anced by moonlight, till they came within view of the
two towering rocks that form a kind of portal to the valley, at whose
extremity rose the vast ruins of Istakar. Aloft on the mountain
glimmered the fronts of various royal mausoleums, the horror of which was
deepened by the shadows of night. They passed through two villages
almost deserted, the only inhabitants remaining being a few feeble old
men, who, at the sight of horses and litters, fell upon their knees and
cried out:

"O Heaven! is it then by these phantoms that we have been for six months
tormented? Alas! it was from the terror of these spectres and the noise
beneath the mountains, that our people have fled, and left us at the
mercy of maleficent spirits!"

The Caliph, to whom these complaints were but unpromising auguries, drove
over the bodies of these wretched old men, and at length arrived at the
foot of the terrace of black marble; there he descended from his litter,
handing down Nouronihar; both with beating hearts stared wildly around
them, and expected with an apprehensive shudder the approach of the
Giaour; but nothing as yet announced his appearance.

A death-like stillness reigned over the mountain and through the air; the
moon dilated on a vast platform the shades of the lofty columns, which
reached from the terrace almost to the clouds; the gloomy watch-towers,
whose numbers could not be counted, were veiled by no roof, and their
capitals, of an architecture unknown in the records of the earth, served
as an asylum for the birds of darkness, which, alarmed at the approach of
such visitants, fled away croaking.

The chief of the eunuchs, trembling with fear, besought Vathek that a
fire might be kindled.

"No!" replied he, "there is no time left to think of such trifles; abide
where thou art, and expect my commands."

Having thus spoken, he presented his hand to Nouronihar, and, ascending
the steps of a vast staircase, reached the terrace, which was flagged
with squares of marble, and resembled a smooth expanse of water, upon
whose surface not a leaf ever dared to vegetate; on the right rose the
watch-towers, ranged before the ruins of an immense palace, whose walls
were embossed with various figures; in front stood forth the colossal
forms of four creatures, composed of the leopard and the griffin; and,
though but of stone, inspired emotions of terror; near these were
distinguished by the splendour of the moon, which streamed full on the