I

I

The Cask of Amontillado

'rhe thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he venrureclupon insult, I vowed revenge. you, who so well kt o- tt " ,r"t,r.. or -y ,o,rl, *iLrnot suppose' however, that I gave utterance to a threa-t. At /ength i *orrld b. "rr.rg.d;this.was a point definitively"settled-but the very cle{initivlness with which it wasresolved precluded the idea of risk. I must nor onry punish, u"ifr""r, with rmpunitf.A wrong is unredressed when retributio.r ou.rt.t.r im r.a*rit. It is equally unre-dressed when the avenger fairs to make himself fert as such ,. r,i- *rr. has done thcwrong.It must be understood that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato causeto doubt my good will. I continued, * *", my wont, to smile in his face, and hcdid not perceive that my smlre now was at th. thooght oi lri, i-,rrot"riorr.He had a weak point-this fe11unx16-although i"r ort..l.g.rds he was a manto be respected and evcn feared. He prided himself on his connJisseurship in wine.Few Italians have the ffue virtuoso spirit. nor the most p-r,lr.ir."*rusiasm is adopte;to suit the time and opportunity-to p.a.tic. i-posture upon the Britrsh and Austrianmillionaires.' In painting and gemmary' Fo.t.rnaiq like hi's .ou.r,.y-..,, was a quack

-but in the matter oiold nines he was sincere. In this respect t lia ,rot differ fromhim materially; I was skilful in the Itarian vintages myself, "rra bo.rgri i";;;i;whenever I could.

. It was about dusk, one evening during the supreme maclness of the carnival season,that I encountered my friend. H.i..ort.i -. *ith excessive ;";-;;, for he had beendrinking much. The man wore motley. He had on_a tight-fitting parti-striped dress,and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and u.tt'r. t ** r?'pr**d to see himthat I thougit I should ,r.rr.,'h"rr. done wringing his hand. rI said to him-"My.dcar Fortunaro, yo., ".! l,i.kily ;;;. How remarkably weily"y 1:t looking to-day! But I have ....irr.d a pipe of *h", p"r* fo. n-o.rtil"do,and I have my doubts.,'"l",yl" said he. "Amontillado? A pipe? Impossible! And in the middle of thccarnlvall

. "I have my doubts," I replied; "and I was silly enough to pay the full Amontilladcrprice without consulting ytu in rhe matter. you were ,roi ro be found, and I wasfearful of losing a ba.giin.,,"Amontillado!""I have my doubts.""Amontillado!""And I must satisfy them.""Amontillado!"

. ."As y-"-" "t:.:"g-1ged, I am on my way to Luchesi. If any one has :r t.ritical rurrr,it is he. He will tell me-"

"Luchesi cannor tell Amontillaclo from Shcrry.,,

' l(rr,,wl,.,lt,, ,,l lrrr.r r,rur rl,.rrrs

,'tt) /'a' . I lr' ( .,rrl ol Arrrrrrrrll r,1,,

"And yct s.rrt'fir,,ls wrll lravc it that his taste is a match for your own.""Oome, lct rrt g,,.""Whither?""To your vaults.""My friend, no; I will not impose upon your good nature. I perceive you have

an engagemen,. ;o.llssi-""I have no engagement;-come.""My friend, no. It is not the engagement, but the severe cold with which I perceive

you are affiicted. The vaults are insufFerably damp. They are encrusted witi nitre.""Let us go, nevertheless. The cold is merely nothing. Amontillado! you have been

imposed upon. And 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 e roquelaire closely about my person, I suffered him to hurry meto my palazzo.'

There were no attendants at home; they had absconded to make merry in honorof the time. I had told them that I should not return until the morning, "nj h"d gi.,.r,them explicit orders not to stir from the house. These orders were sufiicient, iwellknew, to insure their immediate disappearance, one and all, as soon as my back wasturned.

I took from their sconces two flambeaux, and giving one to Fortunato, bowed himthrough several suites of rooms to the archway that led into the vauks. I passed downa long and winding staircase, requesting him to be cautious as he followed. 'we cameat length to the foot of the descent, and stood together on the damp ground of thecatacombs of the Montresors.

The gait ofmy friend was unsready, and the bells 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?"."Ug!! .ugh! ugh!-ugh! ugh! ughl-ugh! ught ugh!-ugh! ught ugh!-ugh!

rugh! ugh!"My poor friend found it impossible to reply for many minures."It is nothing," he said, at last."Come"' I said, with decision, "we will go back; your hc:rltlr is prccious. Yotr :rrt'

rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are h"ppy, as oncc I was. you arc a man rol'r

'rissed. For me it is no matrer. we will go back; you will be ill, and I cannot

lt rcsponsible. Besides, there is Luchesi-""Enough," he said; "the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not

rlic of a cough.""'l'111('-11us," I replied; "and, indeed, I had no intention of alarming you unneces-

s,rrily but you should use all proper caurion. A draught of this Medoc will defendtts li,rrr tlrc clarnps."

I .tt 1,r' 1, t,,1, tt, ,'

Z2o 'I'hc l-itcraturc of thc Anrcricalr l{cnaissalrcc

Here I knocked offthe neck of a bottle which I drew from a long row of its fcllowsthat 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 familiarly, whilc

his bells jingled."I drink," he said, "to the buried 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, "were a great and numerous family.""I forget your arms.""A huge human foot d'or, in a {ield azure;'the foot crushes a serPent rampant whosc

fangs are imbedded in the heel.""And the motto?""Nemo me impune lacessit."o"Good!" he said.The wine sparkled in his eyes and the bells jingled. My own fancy grew warnr

with the Medoc. We had passed through walls of piled bones, with casks and

puncheons intermingling, into the inmost recesses of the catacombs. I paused again,ind this time I made bold to seize Fortunato by an arm above the elbow.

"The nitre!" I said; "see, it increases. It hangs like moss uPon the vaults.'We arc

below the river's bed. The drops of moisture trickle among the bones. Come, we willgo back ere it is too late. Your cough-"

"It is nothing," he said; "let us go on. But first, another draught of the Medoc."I broke and reached him a flagon of De Grlve.' He emptied it at a breath. His eycs

fashed with a {ierce light. He laughed and threw the bottle upwards with a gesticula-tion I did not understand.

I looked at him in surprise. He repeated the movement-a grotesque one."You do not comprehend?" he said."Not I," I replied."Then you are not of the brotherhood.""How?""You are not of the masons.""Yes, yes," I said, "yes, yes.""You? Impossible! A mason?""A mason," I replied."A sign," he said."It is this," I answered, producing a trowel from beneath the folds of my roquelairt."You jest," he exclaimed, recoiling a few paces. "But let us proceed to th,

Amontillado."

i Heraldic terms describing a golden foot laid j white wine from Bordeaux.upon a blue background.

a "No one may insult me without fearingpunishment."

/.'t /'rl'. 'l'lrr' (l;rsk ol Arrrolrtrll,r,l,'

"llc it so," I said, rcpl:rcing thc tool beneath the cloak, and again offering him myrurtn. Hc lcaned upon it hcavily. 'We continued our route in search of the Amontillado.Wc passed through a range of low arches, descended, passed on, and descending again,;rrrivcd at a deep crypt, in which the foulness of the air caused our fambeaux ratherto glow than fame.

At the most remote end of the crypt there appeared another less spacious. Its wallshad been lined with human remains, piled to the vault overhead, in the fashion ofthc great catacombs of Paris. Three sides of this interior crypt were still ornamentedin this manner. From the fourth the bones had been thrown down, and lay promiscu-ously upon the earth, forming at one point a mound of some size. Within the wallthus exposed by the displacing of the bones, we perceived a still interior recess, indepth about four feet, in width three, in height six or seven. It seemed to have beenconstructed for no especial use within itself, but formed merely the interval betweenlwo of the colossal supports of the roof of the catacombs, and was backed by oneof their circumscribing walls of solid granite.

It was in vain that Fortunato, uplifting his dull torch, endeavored to pry into thedepth of the recess. Its termination the feeble light did not enable us to see.

"Proceed," I said; "herein is the Amontillado. As for lusfis5i-""He is an ignoramus," interrupted my friend, as he stepped unsteadily forward,

while I followed immediately at his heels. In an instant he had reached the extremityof 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 ironItaples, distant from each other about two feet, horizontally. From one of thesedepended a short chain, from the other a padlock. Throwing the links about his waist,It was but the work of a few seconds to secure it. He was too much astounded toresist. Withdrawing the key I stepped back from the recess.

"Pass your hand," I said, "over the wall; you cannot help feeling the nitre. IndeedIt is uery damp. Once more let me implore you to return. No? Then I must positivelyleave you. But I must first render you all the little attentions in my power."

"The Amontillado!" ejaculated my friend, not yet recovered from his astonish-nlent.

"True," I replied; "the Amontillado."As I said these words I busied myself among the pile of bones of which I have

bcfore spoken. Throwing them aside, I soon uncovered a quantity of building stonelnd mortar 'W'ith these materials and with the aid of my trowel, I began vigorouslyto wall up the entrance of the niche.

I had scarcely laid the first tier of the masonry when I discovered that thelntoxication of Fortunato had in a great measure worn of[. The earliest indication Ihsd of this was a low moaning cry from the depth of the recess. It was not the crygf a drunkcn man. There was then a long and obstinate silence. I laid the second tier,rnrl thc third, and the fourth; and then I heard the furious vibrations of the chain.The rroisc lasted for several minutes, during which, that I might hearken to it withtlte rrrorc s:rtisfaction, I ceased my labors and sat down upon the bones. When at lastthe cl;urking strbsided, I resumed the trowel, and finished without interruption theftfilr, thc sixth, and thc seventh tier. The wall was now nearly upon a level with my

breast. I again paused, and hoiding the flambeaux over the mason-worl. r1,,,feebie rays upon the figure witirin.

A succession of loud and shrill screams, bursti'g sudcienly fiom rhc ti,,,,chained form, seemed to thrust me violentiy back. For a bricf mornenr I ir,I trembled. unsheathing mv rapier, I began ro grope with it about thc rct,..,thought of an instanr reassured me. I placed *y ha"d upon thc solid tr,i,,catacombs, and felt satis{ied. I reapproached the wall. I replied to the yells ,,1clamorcd. I re-echocd-I aided-I surpassed them in uolrrrn" and in srrc'rthis, and the clarnorer grew still.

It.was now midnighr, and my task was drawing to a close. I had co'ir,eighth, the ninth, and thc tenth tier. I had finishcd a portion of the jasreleventh; therc remained but a singlc stone to be fitted and plasterecl in. iwith its weighr; I placed it partially in its destined posirion. But now rherc r ,

out the 'iche a low laugh that erected the hairs upon my head. It was s.ci.a sad voice, which I had difiiculty iri rccognising "r that of the noblc f:orn;:y6i6g 5aid-

"I{a! ha? ha?-he! he!-a very good jokc indeed-a'cxcellent-iest. Wcmany a rich laugh abour it at the palazzo-hc! hel her-ovcr ol.r, ,"i.r"-h,.

"The Amontillado!" I said""Hel he! he!-he I he! hel-yes, the Arn.ntillado. I ut is it not geti'g ,

not thcy be awaiting us ar the palazzo, the Lady Forrunaro "',d ri-," .ert, ,

gone.""Yes," I said, "lct us be gone.""For the loue of Cod, Montresor!""Yes," I said, "for the love of Gocll"But to these words I hearkened in vain for a reply. I grew imparicri.

aloud-"Fortunatcl l"No answcr. I callcd again-rortunato I

No answer stili. i thrust a torch through rhe remainins aperture andwithin. -rhere came forth in retur' only a jingling of the belli. My ireart .

-on account of the dampness o1 the catacombs. I hastened t., make "r, ,,,labor. I forced the lasr srone inro its position; I plastcred it up. Againslmasonry I re-crected the old rampart of bones. For the half of " ..r-,rrr.y , .

has disturbed them. In pice requiescat!"r 846

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