MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; boundary="----=_NextPart_01D08C14.1D315030" This document is a Single File Web Page, also known as a Web Archive file. If you are seeing this message, your browser or editor doesn't support Web Archive files. Please download a browser that supports Web Archive, such as Windows® Internet Explorer®. ------=_NextPart_01D08C14.1D315030 Content-Location: file:///C:/D8F790EF/TheCaskOfAmontillado.htm Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii"
The Cask Of Amontillado
By
Edgar Allan Poe
The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne=
as
I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature o=
f my
soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat. At length I would be avenged; this=
was a
point definitely settled--but the very definitiveness with which it was
resolved, precluded the idea of risk.
I must not only punish, but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retrib=
ution
overtakes its redresser. It is
equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to =
him
who has done the wrong.
It must be understood that neither by word nor
deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. I continued, as was my wont, to sm=
ile in
his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of h=
is
immolation.
He had a weak point--this Fortunato--although =
in
other regards he was a man to be respected and even feared. He prided himself on his connoisse=
urship
in wine. Few Italians have th=
e true
virtuoso spirit. For the most part their enthusiasm is adopted to suit the =
time
and opportunity--to practise imposture upon the British and Austrian millio=
naires. In painting and gemmary, Fortunato=
, like
his countrymen, was a quack--but in the matter of old wines he was
sincere. In this respect I di=
d not
differ from him materially: I was skillful in the Italian vintages myself, =
and
bought largely whenever I could.
It was about dusk, one evening during the supr=
eme
madness of the carnival season, that I encountered my friend. He accosted me with excessive warm=
th,
for he had been drinking much. The
man wore motley. He had on a tight-fitting parti-striped dress, and his head
was surmounted by the conical cap and bells. I was so pleased to see him, that I
thought I should never have done wringing his hand.
I said to him--"My dear Fortunato, you are
luckily met. How remarkably w=
ell
you are looking to-day! But I=
have
received a pipe of what passes for Amontillado, and I have my doubts."=
"How?" said he. "Amontillado? A pipe? Impossible! And in the middle of the carnival!=
"
"I have my doubts," I replied; "=
;and
I was silly enough to pay the full Amontillado price without consulting you=
in
the matter. You were not to be found, and I was fearful of losing a
bargain."
"Amontillado!"
"I have my doubts."
"Amontillado!"
"And I must satisfy them."
"Amontillado!"
"As you are engaged, I am on my way to
Luchesi. If any one has a cri=
tical
turn, it is he. He will tell
me--"
"Luchesi cannot tell Amontillado from
Sherry."
"And yet some fools will have it that his
taste is a match for your own."
"Come, let us go."
"Whither?"
"To your vaults."
"My friend, no; I will not impose upon yo=
ur
good nature. I perceive you h=
ave an
engagement. Luchesi--"
"I have no engagement;--come."
"My friend, no. It is not the engagement, but the =
severe
cold with which I perceive you are afflicted. The vaults are insufferably damp. =
They
are encrusted with nitre."
"Let us go, nevertheless. The cold is merely nothing. Amonti=
llado!
You have been imposed upon. A=
nd as
for Luchesi, he cannot distinguish Sherry from Amontillado."
Thus speaking, Fortunato possessed himself of =
my
arm. Putting on a mask of black silk, and drawing a roquelaire closely abou=
t my
person, I suffered him to hurry me to my palazzo.
There were no attendants at home; they had
absconded to make merry in honour of the time. I had told them that I should not =
return
until the morning, and had given them explicit orders not to stir from the
house. These orders were sufficient, I well knew, to insure their immediate=
disappearance,
one and all, as soon as my back was turned.
I took from their sconces two flambeaux, and
giving one to Fortunato, bowed him through several suites of rooms to the
archway that led into the vaults. =
span>I
passed down a long and winding staircase, requesting him to be cautious as =
he
followed. We came at length to the foot of the descent, and stood together =
on
the damp ground of the catacombs of the Montresors.
The gait of my friend was unsteady, and the be=
lls
upon his cap jingled as he strode.
"The pipe," said he.
"It is farther on," said I; "but
observe the white web-work which gleams from these cavern walls."
He turned towards me, and looked into my eyes =
with
two filmy orbs that distilled the rheum of intoxication.
"Nitre?" he asked, at length.
"Nitre," I replied. "How long have you had that
cough?"
"Ugh! ugh! ugh!--ugh! ugh! ugh!--ugh! ugh!
ugh!--ugh! ugh! ugh!--ugh! ugh! ugh!"
My poor friend found it impossible to reply for
many minutes.
"It is nothing," he said, at last.
"Come," I said, with decision, "=
;we
will go back; your health is precious.&nbs=
p;
You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I
was. You are a man to be
missed. For me it is no
matter. We will go back; you =
will
be ill, and I cannot be responsible.
Besides, there is Luchesi--"
"Enough," he said; "the cough i=
s a
mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough."
"True--true," I replied; "and,
indeed, I had no intention of alarming you unnecessarily--but you should use
all proper caution. A draught of this Medoc will defend us from the
damps."
Here I knocked off the neck of a bottle which I
drew from a long row of its fellows that lay upon the mould.
"Drink," I said, presenting him the
wine.
He raised it to his lips with a leer. He paused and nodded to me familia=
rly,
while his bells jingled.
"I drink," he said, "to the bur=
ied
that repose around us."
"And I to your long life."
He again took my arm, and we proceeded.
"These vaults," he said, "are
extensive."
"The Montresors," I replied, "w=
ere
a great and numerous family."
"I forget your arms."
"A huge human foot d'or, in a field azure;
the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel.&qu=
ot;
"And the motto?"
"Nemo me impune lacessit."
"Good!" he said.
The wine sparkled in his eyes and the bells
jingled. My own fancy grew wa=
rm
with the Medoc. We had passed
through walls of piled bones, with casks and puncheons intermingling, into =
the
inmost recesses of catacombs. I
paused again, and this time I made bold to seize Fortunato by an arm above =
the
elbow.
"The nitre!" I said; "see, it i=
ncreases. It hangs like moss upon the vaults=
. We are below the river's bed. The drops of moisture trickle amon=
g the
bones. Come, we will go back =
ere it
is too late. Your cough--&quo=
t;
"It is nothing," he said; "let =
us
go on. But first, another dra=
ught
of the Medoc."
I broke and reached him a flagon of De Grave.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> He emptied it at a breath. His eyes flashed with a fierce
light. He laughed and threw t=
he
bottle upwards with a gesticulation I did not understand.
I looked at him in surprise. He repeated the movement--a grotes=
que
one.
"You do not comprehend?" he said.
"Not I," I replied.
"Then you are not of the brotherhood.&quo=
t;
"How?"
"You are not of the masons."
"Yes, yes," I said; "yes,
yes."
"You?&nb=
sp;
Impossible! A mason?&q=
uot;
"A mason," I replied.
"A sign," he said, "a sign.&quo=
t;
"It is this," I answered, producing a
trowel from beneath the folds of my roquelaire.
"You jest," he exclaimed, recoiling a
few paces. "But let us p=
roceed
to the Amontillado."
"Be it so," I said, replacing the to=
ol
beneath the cloak and again offering him my arm. He leaned upon it heavily. We continued our route in search o=
f the
Amontillado. We passed throug=
h a
range of low arches, descended, passed on, and descending again, arrived at=
a
deep crypt, in which the foulness of the air caused our flambeaux rather to=
glow
than flame.
At the most remote end of the crypt there appe=
ared
another less spacious. Its wa=
lls
had been lined with human remains, piled to the vault overhead, in the fash=
ion
of the great catacombs of Paris.
Three sides of this interior crypt were still ornamented in this man=
ner.
From the fourth side the bones had been thrown down, and lay promiscuously =
upon
the earth, forming at one point a mound of some size. Within the wall thus exposed by the
displacing of the bones, we perceived a still interior recess, in depth abo=
ut
four feet in width three, in height six or seven. It seemed to have been constructed=
for no
especial use within itself, but formed merely the interval between two of t=
he
colossal supports of the roof of the catacombs, and was backed by one of th=
eir
circumscribing walls of solid granite.
It was in vain that Fortunato, uplifting his d=
ull
torch, endeavoured to pry into the depth of the recess. Its termination the feeble light d=
id not
enable us to see.
"Proceed," I said; "herein is t=
he
Amontillado. As for Luchesi--=
"
"He is an ignoramus," interrupted my
friend, as he stepped unsteadily forward, while I followed immediately at h=
is
heels. In an instant he had r=
eached
the extremity of the niche, and finding his progress arrested by the rock,
stood stupidly bewildered. A =
moment
more and I had fettered him to the granite. In its surface were two iron stapl=
es, distant
from each other about two feet, horizontally. From one of these depended a short=
chain,
from the other a padlock. Thr=
owing
the links about his waist, it was but the work of a few seconds to secure i=
t. He was too much astounded to
resist. Withdrawing the key I=
stepped
back from the recess.
"Pass your hand," I said, "over=
the
wall; you cannot help feeling the nitre.&n=
bsp;
Indeed, it is very damp.
Once more let me implore you to return. No?
Then I must positively leave you.&n=
bsp;
But I must first render you all the little attentions in my power.&q=
uot;
"The Amontillado!" ejaculated my fri=
end,
not yet recovered from his astonishment.
"True," I replied; "the
Amontillado."
As I said these words I busied myself among the
pile of bones of which I have before spoken. Throwing them aside, I soon uncove=
red a
quantity of building stone and mortar.&nbs=
p;
With these materials and with the aid of my trowel, I began vigorous=
ly
to wall up the entrance of the niche.
I had scarcely laid the first tier of the maso=
nry
when I discovered that the intoxication of Fortunato had in a great measure
worn off. The earliest indication I had of this was a low moaning cry from =
the
depth of the recess. It was n=
ot the
cry of a drunken man. There was then a long and obstinate silence. I laid the second tier, and the th=
ird,
and the fourth; and then I heard the furious vibrations of the chain. The noise lasted for several minut=
es,
during which, that I might hearken to it with the more satisfaction, I ceas=
ed
my labours and sat down upon the bones. When at last the clanking subsided,=
I
resumed the trowel, and finished without interruption the fifth, the sixth,=
and
the seventh tier. The wall wa=
s now
nearly upon a level with my breast.
I again paused, and holding the flambeaux over the mason-work, threw=
a
few feeble rays upon the figure within.
A succession of loud and shrill screams, burst=
ing
suddenly from the throat of the chained form, seemed to thrust me violently
back. For a brief moment I
hesitated--I trembled. Unshea=
thing
my rapier, I began to grope with it about the recess; but the thought of an
instant reassured me. I place=
d my
hand upon the solid fabric of the catacombs, and felt satisfied. I reapproached the wall; I replied=
to
the yells of him who clamoured. I
re-echoed--I aided--I surpassed them in volume and in strength. I did this, and the clamourer grew
still.
It was now midnight, and my task was drawing t=
o a
close. I had completed the ei=
ghth,
the ninth, and the tenth tier. I
had finished a portion of the last and the eleventh; there remained but a
single stone to be fitted and plastered in. I struggled with its weight; I pla=
ced it
partially in its destined position.
But now there came from out the niche a low laugh that erected the h=
airs
upon my head. It was succeede=
d by a
sad voice, which I had difficulty in recognizing as that of the noble
Fortunato. The voice said--
"Ha! ha! ha!--he! he! he!--a very good jo=
ke
indeed--an excellent jest. We shall have many a rich laugh about it at the
palazzo--he! he! he!--over our wine--he! he! he!"
"The Amontillado!" I said.
"He! he! he!--he! he! he!--yes, the
Amontillado. But is it not ge=
tting late? Will not they be awaiting us at the
palazzo, the Lady Fortunato and the rest?&=
nbsp;
Let us be gone."
"Yes," I said, "let us be
gone."
"For the love of God, Montresor!"
"Yes," I said, "for the love of
God!"
But to these words I hearkened in vain for a
reply. I grew impatient. I ca=
lled
aloud--
"Fortunato!"
No answer.&nb=
sp;
I called again--
"Fortunato--"
No answer still. I thrust a torch through the remai=
ning
aperture and let it fall within.
There came forth in reply only a jingling of the bells. My heart grew sick on account of t=
he
dampness of the catacombs. I hastened to make an end of my labour. I forced the last stone into its
position; I plastered it up.
Against the new masonry I re-erected the old rampart of bones. For the half of a century no morta=
l has disturbed
them. In pace requiescat!