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rated all the events that had taken place from my meeting with Mr , Villiers , to our entrance into the subterranean regions . " You acted very rashly , " replied my captor . "I must see how you are to be saved . " Then after a short reflection , he proceeded :
" ¦ I will give you our password , and you must put on a mask , and a cloak . jNow remember well these words , ' Slavery the true Liberty , and say them whenever you think necessary . Tou will pass through a door with me soon , when I shall use those words , and you must do so also . But exercise great caution . "
A distant signal was given , when the unknown touched a spring in the wall , and holding my hand , led me through a secret door that opened by a spring into a small chamber . He lighted a lamp , as soon as the door was shut , and showed me the face of a Portuguese partly concealed by a black mask , that could be drawn down so as to cover the whole countenance , but was now partially removed . He
went to a cupboard in the wall , saying , " We have no time to lose / and produced another mask with a skull wrought upon the front , and a long cloak , which he placed upon me . "Now , " said he , " you are about to come into the large hall of our society . When you come to the door , you will hear me whisper the password that I gave you , and will whisper it yourself . Then keep
close ^ to me , never letting me go for an instant , and sit down by me . So saying he extinguished the light , and we passed again into the long passage , which was now illuminated , but very faintly , by a few lamps from the roof . Several men in the same dress as ourselves were walking along , and we joined their ranks . Coming to a place where a curtain of black , with a skull worked upon it , hung down , we pushed
it aside , and entered a sort of amphitheatre , uttering the password in a low whisper , as we crossed the threshold . The room in which I found myself was hung all round with squares of black cloth , a skull being worked in white in the centre of each square . The room was lighted by a lamp from the middle of the ceiling , but so faint and
uncertain was the light , that darkness clung with tenacity to the corners of the room , and rendered objects at a distance entirely invisible . I could not ascertain whether the tapestry moved , or was still , whether there were doors behind it , or spies concealed to exclude all but real members of the society . The seats were ranged in a circular form , surrounding a small area in the middle . A large chair for the
president was placed low down , with a canopy over it , and other insignia of office . Otherwise , there was nothing in the room but mystery . Gradually members came in from behind the tapestry , and the room grew full by degrees . Then , when the seats were occupied , the president was suddenly seen in his chair though no one could tell how he had got there .
A member rose and stated that two people had gained admittance into the passage through the well , having battered it with stones till the spring yielded . He believed they had traced a member there . They seemed only boys , who had perhaps done so for a frolic . The president asked who had been chased , and had been so indiscreet as
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
rated all the events that had taken place from my meeting with Mr , Villiers , to our entrance into the subterranean regions . " You acted very rashly , " replied my captor . "I must see how you are to be saved . " Then after a short reflection , he proceeded :
" ¦ I will give you our password , and you must put on a mask , and a cloak . jNow remember well these words , ' Slavery the true Liberty , and say them whenever you think necessary . Tou will pass through a door with me soon , when I shall use those words , and you must do so also . But exercise great caution . "
A distant signal was given , when the unknown touched a spring in the wall , and holding my hand , led me through a secret door that opened by a spring into a small chamber . He lighted a lamp , as soon as the door was shut , and showed me the face of a Portuguese partly concealed by a black mask , that could be drawn down so as to cover the whole countenance , but was now partially removed . He
went to a cupboard in the wall , saying , " We have no time to lose / and produced another mask with a skull wrought upon the front , and a long cloak , which he placed upon me . "Now , " said he , " you are about to come into the large hall of our society . When you come to the door , you will hear me whisper the password that I gave you , and will whisper it yourself . Then keep
close ^ to me , never letting me go for an instant , and sit down by me . So saying he extinguished the light , and we passed again into the long passage , which was now illuminated , but very faintly , by a few lamps from the roof . Several men in the same dress as ourselves were walking along , and we joined their ranks . Coming to a place where a curtain of black , with a skull worked upon it , hung down , we pushed
it aside , and entered a sort of amphitheatre , uttering the password in a low whisper , as we crossed the threshold . The room in which I found myself was hung all round with squares of black cloth , a skull being worked in white in the centre of each square . The room was lighted by a lamp from the middle of the ceiling , but so faint and
uncertain was the light , that darkness clung with tenacity to the corners of the room , and rendered objects at a distance entirely invisible . I could not ascertain whether the tapestry moved , or was still , whether there were doors behind it , or spies concealed to exclude all but real members of the society . The seats were ranged in a circular form , surrounding a small area in the middle . A large chair for the
president was placed low down , with a canopy over it , and other insignia of office . Otherwise , there was nothing in the room but mystery . Gradually members came in from behind the tapestry , and the room grew full by degrees . Then , when the seats were occupied , the president was suddenly seen in his chair though no one could tell how he had got there .
A member rose and stated that two people had gained admittance into the passage through the well , having battered it with stones till the spring yielded . He believed they had traced a member there . They seemed only boys , who had perhaps done so for a frolic . The president asked who had been chased , and had been so indiscreet as