Page:Gothic Stories.djvu/32

 “Let us, however,” exclaimed Edmund, “learn why we are brought hither; let us follow the light, which eems to direct, our teps acros the gloomy hall.”

“Lead on,” replied the king.

A chill damp truck them as they paed through the pacious hall, whoe roof echoed to their teps. A narrow paage led from it to another apartment, in the midt of which blazed a fire compoed of the prodigious root of a tree, round which lay three blocks of unhewn tone.

At the upper end of this hall tood a rude kind of table, on which were placed cakes of flour, alt, and honey; and horns filled with an unknown liquor.

“Whither,” exclaimed the king, “does our detiny lead us? To what end are we tempted by the fight of proviion, which, however urgent are our wants, we will not eat of? Already, doubtles, have they been offered to thoe accured idols of which tradition peaks, I fear, but too truly. Let us rather perih with hunger, than tate uch poionous viands.”

The walls of this apartment were compoed of black tone, againt which, immediately above the table, hung a uit of iron armour, of a ize o prodigious, that it eemed formed when a race of giants inhabited the earth; on the helmet at a raven, which, as Edmund approached, eemed as though going to dart down upon them.

“Let us,” aid he, natching up a flaming brand, “explore the wonders of this place.”

Three doors appeared beide the one they had paed through, which alone was open; the others were too ecurely fatened to be peedily looened; and entering the paage, they were again in the hall, on whoe walls were traced characters of odd, and to them, unknown form; on each ide the gate roe a pillar, which, dreadful to every feeling of piety and humanity, was compoed of human kulls. From the top was upended a hield, a javelin, and other weapons, whoe ize eemed uited to the gigantic armour.

A deep and deadly horror eized the king of