The " Red Death " had long devastated .
No pestilence had ever been so fatal , or so hideous .
Blood was its Avatar and its seal -- the redness and the horror of blood .
There were sharp pains , and sudden dizziness , and then profuse bleeding at the pores , with dissolution .
The scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of , were the pest ban which shut out from the aid and from the sympathy of .
And the whole seizure , progress and termination of the disease , were the incidents of half an hour .
But the Prince was happy and dauntless and sagacious .
When were half depopulated , summoned to presence , and with these retired to the deep seclusion of one of .
was , the creation of 's own eccentric yet august taste .
A strong and lofty wall girdled in .
This wall had gates of iron .
, having entered , brought furnaces and massy hammers and welded the bolts .
resolved to leave means neither of ingress nor egress to the sudden impulses of despair or of frenzy from within .
was amply provisioned .
With such precautions might bid defiance to contagion .
could take care of itself .
In the meantime it was folly to grieve , or to think .
had provided all the appliances of pleasure .
There were , there were , there were , there were , there was Beauty , there was wine .
All these and security were within .
Without was the " Red Death " .
It was towards the close of the fifth or sixth month of seclusion , and while the pestilence raged most furiously abroad , that the Prince entertained at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence .
It was a voluptuous scene , that masquerade .
But first let tell of .
These were seven -- .
In , however , form a long and straight vista , while the folding doors slide back nearly to the walls on either hand , so that the view of the whole extent is scarcely impeded .
Here the case was very different , as might have been expected from 's love of the _ bizarre _ .
were so irregularly disposed that the vision embraced but little more than one at a time .
There was a sharp turn at every twenty or thirty yards , and at each turn a novel effect .
To the right and left , in the middle of each wall , a tall and narrow Gothic window looked out upon .
These windows were of stained glass whose colour varied in accordance with the prevailing hue of the decorations of .
That at the eastern extremity was hung , for example in blue -- and vividly blue were its windows .
was purple in ornaments and tapestries , and the panes were purple .
was green throughout , and so were the casements .
was furnished and lighted with orange -- with white -- with violet .
was closely shrouded in black velvet tapestries that hung all over the ceiling and down the walls , falling in heavy folds upon a carpet of the same material and hue .
But in only , the colour of the windows failed to correspond with the decorations .
The panes were scarlet -- a deep blood colour .
Now in was there any lamp or candelabrum , amid the profusion of golden ornaments that lay scattered to and fro or depended from the roof .
There was no light of any kind emanating from lamp or candle within .
But in , there stood , opposite to each window , a heavy tripod , bearing a brazier of fire , that projected its rays through the tinted glass and so glaringly illumined .
And thus were produced a multitude of gaudy and fantastic appearances .
But in the effect of the fire-light that streamed upon the dark hangings through the blood-tinted panes , was ghastly in the extreme , and produced so wild a look upon the countenances of those who entered , that there were bold enough to set foot within precincts at all .
It was in , also , that there stood against the western wall , a gigantic clock of ebony .
Its pendulum swung to and fro with a dull , heavy , monotonous clang ; and when the minute-hand made the circuit of the face , and the hour was to be stricken , there came from the brazen lungs of the clock a sound which was clear and loud and deep and exceedingly musical , but of so peculiar a note and emphasis that , at each lapse of an hour , were constrained to pause , momentarily , in performance , to harken to the sound ; and thus perforce ceased evolutions ; and there was a brief disconcert of ; and , while the chimes of the clock yet rang , it was observed that grew pale , and passed hands over brows as if in confused revery or meditation .
But when the echoes had fully ceased , a light laughter at once pervaded ; looked at each other and smiled as if at own nervousness and folly , and made whispering vows , each to the other , that the next chiming of the clock should produce in no similar emotion ; and then , after the lapse of sixty minutes , ( which embrace three thousand and six hundred seconds of the Time that flies , ) there came yet another chiming of the clock , and then were the same disconcert and tremulousness and meditation as before .
But , in spite of these things , it was a gay and magnificent revel .
The tastes of were peculiar .
had a fine eye for colours and effects .
disregarded the _ decora _ of mere fashion .
plans were bold and fiery , and conceptions glowed with barbaric lustre .
There are .
felt that was not .
It was necessary to hear and see and touch to be _ sure _ that was not .
had directed , in great part , the movable embellishments of , upon occasion of this great _ fête _ ; and it was own guiding taste which had given character to .
Be sure were grotesque .
There were much glare and glitter and piquancy and phantasm -- much of what has been since seen in " Hernani " .
There were arabesque figures with unsuited limbs and appointments .
There were delirious fancies such as fashions .
There were much of the beautiful , much of the wanton , much of the _ bizarre _ , something of the terrible , and not a little of that which might have excited disgust .
To and fro in there stalked , in fact , a multitude of dreams .
And these -- the dreams -- writhed in and about taking hue from , and causing the wild music of to seem as the echo of steps .
And , anon , there strikes the ebony clock which stands in .
And then , for a moment , all is still , and all is silent save the voice of the clock .
The dreams are stiff-frozen as they stand .
But the echoes of the chime die away -- they have endured but an instant -- and a light , half-subdued laughter floats after them as they depart .
And now again the music swells , and the dreams live , and writhe to and fro more merrily than ever , taking hue from the many tinted windows through which stream the rays from the tripods .
But to , there are now ; for the night is waning away ; and there flows a ruddier light through the blood-coloured panes ; and the blackness of the sable drapery appals ; and to , there comes from the near clock of ebony a muffled peal more solemnly emphatic than any which reaches _ _ ears who indulged in the more remote gaieties of the other apartments .
But were densely crowded , and in beat feverishly the heart of life .
And the revel went whirlingly on , until at length there commenced the sounding of midnight upon the clock .
And then the music ceased , as have told ; and the evolutions of were quieted ; and there was an uneasy cessation of all things as before .
But now there were twelve strokes to be sounded by the bell of the clock ; and thus it happened , perhaps , that more of thought crept , with more of time , into the meditations of .
And thus too , it happened , perhaps , that before the last echoes of the last chime had utterly sunk into silence , there were .
And the rumour of having spread itself whisperingly around , there arose at length from a buzz , or murmur , expressive of disapprobation and surprise -- then , finally , of terror , of horror , and of disgust .
In an assembly of phantasms such as have painted , it may well be supposed that no ordinary appearance could have excited such sensation .
In truth the masquerade licence of the night was nearly unlimited ; but had out-Heroded , and gone beyond the bounds of even 's indefinite decorum .
There are chords in the hearts of which can not be touched without emotion .
Even with the utterly lost , to whom life and death are equally jests , there are matters of which no jest can be made .
, indeed , seemed now deeply to feel that in the costume and bearing of neither wit nor propriety existed .
was tall and gaunt , and shrouded from head to foot in the habiliments of the grave .
The mask which concealed the visage was made so nearly to resemble the countenance of a stiffened corpse that the closest scrutiny must have had difficulty in detecting the cheat .
And yet all this might have been endured , if not approved , by .
But had gone so far as to assume the type of the Red Death .
vesture was dabbled in _ blood _ -- and broad brow , with all the features of the face , was besprinkled with the scarlet horror .