t of the fell-destroyer's presence be whom
it may, the very consciousness that death has claimed it for its own,
invests it with a halo of respect, that, in life, the individual could
never aspire to probably.

Let us precede these furious rioters for a few moments, and look upon
the chamber of the dead--that chamber, which for a whole week, had been
looked upon with a kind of shuddering terror--that chamber which had
been darkened by having its sources of light closed, as if it were a
kind of disrespect to the dead to allow the pleasant sunshine to fall
upon the faded form.

And every inhabitant of that house, upon ascending and descending its
intricate and ancient staircases, had walked with a quiet and subdued
step past that one particular door.

Even the tones of voice in which they spoke to each other, while they
knew that that sad remnant of mortality was in the house, was quiet and
subdued, as if the repose of death was but a mortal sleep, and could be
broken by rude sounds.

Ay, even some of these very persons, who now with loud and boisterous
clamour, had rushed into the place, had visited the house and talked in
whispers; but then they were alone, and men will do in throngs acts
which, individually, they would shrink from with compunction or
cowardice, call it which we will.

The chamber of death is upon the second story of the house. It is a back
room, the windows of which command a view of that half garden, half
farm-yard, which we find generally belonging to country inns.

But now the shutters were closed, with the exception of one small
opening, that, in daylight, would have admitted a straggling ray of
light to fall upon the corpse. Now, however, that the sombre shades of
evening had wrapped everything in gloom, the room appeared in total
darkness, so that the most of those adventurers who had ventured into
the place shrunk back until lights were procured from the lower part of
the house, with which to enter the room.

A dim oil lamp in a niche sufficiently lighted the staircase, and, by
the friendly aid of its glimmering beams, they had found their way up to
the landing tolerably well, and had not thought of the necessity of
having lights with which to enter the apartments, until they found them
in utter darkness.

These requisites, however, were speedily procured from the kitchen of
the inn. Indeed, anything that was wanted was laid hold of without the
least word of remark to the people of the