Metzengerstein
Pestis eram vivus - moriens tua mors ero.-- Martin Luther HORROR and fatality have been stalking abroad in all ages. Whythen give a date to this story I have to tell? Let it suffice to say,that at the period of which I speak, there existed, in the interiorof Hungary, a settled although hidden belief in the doctrines of theMetempsychosis. Of the doctrines themselves - that is, of theirfalsity, or of their probability - I say nothing. I assert, however,that much of our incredulity - as La Bruyere says of all ourunhappiness - " vient de ne pouvoir être seuls ."But there are some points in the Hungarian superstition whichwere fast verging to absurdity. They - the Hungarians - differed veryessentially from their Eastern authorities. For example, " Thesoul ," said the former - I give the words of an acute andintelligent Parisian - " ne demeure qu'un seul fois dans un corpssensible: au reste - un cheval, un chien, un homme meme, n'est que laressemblance peu tangible de ces animaux. "The families of Berlifitzing and Metzengerstein had been atvariance for centuries. Never before were two houses so illustrious,mutually embittered by hostility so deadly. The origin of this enmityseems to be found in the words of an ancient prophecy - "A lofty nameshall have a fearful fall when, as the rider over his horse, themortality of Metzengerstein shall triumph over the immortality ofBerlifitzing."To be sure the words themselves had little or no meaning. Butmore trivial causes have given rise - and that no long while ago - toconsequences equally eventful. Besides, the estates, which werecontiguous, had long exercised a rival influence in the affairs of abusy government. Moreover, near neighbors are seldom friends; and theinhabitants of the Castle Berlifitzing might look, from their loftybuttresses, into the very windows of the palace Metzengerstein. Leastof all had the more than feudal magnificence, thus discovered, atendency to allay the irritable feelings of the less ancient and lesswealthy Berlifitzings. What wonder then, that the words, howeversilly, of that prediction, should have succeeded in setting andkeeping at variance two families already predisposed to quarrel byevery instigation of hereditary jealousy? The prophecy seemed toimply - if it implied anything - a final triumph on the part of thealready more powerful house; and was of course remembered with themore bitter animosity by the weaker and less influential.Wilhelm, Count Berlifitzing, although loftily descended, was, atthe epoch of this narrative, an infirm and doting old man, remarkablefor nothing but an inordinate and inveterate personal antipathy tothe family of his rival, and so passionate a love of horses, and ofhunting, that neither bodily infirmity, great age, nor mentalincapacity, prevented his daily participation in the dangers of thechase.Frederick, Baron Metzengerstein, was, on the other hand, not yetMary, followed him quickly after. Frederick was, at that time, in hisfifteenth year. In a city, fifteen years are no long period - a childmay be still a child in his third lustrum: but in a wilderness - inso magnificent a wilderness as that old principality, fifteen yearshave a far deeper meaning.From some peculiar circumstances attending the administration ofhis father, the young Baron, at the decease of the former, enteredimmediately upon his vast possessions. Such estates were seldom heldbefore by a nobleman of Hungary. His castles were without number. Thechief in point of splendor and extent was the "ChateauMetzengerstein." The boundary line of his dominions was never clearlydefined; but his principal park embraced a circuit of fifty miles.Upon the succession of a proprietor so young, with a character sowell known, to a fortune so unparalleled, little speculation wasafloat in regard to his probable course of conduct. And, indeed, forthe space of three days, the behavior of the heir out-heroded Herod,and fairly surpassed the expectations of his most enthusiasticadmirers. Shameful debaucheries - flagrant treacheries - unheard-ofatrocities - gave his trembling vassals quickly to understand that noservile submission on their part - no punctilios of conscience on hisown - were thenceforward to prove any security against theremorseless fangs of a petty Caligula. On the night of the fourthday, the stables of the castle Berlifitzing were discovered to be onfire; and the unanimous opinion of the neighborhood added the crimeof the incendiary to the already hideous list of the Baron'smisdemeanors and enormities.But during the tumult occasioned by this occurrence, the youngnobleman himself sat apparently buried in meditation, in a vast anddesolate upper apartment of the family palace of Metzengerstein. Therich although faded tapestry hangings which swung gloomily upon thewalls, represented the shadowy and majestic forms of a thousandillustrious ancestors. Here , rich-ermined priests, and pontificaldignitaries, familiarly seated with the autocrat and the sovereign,put a veto on the wishes of a temporal king, or restrained with thefiat of papal supremacy the rebellious sceptre of the Arch-enemy.There , the dark, tall statures of the Princes Metzengerstein -their muscular war-coursers plunging over the carcasses of fallenfoes - startled the steadiest nerves with their vigorous expression;and here, again, the voluptuous and swan-like figures of the damesof days gone by, floated away in the mazes of an unreal dance to thestrains of imaginary melody.But as the Baron listened, or affected to listen, to thegradually increasing uproar in the stables of Berlifitzing - orperhaps pondered upon some more novel, some more decided act ofaudacity - his eyes became unwittingly rivetted to the figure of anenormous, and unnaturally colored horse, represented in the tapestryas belonging to a Saracen ancestor of the family of his rival. Thehorse itself, in the foreground of the design, stood motionless andstatue-like - while farther back, its discomfited rider perished bythe dagger of a Metzengerstein.On Frederick's lip arose a fiendish expression, as he becameaware of the direction which his glance had, without hisconsciousness, assumed. Yet he did not remove it. On the contrary, hecould by no means account for the overwhelming anxiety which appearedfalling like a pall upon his senses. It was with difficulty that hereconciled his dreamy and incoherent feelings with the certainty ofbeing awake. The longer he gazed the more absorbing became the spell- the more impossible did it appear that he could ever withdraw hisglance from the fascination of that tapestry. But the tumult withoutbecoming suddenly more violent, with a compulsory exertion hediverted his attention to the glare of ruddy light thrown full by theflaming stables upon the windows of the apartment.The action, however, was but momentary, his gaze returnedmechanically to the wall. To his extreme horror and astonishment, thehead of the gigantic steed had, in the meantime, altered itsposition. The neck of the animal, before arched, as if in compassion,over the prostrate body of its lord, was now extended, at fulllength, in the direction of the Baron. The eyes, before invisible,now wore an energetic and human expression, while they gleamed with afiery and unusual red; and the distended lips of the apparentlyenraged horse left in full view his gigantic and disgusting teeth.Stupified with terror, the young nobleman tottered to the door.As he threw it open, a flash of red light, streaming far into thechamber, flung his shadow with a clear outline against the quiveringtapestry, and he shuddered to perceive that shadow - as he staggeredawhile upon the threshold - assuming the exact position, andprecisely filling up the contour, of the relentless and triumphantmurderer of the Saracen Berlifitzing.To lighten the depression of his spirits, the Baron hurried intothe open air. At the principal gate of the palace he encounteredthree equerries. With much difficulty, and at the imminent peril oftheir lives, they were restraining the convulsive plunges of agigantic and fiery-colored horse."Whose horse? Where did you get him?" demanded the youth, in aquerulous and husky tone of voice, as he became instantly aware thatthe mysterious steed in the tapestried chamber was the verycounterpart of the furious animal before his eyes."He is your own property, sire," replied one of the equerries,"at least he is claimed by no other owner. We caught him flying, allsmoking and foaming with rage, from the burning stables of the CastleBerlifitzing. Supposing him to have belonged to the old Count's studof foreign horses, we led him back as an estray. But the grooms theredisclaim any title to the creature; which is strange, since he bearsevident marks of having made a narrow escape from the flames."The letters W. V. B. are also branded very distinctly on hisforehead," interrupted a second equerry, "I supposed them, of course,to be the initials of Wilhelm Von Berlifitzing - but all at thecastle are positive in denying any knowledge of the horse.""Extremely singular!" said the young Baron, with a musing air,and apparently unconscious of the meaning of his words. "He is, asyou say, a remarkable horse - a prodigious horse! although, as youvery justly observe, of a suspicious and untractable character, lethim be mine, however," he added, after a pause, "perhaps a rider likeFrederick of Metzengerstein, may tame even the devil from the stablesof Berlifitzing.""You are mistaken, my lord; the horse, as I think we mentioned,is not from the stables of the Count. If such had been the case, weknow our duty better than to bring him into the presence of a nobleof your family.""True!" observed the Baron, dryly, and at that instant a page ofthe bedchamber came from the palace with a heightened color, and aprecipitate step. He whispered into his master's ear an account ofthe sudden disappearance of a small portion of the tapestry, in anapartment which he designated; entering, at the same time, intoparticulars of a minute and circumstantial character; but from thelow tone of voice in which these latter were communicated, nothingescaped to gratify the excited curiosity of the equerries.The young Frederick, during the conference, seemed agitated by avariety of emotions. He soon, however, recovered his composure, andan expression of determined malignancy settled upon his countenance,as he gave peremptory orders that a certain chamber should beimmediately locked up, and the key placed in his own possession."Have you heard of the unhappy death of the old hunterBerlifitzing?" said one of his vassals to the Baron, as, after thedeparture of the page, the huge steed which that nobleman had adoptedas his own, plunged and curvetted, with redoubled fury, down the longavenue which extended from the chateau to the stables ofMetzengerstein."No!" said the Baron, turning abruptly toward the speaker, "dead!say you?""It is indeed true, my lord; and, to a noble of your name, willbe, I imagine, no unwelcome intelligence."A rapid smile shot over the countenance of the listener. "Howdied he?""In his rash exertions to rescue a favorite portion of hishunting stud, he has himself perished miserably in the flames.""I-n-d-e-e-d-!" ejaculated the Baron, as if slowly anddeliberately impressed with the truth of some exciting idea."Indeed;" repeated the vassal."Shocking!" said the youth, calmly, and turned quietly into thechateau.From this date a marked alteration took place in the outwarddemeanor of the dissolute young Baron Frederick Von Metzengerstein.Indeed, his behavior disappointed every expectation, and provedlittle in accordance with the views of many a manoeuvering mamma;while his habits and manner, still less than formerly, offered anything congenial with those of the neighboring aristocracy. He wasnever to be seen beyond the limits of his own domain, and, in thiswide and social world, was utterly companionless - unless, indeed,that unnatural, impetuous, and fiery-colored horse, which hehenceforward continually bestrode, had any mysterious right to thetitle of his friend.Numerous invitations on the part of the neighborhood for a longtime, however, periodically came in. "Will the Baron honor ourfestivals with his presence?" "Will the Baron join us in a hunting ofthe boar?" - "Metzengerstein does not hunt;" "Metzengerstein will notattend," were the haughty and laconic answers.These repeated insults were not to be endured by an imperiousnobility. Such invitations became less cordial - less frequent - intime they ceased altogether. The widow of the unfortunate CountBerlifitzing was even heard to express a hope "that the Baron mightbe at home when he did not wish to be at home, since he disdained thecompany of his equals; and ride when he did not wish to ride, sincehe preferred the society of a horse." This to be sure was a verysilly explosion of hereditary pique; and merely proved how singularlyunmeaning our sayings are apt to become, when we desire to beunusually energetic.The charitable, nevertheless, attributed the alteration in theconduct of the young nobleman to the natural sorrow of a son for theuntimely loss of his parents - forgetting, however, his atrocious andreckless behavior during the short period immediately succeeding thatbereavement. Some there were, indeed, who suggested a too haughtyidea of self-consequence and dignity. Others again (among them may bementioned the family physician) did not hesitate in speaking ofmorbid melancholy, and hereditary ill-health; while dark hints, of amore equivocal nature, were current among the multitude.Indeed, the Baron's perverse attachment to his lately-acquiredcharger - an attachment which seemed to attain new strength fromevery fresh example of the animal's ferocious and demon-likepropensities - at length became, in the eyes of all reasonable men, ahideous and unnatural fervor. In the glare of noon - at the dead hourof night - in sickness or in health - in calm or in tempest - theyoung Metzengerstein seemed rivetted to the saddle of that colossalhorse, whose intractable audacities so well accorded with his ownspirit.There were circumstances, moreover, which coupled with lateevents, gave an unearthly and portentous character to the mania ofthe rider, and to the capabilities of the steed. The space passedover in a single leap had been accurately measured, and was found toexceed, by an astounding difference, the wildest expectations of themost imaginative. The Baron, besides, had no particular name forthe animal, although all the rest in his collection weredistinguished by characteristic appellations. His stable, too, wasappointed at a distance from the rest; and with regard to groomingand other necessary offices, none but the owner in person hadventured to officiate, or even to enter the enclosure of thatparticular stall. It was also to be observed, that although the threegrooms, who had caught the steed as he fled from the conflagration atBerlifitzing, had succeeded in arresting his course, by means of achain-bridle and noose - yet no one of the three could with anycertainty affirm that he had, during that dangerous struggle, or atany period thereafter, actually placed his hand upon the body of thebeast. Instances of peculiar intelligence in the demeanor of a nobleand high-spirited horse are not to be supposed capable of excitingunreasonable attention - especially among men who, daily trained tothe labors of the chase, might appear well acquainted with thesagacity of a horse - but there were certain circumstances whichintruded themselves per force upon the most skeptical and phlegmatic;and it is said there were times when the animal caused the gapingcrowd who stood around to recoil in horror from the deep andimpressive meaning of his terrible stamp - times when the youngMetzengerstein turned pale and shrunk away from the rapid andsearching expression of his earnest and human-looking eye.Among all the retinue of the Baron, however, none were found todoubt the ardor of that extraordinary affection which existed on thepart of the young nobleman for the fiery qualities of his horse; atleast, none but an insignificant and misshapen little page, whosedeformities were in everybody's way, and whose opinions were of theleast possible importance. He - if his ideas are worth mentioning atall - had the effrontery to assert that his master never vaulted intothe saddle without an unaccountable and almost imperceptible shudder,and that, upon his return from every long-continued and habitualride, an expression of triumphant malignity distorted every muscle inhis countenance.One tempestuous night, Metzengerstein, awaking from a heavyslumber, descended like a maniac from his chamber, and, mounting inhot haste, bounded away into the mazes of the forest. An occurrenceso common attracted no particular attention, but his return waslooked for with intense anxiety on the part of his domestics, when,after some hours' absence, the stupendous and magnificent battlementsof the Chateau Metzengerstein, were discovered crackling and rockingto their very foundation, under the influence of a dense and lividmass of ungovernable fire.As the flames, when first seen, had already made so terrible aprogress that all efforts to save any portion of the building wereevidently futile, the astonished neighborhood stood idly around insilent and pathetic wonder. But a new and fearful object soonrivetted the attention of the multitude, and proved how much moreintense is the excitement wrought in the feelings of a crowd by thecontemplation of human agony, than that brought about by the mostappalling spectacles of inanimate matter.Up the long avenue of aged oaks which led from the forest to themain entrance of the Chateau Metzengerstein, a steed, bearing anunbonneted and disordered rider, was seen leaping with an impetuositywhich outstripped the very Demon of the Tempest.The career of the horseman was indisputably, on his own part,uncontrollable. The agony of his countenance, the convulsive struggleof his frame, gave evidence of superhuman exertion: but no sound,save a solitary shriek, escaped from his lacerated lips, which werebitten through and through in the intensity of terror. One instant,and the clattering of hoofs resounded sharply and shrilly above theroaring of the flames and the shrieking of the winds - another, and,clearing at a single plunge the gate-way and the moat, the steedbounded far up the tottering staircases of the palace, and, with itsrider, disappeared amid the whirlwind of chaotic fire.The fury of the tempest immediately died away, and a dead calmsullenly succeeded. A white flame still enveloped the building like ashroud, and, streaming far away into the quiet atmosphere, shot fortha glare of preternatural light; while a cloud of smoke settledheavily over the battlements in the distinct colossal figure of - ahorse .
Metzengerstein was featured as
TheShort Story of the Day on
Tue, Jul 16, 2013
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