have been for this reason only , that , when
I 0
again uplifted
my 0
eyes to
the house itself 2
, from
its 2
image in
the pool 17
, there grew in
my 0
mind a strange fancy -- a fancy so ridiculous , indeed , that
I 0
but mention it to show the vivid force of the sensations which oppressed
me 0
.
I 0
had so worked upon
my 0
imagination as really to believe that about
the whole mansion 2
and
domain 2
there hung an atmosphere peculiar to themselves and their immediate vicinity -- an atmosphere which had no affinity with the air of heaven , but which had reeked up from the decayed trees , and the grey wall , and
the silent tarn 7
-- a pestilent and mystic vapour , dull , sluggish , faintly discernible , and leaden-hued .
Shaking off from
my 0
spirit what must have been a dream ,
I 0
scanned more narrowly the real aspect of
the building 2
.
Its 2
principal feature seemed to be that of an excessive antiquity .
The discoloration of ages had been great .
Minute fungi overspread
the whole exterior 18
, hanging in a fine tangled web-work from the eaves .
Yet all this was apart from any extraordinary dilapidation .
No portion of the masonry had fallen ; and there appeared to be a wild inconsistency between its still perfect adaptation of parts , and the crumbling condition of the individual stones .
In this there was much that reminded
me 0
of the specious totality of old wood-work which has rotted for long years in some neglected vault , with no disturbance from the breath of the external air .
Beyond this indication of extensive decay , however , the fabric gave little token of instability .
Perhaps the eye of
a scrutinizing observer 19
might have discovered a barely perceptible fissure , which , extending from the roof of
the building in front 20
, made its way down the wall in a zigzag direction , until it became lost in
the sullen waters of the tarn 21
.
Noticing these things ,
I 0
rode over
a short causeway 22
to
the house 2
.
A servant in waiting 23
took
my 0
horse , and
I 0
entered
the Gothic archway of
the hall 25
24
.
A valet , of stealthy step 26
, thence conducted
me 0
, in silence , through
many dark and intricate passages 27
in
my 0
progress to
the studio of
his 26
master 12
28
.
Much that
I 0
encountered on the way contributed ,
I 0
know not how , to heighten the vague sentiments of which
I 0
have already spoken .
While the objects around
me 0
-- while the carvings of the ceilings , the sombre tapestries of the walls , the ebon blackness of the floors , and the phantasmagoric armorial trophies which rattled as
I 0
strode , were but matters to which , or to such as which ,
I 0
had been accustomed from
my 0
infancy -- while
I 0
hesitated not to acknowledge how familiar was all this --
I 0
still wondered to find how unfamiliar were the fancies which ordinary images were stirring up .
On
one of the staircases 29
,
I 0
met
the physician of
the family 3
30
.
His 30
countenance ,
I 0
thought , wore a mingled expression of low cunning and perplexity .
He 30
accosted
me 0
with trepidation and passed on .
The valet 26
now threw open a door and ushered
me 0
into the presence of
his 26
master 12
.
The room in which
I 0
found
myself 0
31
was very large and lofty .
The windows were long , narrow , and pointed , and at so vast a distance from the black oaken floor as to be altogether inaccessible from within .
Feeble gleams of encrimsoned light made their way through the trellised panes , and served to render sufficiently distinct the more prominent objects around ; the eye , however , struggled in vain to reach the remoter angles of
the chamber 31
, or the recesses of the vaulted and fretted ceiling .
Dark draperies hung upon the walls .
The general furniture was profuse , comfortless , antique , and tattered .
Many books and musical instruments lay scattered about , but failed to give any vitality to the scene .
I 0
felt that
I 0
breathed an atmosphere of sorrow .
An air of stern , deep , and irredeemable gloom hung over and pervaded all .
Upon
my 0
entrance ,
Usher 12
rose from a sofa on which
he 12
had been lying at full length , and greeted
me 0
with a vivacious warmth which had much in it ,
I 0
at first thought , of an overdone cordiality -- of the constrained effort of
the ennuye man of
the world 33
32
.
A glance , however , at
his 12
countenance , convinced
me 0
of
his 12
perfect sincerity .
We 9
sat down ; and for some moments , while
he 12
spoke not ,
I 0
gazed upon
him 12
with a feeling half of pity , half of awe .
Surely ,
man 34
had never before so terribly altered , in so brief a period , as had
Roderick Usher 12
!
It was with difficulty that
I 0
could bring
myself 0
to admit the identity of
the wan being before
me 0
12
with
the companion of
my 0
early boyhood 12
.
Yet the character of
his 12
face had been at all times remarkable .
A cadaverousness of complexion ; an eye large , liquid , and luminous beyond comparison ; lips somewhat thin and very pallid , but of a surpassingly beautiful curve ; a nose of a delicate Hebrew model , but with a breadth of nostril unusual in similar formations ; a finely-moulded chin , speaking , in its want of prominence , of a want of moral energy ; hair of a more than web-like softness and tenuity ; these features , with an inordinate expansion above the regions of the temple , made up altogether a countenance not easily to be forgotten .
And now in the mere exaggeration of the prevailing character of these features , and of the expression they were wont to convey , lay so much of change that
I 0
doubted to whom
I 0
spoke .
The now ghastly pallor of the skin , and the now miraculous lustre of the eye , above all things startled and even awed
me 0
.
The silken hair , too , had been suffered to grow all unheeded , and as , in its wild gossamer texture , it floated rather than fell about the face ,
I 0
could not , even with effort , connect its Arabesque expression with any idea of simple humanity .