"Now he entered the hall, his black wallet on his back, and beckoned in a solemn manner to follow him. We did so, and he led us through the apartments and the vaulted passage down stairs: We followed him thro' the court-yard to the iron gate of the cellar, without uttering a word; there he stopped, turning towards us, and eyeing us awhile, with a ghastly look; after an awful pause of expectation, he said with a low trembling voice, "Don't utter a word as you value your lives." Then he went down the two first steps, taking from his bosom an enormous key, which had been suspended round his neck by an iron chain, and opened, without the least difficulty, the monstrous padlock, the door flew open, and the old man took the lamp from the Lieutenant, leading us down a large staircase of stone; we descended into a spacious cellar, vaulted with hewn stone, and beheld all around large iron doors, secured by strong padlocks; our hoary leader went slowly towards an iron folding door, opposite to thestaircase,
