red not the least appearance of decay or dampness; the
stair-rail of wrought iron presented no traces of rust; it was inserted,
just above the bottom step, into a column of gray granite, which
sustained a statue of black marble, representing a negro bearing a
flambeau. This statue had a strange countenance, the pupils of the eyes
being made of white marble.

The Jew's heavy tread echoed beneath the lofty dome of the hall.
The grandson of Isaac Samuel experienced a melancholy feeling, as he
reflected that the footsteps of his ancestor had probably been the last
which had resounded through this dwelling, of which he had closed the
doors a hundred and fifty years before; for the faithful friend,
in favor of whom M. de Rennepont had made a feigned transfer of the
property, had afterwards parted with the same, to place it in the name
of Samuel's grandfather, who had transmitted it to his descendants, as
if it had been his own inheritance.

To these thoughts, in which Samuel was wholly absorbed, was joined the
remembrance of the light seen that morning through the seven openings in
the leaden cover of the belvedere; and, in spite of the firmness of his
character, the old man could not repress a shudder, as, taking a second
key from his bunch, and reading upon the label, The Key of the Red
Room, he opened a pair of large folding doors, leading to the inner
apartments. The window which, of all those in the house, had alone been
opened, lighted this large room, hung with damask, the deep purple of
which had undergone no alteration. A thick Turkey carpet covered the
floor, and large arm-chairs of gilded wood, in the severe Louis XIV.
style, were symmetrically arranged along the wall. A second door,
leading to the next room, was just opposite the entrance. The
wainscoting and the cornice were white, relieved with fillets and
mouldings of burnished gold. On each side of this door was a large
piece of buhl-furniture, inlaid with brass and porcelain, supporting
ornamental sets of sea crackle vases. The window was hung with heavy
deep-fringed damask curtains, surmounted by scalloped drapery, with
silk tassels, directly opposite the chimney-piece of dark-gray marble,
adorned with carved brass-work. Rich chandeliers, and a clock in the
same style as the furniture, were reflected in a large Venice glass,
with basiled edges. A round table, covered with a cloth of crimson
velvet, was placed in the centre of this saloon.

As he approache