Edgar Allan Poe and the London Monster Read Online Free PDF Page A

vision faded, and I fell into unquiet slumber. I know not how much time passed, but my eyes opened to utter darkness and the sense that someone was in my compartment. And then, in the blackness, I perceived the glint of two wild, violet-colored eyes. My body was chilled to stone as a pale-skinned woman with long curling ebony hair emerged from the shadows and moved toward me, gliding noiselessly as if she were a part of the night itself. She held a goblet in her hand and as she loomed above me, three or four drops of ruby-colored fluid fell into the goblet, like drops of brilliant blood, and she pressed the malevolent vessel to my lips, forcing me to drink the contents. As she pressed in closer still, her hair—blacker than raven wings—enveloped me, dragging me deeper, ever deeper, into the suffocating darkness.
    * * *
    The train’s whistle and my own ghastly yowl juddered me awake just as we pulled into Euston Station. I emerged into an eerie gas-lit world and quickly made my way to a hackney coach, bidding the driver to take me to Brown’s Genteel Inn. We moved at an uncanny pace through the streets of London, the horse’s hooves clattering like the Devil’s on thepavements. There were times when I wondered if the coach would fit through the narrow passageways, and if we would stay upright as we careered around a corner. I perceived very little of the city due to the soot-stained windows and my attempts to retain my dignity upon the slippery seat. When the coach stopped, I felt quite without breath, as if I had just finished a foot race.
    The fatigue from my long journey and my unsteady sea legs gave me the unfortunate appearance of a man on a spree, but the atmosphere of Brown’s Genteel Inn greatly improved my temper. The English reign supreme in the art of internal decoration and the hotel foyer proved this through example. There were none of the costly appurtenances so commonly found in American decor, which is fashioned on an aristocracy of dollars. In England, the true nobility of blood does not indulge in vulgar displays of wealth.
    The desk clerk, a mustachioed, balding fellow who was probably no more than five and thirty but looked a decade older, attended to me efficiently and courteously, despite the discomfort I tried to hide when he revealed the first week’s bill for my room and Dupin’s. As the agent who booked my sea passage had also secured rooms for us at Brown’s, I was ill-prepared for the cost, and if I had not invited my illustrious friend to aid me in my investigation, I would have searched for less expensive accommodation. I could not, of course, embarrass either of us by suggesting we move to shabbier lodgings, and vowed to enjoy the elegance denied to me since I was half-driven from the home of my adoptive parents.
    â€œWe trust your suite will fully satisfy all your needs, but do not hesitate to ask if you require anything further,” the desk clerk said, handing me the key for room eight.
    â€œCigars would be a pleasure.”
    â€œWe have taken the liberty to supply those, sir.”
    â€œAnd I should like to leave a message for Chevalier Dupin who is also a guest here.”
    â€œHe has left a message for you.” The desk clerk handed me a note, and I immediately broke the seal and opened it.
    Dear Sir,
    Shall we meet for a late supper tonight? Ten o’clock. Room twelve.
    Yours respectfully,
    C. Auguste Dupin
    He had anticipated my arrival perfectly. I retired to my chambers to refresh myself before supper, and when the door opened, my rooms were revealed to be gratifyingly genteel. An Argand lamp with a ground-glass shade emitted a tranquil radiance and the carpet was of Saxony material half an inch thick. Two windows offering a view of Dover Street were framed with draperies of rich crimson silk fringed with gold, their deep recesses curtained by thick silver tissue. An attractive landscape painting was hung above the fireplace; the