The Legend of Nyai Roro Kidul

Located about 35 km to the south of Yogyakarta, Parangtritis Beach has long been famous, not only as a beach resort where sand-dunes, sandy beaches and rocky cliffs meet, but also as a historical place closely linked to the mysterious legend of the Queen of the South Sea, "Kanjeng Ratu Kidul". Together with her confidant, the feared Nyai or Nyi Roro Kidul, the ever youthful and beautiful queen, Kanjeng Ratu Kidul reigns over sea-nymphs and spirits.

On certain days known as Suro in the Javanese calender, locals have a ceremonial procession, with many seen presenting offerings on the beach in honour of the Nyai Roro Kidul and Queen of the South Sea. During the day, many visit the beach and hold what is known locally as tirakatan (one-day fasting) as they pray for their wishes to be fulfilled. People in black are frequently seen sitting on the beach in a meditating pose the whole night. Locals who have meditated on the beach have said that through meditating they could see a green dragon and Nyi Roro Kidul, who remains young and beautiful. "The dragon danced before my eyes," one local said in a convincing voice. Another admitted that he meditated there so that he could meet the ever-youthful and beautiful Nyi Roro Kidul. "I can even communicate with spirits here," he added.

Dewi Mutiara's dream came true when one day she bore the son that the king had long been yearning for. Through the assistance of a witch, Dewi Mutiara made the king's wives Dewi Rembulan and Dewi Kandita suffer from 'strange' disease, with their bodies covered with scabies that created the odour of fish. The disease led them to be sent into exile in the forest where later Dewi Rembulan died. After a long, hard and helpless journey, the scabies-covered Dewi Kandita eventually arrived at a beach where she met a young, handsome man who promised to cure her illness. At the request of the young man, Dewi Kandita chased after him as he ran along the beach. When she reached the water, the man disappeared and, to her surprise, all the scabies had disappeared but, strangely, she could not move her legs. Half her body, from the waist down, had turned into the body of a fish.

Since then she became a sea-nymph, and the locals believe that Nyi Roro Kidul is the manifestation of Dewi Kandita. Want to see Nyi Roro Ridul? Then try meditating the whole night there as locals have suggested.

The Legend of Nyai Roro Kidul

Nyai Loro Kidul (also spelled Nyi Roro Kidul; she also has many other names) is thought to be a legendary Javanese goddess. Her identity is of a complex goddess named goddess or queen of the Southern Sea of Java (Indian Ocean or Samudra Kidul) in Javanese and Sundanese mythology.

The legend of Nyi Roro Kidul herself is very popular. Before turning into a nymph, Nyai Roro Kidul was a young princess named Dewi Kandita, the daughter of King Mundangwangi and his first wife. The popularity of Dewi Kandita and her mother Dewi Rembulan was beyond doubt. They were known for their beauty, kindness and friendliness, and people loved them. However, the misery of their lives began when Dewi Mutiara, another wife of King Mundangwangi, known locally as selir, became green with envy and grew ambitions to become the first wife, thereby deserving full affection and attention from the king.

Names

Nyai Loro Kidul has many different names, which reflect the diverse stories of her origin in a lot of sagas, legends, myths and traditional folklore. Other names include Ratu Laut Selatan ("Queen of the South Sea," meaning the Indian Ocean) and Gusti Kangjeng Ratu Kidul. Many Javanese believe it is important to use various honorifics when referring to her, such as Nyai, Kangjeng, and Gusti. People who invoke her also call her Eyang (grandmother). In mermaid form she is referred to as Nyai Blorong. The Javanese word loro literally means two - 2 and merged into the name of the myth about the Spirit-Queen born as a beautiful girl/maiden, in Old Javanese rara, written as rårå, (also used as roro). Old-Javanese rara evolved into the New Javanese lara, written as lårå, (means ill, also grief like heartache, heart-break). Dutch orthography changed lara into loro (used here in Nyai Loro Kidul) so the word play moved the beautiful girl to a sick one - Old Javanese Nyi Rara and the New Javanese Nyai Lara.

Description

Nyai Loro Kidul is often illustrated as a mermaid with a tail as well the lower part of the body of a snake. The mythical creatures are claimed to take the soul of any who are wished for. Sometimes Nyai Loro Kidul literally can be spoken of as a "naga", a mythical snake. This idea may have been derived from some myths concerning a princess of Pajajaran who suffered from leprosy. The skin disease mentioned in most of the myths about Nyai Loro Kidul might possibly refer to the shedding of a snake's skin. The role of Nyai Loro Kidul as a Javanese Spirit-Queen became a popular motif in traditional Javanese folklore and palace mythologies, as well as being tied in with the beauty of Sundanese and Javanese princesses. Another aspect of her mythology was her ability to change shape several times a day. Nyai Loro Kidul in a significant amount of the folklore that surrounds her - is in control of the violent waves of the Indian Ocean from her dwelling place in the heart of the ocean. Sometimes she is referred as one of the spiritual queens or wives of the Susuhunan of Solo/Surakarta and the Sultan of Yogyakarta. Her literal positioning is considered as corresponding to the Merapi-Kraton-South Sea axis in Solo Sultanate and Yogyakarta Sultanate. Another pervasive part of folklore surrounding her is the colour of green, gadhung m'lathi in Javanese, is referred to her, which is forbidden to wear along the south-coast of Java.

Origin and history

The legends say that Kanjeng Ratu Kidul was married to one of the Mataram Monarchs, Panembahan Senopati, whom she visited and communed with on certain occasions.

Panembahan Senopati (1586-1601 AD), founder of the Mataram Sultanate, and his grandson Sultan Agung (1613-1645 AD) who named the Kanjeng Ratu Kidul as their bride, is claimed in the Babad Tanah Jawi. One Sundanese folktale is about Dewi Kadita of the Pajajaran Kingdom, in West Java, who desperately sought the Southern Sea after black magic had hit her. She jumped into the violent waves of the Ocean where the spirits and demons crowned the girl to the legendary Spirit-queen of the South Sea. Another Sundanese folktale shows Banyoe Bening (meaning clear water) becomes Queen of the Djojo Koelon Kingdom and, suffering from leprosy, travels to the South where she is taken up by a huge wave to disappear into the Ocean. Another West Java folktale is about the Ajar Cemara Tunggal (Adjar Tjemara Toenggal) on the mountain of Kombang in the Pajajaran Kingdom. He is a male seer who actually was the beautiful great aunt of Raden Joko Susuruh. She told him to go to the east of Java to found a kingdom on the place where a maja-tree just had one fruit; the fruit was bitter, pait in Javanese, and the kingdom got the name of Majapahit. The seer Cemara Tunggal would marry the founder of Majapahit and any descendant in first line, to help in all kind of matters. Though after he (the seer) would have transmigrated into the "spirit-queen of the south" who shall reign over the spirits, demons and all dark creatures.

Specialities

Sarang Burung are Javanese bird's nests, and some of the finest in the world. The edible bird's nests Bird's nest soup or sarang burung, which find a ready market in China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore are dedicated to Nyai Loro Kidul, mentioned by Sultan Agung in reports.
There are three harvests which are known as the Unduan-Kesongo, Unduan-Telor and Unduan-Kepat, taken place in April, the latter part of August (the largest), and December. The places of Rongkob and Karang Bolong along the South-coast of Central Java are famous for the edible bird's nests, made by the little seaswallows named Salanganen or Collocalia fuciphaga; famous because of the wayang performances which are held, and the Javanese ritual dances which are performed during gamelan music at the traditional ceremony. This happens in a cave (Karang Bolong) and when these are ended specially prepared offers are made in a shed in what is known as the "State Bed of Nyai Loro Kidul". This relic is hung with beautiful silk batik kains, and a toilet mirror is placed against the green-coloured pillows of the bed ... Nyai Loro Kidul is the patron goddess of the bird's-nest gatherers of South Java, who pursue what must be one of the world's most hair-raising professions. The gatherers descend the sheer cliff-face on coconut-fibre ropes to an overhang some thirty feet above the water where a rickery bamboo platform has been built. From here they must await their wave, drop into it, and be swept beneath the overhang into the cave. Here they grope around in total darkness filling their bags with bird's nests. Going back needs very precise timing for not misjudging the tides, and fallen into the violent waves.

The Dutch and their Javanese legacy

The term wali which is applied to all of the Islam teachers is Arabic (meaning "saint"), but the title "sunan" which they all carry, too, is Javanese. Sunan Kalijaga used to be one of the most "popular" Wali Sanga, and he got deeply involved with Nyai Loro Kidul because of the water aspect (at the beach of Pemancingan of northern Java, kali means river). Panembahan Senopati Ingalaga (1584-1601), founder of Mataram's imperial expansion, sought the support of the goddess of the Southern Ocean (Kangjeng Ratu Kidul or Nyai Loro Kidul) at Pemancinang of southern Java.
She was to become the special protectress of the House of Mataram. Senopati's reliance upon both Sunan Kalijaga and Nyai Loro Kidul in the chronicles accounts nicely reflects the Mataram Dynasty's ambivalence towards Islam and indigenous Javanese beliefs.

Lawang Sewu

Lawang Sewu is a landmark in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia.

The name Lawang Sewu is from Javanese; it means "Thousand Doors". The name comes from its design, with numerous doors and arcs.

Layout

The complex consists of several buildings, two main ones named A and B and two smaller ones named C and D, on Pemuda Street. The l-shaped A building faces the Tugu Muda roundabout. There are two identical towers on A building, which were originally used to store water, each with a capacity of 7,000 litres (1,800 US gal). The building features large stained-glass windows and a grand staircase in the center. There was also once an underground tunnel connecting A building to several other sites in the city, including the governor's mansion and the harbour.

The B building is located behind A building. It is three stories in height, with the first two floors consisting of offices and the third holding a ballroom.The building, with high, large windows, also has a basement floor that is kept partially flooded to serve to cool the building through evaporation.

In front of A building stands a monument to five employees killed during the Indonesian War of Independence.

History

A building in the early 1900s

Lawang Sewu was designed by C. Citroen, from the firm of J.F. Klinkhamer and B.J. Quendag. Construction began in 1904 with A building, which was completed in 1907. The rest of the complex was finished in 1919. It was initially used by the Nederlandsch Indische Spoorweg Maatschappij, the national railway of the Dutch East Indies.

After the Japanese invaded Indonesia in 1942, the Japanese army took over Lawang Sewu. The basement of B building was turned into a prison, with several executions taking place there. When Semarang was retaken by the Dutch in the battle of Semarang in October 1945, the Dutch forces used the tunnel leading into A building to sneak into the city. A battle ensued, with numerous Indonesian fighters dying. Five employees working there were also killed.

After the war, the Indonesian army took over the complex. It was later returned to the national railway company.

By 2009 the Lawang Sewu complex was in a state of considerable dilapidation. Simon Marcus Gower, writing in The Jakarta Post, noted it as being "dark and evidently sick. Its white walls are faded throughout; blackened by pollution and neglect. Rendered walls are cracked and any wall paper has long since fallen away to reveal the red bricks beneath. Mould and weeds grow over much of the building and mice and rats are the chief residents."

The building soon underwent renovations to ensure that it would be profitable as a tourist attraction. Governor of Central Java Bibit Waluyo mobilized several dozen soldiers to assist with the renovations; the soldiers focused on external repairs. Local residents were disappointed in the renovations, opining that it had lost its authenticity.

On 5 July 2011 the newly renovated complex was inaugurated by First Lady Ani Yudhoyono. However, at the time only B building was available for tours. It is hoped to be a main attraction in the Central Javan Government's tourism program in 2013.

Haunting

The basement of B building, said to be haunted by a kuntilanak

Lawang Sewu is said to be haunted, with many tourists visiting to see the ghosts. Among the ghosts reported to inhabit the establishment are a Dutchwoman who committed suicide inside and "headless ghouls".

In 2007, a horror film entitled Lawang Sewu: Dendam Kuntilanak (Lawang Sewu: Kuntilanak's Vengeance) was released based on the legend. It told the story of a group of high school students from Jakarta who were trapped in Lawang Sewu after several had to urinate and featured ghosts of a Dutchwoman, a man with a ball and chain wrapped around his leg, and a kuntilanak.

The Legend of Lake Toba

A Folklore from Medan North Sumatra, Indonesia

Once upon a time, there was a young man named Toba. He lived alone and had no wife. He decided being single and didn’t get married, although his age was mature enough to a family. 

He had a narrow farm and a small hut not far from a lake. If the day was getting dark, he would go to the lake for fishing. He liked fishing and he could do this activity until night has come. 

One day, after worked on his small farm, he decided to go fishing. He wanted to look for some fish for his dinner. He waited for a long time, but his hook didn’t catch any fish. He waited and waited patiently. 

Suddenly, his fish bait made some movement. He was sure he would get a fish for his dinner. And that was true, a pretty big fish stuck on his bait. He took the fish and then put it on a fish basket. Then, he went home. 
He was so happy to get a fish for his dinner. He imagined that his dinner tonight would be nice because the fish was pretty big and fresh. 

Arriving at home, he put his fish basket beside the fire place. And then, he set fire of the fire place. But, he realized that he forgot to look for some woods for his fire place. Without the woods, of course he couldn’t cook the fish for his dinner. 

He went out to look for some woods. He left the fish in the kitchen. He didn’t worry about the fish because he was sure that the fish was safe in the place.

After getting some woods, he went back home, but, he was to surprised as the fish basket was empty. The fish was gone, he just found some scales which in the form of gold pieces. Toba was confused. He convinced himself that the gold pieces he hold was the scales of the fish he caught this afternoon. 

He stepped to his room. But, again he was shocked as he saw a beautiful girl with long hair in his room. The girl sat in toba’s bed. Toba didn’t make any movement. He was so shock and wondered who the girl was. 

Suddenly the girl turn her head and looked at toba. Toba was so amazed with the girl’s beauty. He looked at the girl and admired her beauty. For some moments, they looked each other. Was that a possibility that this beautiful girl is an angel? toba thought. 

Toba was so speechless and couldn’t say anything. For breaking the ice, the girl said something. She approached toba and said. 

“Hi, toba. It was getting dark, could you turn on the lamp” the girl asked.

“Ooo… hhhiii… Alright, I will turn the lamp on,” Toba said, his body was trmebled because of fear. 

“Don’t be afraid, Toba. I will not hurt you,” said the girl.

“But, who are you ? are you kind of genie or something ?”

The girl smiled and said.

“I am the incarnation of the fish you caught this afternoon,” the girl answered.

“Really, Oh.. God. Is that true?” toba was so surprised. 

“Yes, but you don’t have to be afraid. I will help you to do some house hold activity. I will cook for you and prepare your daily meal, ”  the girl offered. 

Toba was so happy to hear that. 

“By the way, the gold pieces is my scales,” the girl said. 

“Ooo.. well.. that’s why I didn’t found my fish in the basket,” toba said.

And then the girl went to the kitchen and cooked dinner for toba. 

Everyday toba was accompanied by the girl. Toba was happy for that. Until one day, he asked the girl to get married. But, the girl gave a requiretmen.  

“I am agree to be your wife, but don’t ever tell my secret, my condition that I was a fish,” said the girl. 

Toba agreed the girl’s requiretmen. And then they got married. Toba was happy to have such a beautiful wife. They lived happily because they loved each other. 

Years gone by. Toba’s wife was pregnant and then not so long after that she gave birth. Toba was so happy. The baby was a boy. Named Samosir. They took care their only child. They showered the boy with love. It seemed that they were happy family. 

7 years later

The mother spoiled the boy too much. No wonder, samosir became spoiled child. He didn’t want to help his father to work on farm. He only stayed at home doing nothing. He was a very lazy boy. 

One day the mother asked samosir to bring lunch for his father who worked in a farm. Usually the mother did his job. But, because she was very busy, she didn’t have time to bring the lunch for his husband.

“Samosir my dear, please take this lunch for your father in the farm. He must be very hungry now. I can’t bring it for him, there is something else I want to do!” asked the mother. 

“No, I can’t!” samosir refused. 

“Why, don’t you want ho help me?” asked the mother. 

“I want to play with my frieds, mother!” said samosir. 

Mother was angry to hear this. She was so upset and threatened samosir if he didn’t do what she’s asked. She wouldn’t give samosir lunch.  

Because of his mother’s anger, he felt forced to do what his mother’s request.

“All right, mom. I will bring it to my father,” samosir said. Samosir went to his father’s farm. But he grumbled continuosly as she wanted to play with his friends.

On the way to his father’s farm, he ate the lunch little by little. He felt hungry, too. Because of this, there’s just a little lunch left. Meanwhile, the day was getting hot. Toba decided to rest under the tree. He felt thirsty and hungry. He asked himself why his wife didn’t bring lunch for him.

Waiting in a hungry was such a terrible thing for Toba. He got angry that time. Finally he saw somebody in a distance. He hoped the somebody was his wife who brought lunch for him. 

But, he was surprised to see samosir, his son, who came to the farm. 

“What do you do here, my son. Where is your mother? Why she didn’t  bring my lunch?” Toba said angrily.

“Mother is busy to do other things. So, she asked me to bring this lunch for you” said Samosir while gave the lunch to his father. 

Toba took the lunch quickly as he couldn’t bear his hunger anymore. But, when he saw the lunch box, he was surprised. The lunch was no more left.

“What? Where is the lunch ? Why this box is empty ?” Toba said angrily.

“I am sorry, father. On the way here, I ate your lunch little by little. I am so hungry.” Samosir answered with anxiety.

“You’re really a bad boy. Why are you doing this ? I am really hungry, you know ? ” Toba snapped at Samosir. 

“I am sorry, dad. I am really sorry for that!” Samosir said apologize. 

“You are rebellious child. You are lazy, useless!!!” Toba got angry. 

He felt really upset whit his son. And, suddenly he said something rude that actually was forbidden.

“Your manner is like a little animal. It is because your mother spoiled you. You are so naughty. Well, it is because your mother is a fish. So you are like her. Go away from here” Toba didn’t realize that what he said was so rude. He was forbidden to tell about Samosir’s mother’s origin. 

Samosir was so sad to hear what his father’s said. He was badly hurt. He cried continuosly. His mother asked why Samosir cried. Samosir said that his father was angry to him. It’s because he ate his father’s lunch. Samosir also told what his father had said to him. 
“Father said that I was a little animal because I didn’t obey his advice and he also said that mother is a fish.”
Samosir said this to his mother. 

“What ??? How excessive he is! He was not supposed to tell that to you. You are his son. I will tell him.” The beautiful girl was so angry.  

“Why he’s so rude to his own child. He promised that he wouldn’t tell my origin. Why he did this to me.” The beautiful girl said sadly.

“Calm down, Samosir. Don’t cry anymore. Now, all you have to do is climb the highest tree and stay there. There will be a huge flood and this velley will be sink and disappear. There will be great disaster here,” the beautiful girl said.

“Really, mother ! How do you know ?” Samosir asked. 

“Well, you must obey my advice without complaining ” the beautiful girl told his son. 

After that, Samosir went away and climbed the highest tree in the village. He stayed there, obeyed his mother’s instruction. He still didn’t know why his mother told him to do this. He just waited what happened next. 

The beautiful girl was really sad. He thought that Toba didn’t love her anymore. Toba was changed. He broke his promise to her. So, the girl thought there was no use she lived. She decided to do suicide by jumping to a lake. 

Suddenly, the sky was getting dark upon the valley. Not so long after that, the rain poured the earth. It was a huge rain. The thunder and the lightning were so scary. 

The rain was so heavy and make a huge flood. The valley was like  a sea. Just as the girl said, there was a great disaster in that village. 

Meanwhile, Toba, who was still in his farm shocked with this disaster. He couldn’t save himself. He was drown by the flood and finally died. 

And, the spoiled child, Samosir, although he climbed the highest tree, he still couldn’t save himself from this great disaster. He died as his parents. His body was floating. And then baceme small island which now was called Samosir Island. 

And, the village was sink and became a huge lake. This lake was named as Toba’s name, that is Lake Toba. 

Lake toba is located in North Sumatra.

TOEFL (IBT, PBT, CBT)

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is created and scored by Educational Testing Service (ETS). Since 1964, ETS has designed three versions of the TOEFL:

1964: The Paper-Based Test (PBT)
1998: The Computer-Based Test (CBT)
2004: The Internet-Based Test (iBT).

Although you take the iBT on a computer, it is not the CBT, which is no longer offered anywhere in the world. The PBT is offered in countries that do not offer the iBT, and it is also offered two or three times a year in countries that also offer the iBT. In contrast, there are about 40 test dates per year for the iBT, which occur one time per weekend, usually on Friday or Saturday, but sometimes on Sunday.

PLEASE NOTE: because the CBT has been discontinued, it is very important that you not read websites or buy books that talk about the “CBT”. These sources have outdated information that is now irrelevant to TOEFL study.

Each version of the test has its own scoring scale.

PBT: 310-677
CBT: 0-300
iBT: 0-120

Because the PBT was the only TOEFL from 1964 to 1998, many institutions still speak only in terms of the PBT scoring system. And a significant number of institutions that did update their information when the CBT came out failed to update it again when the iBT was released. This means that you may still find institutions stating that they need a score of “550” (PBT) or “213” (CBT). These scores are equivalent to the iBT score of 79/80 which tends to be the minimum score for most four year colleges and graduate programs. Since you will most likely be taking an iBT, it is important for you to know the iBT score you’re trying to achieve. Here is a link to a conversion table that will help you determine the iBT equivalent when an institution only provides PBT or CBT requirements.

Third-party companies administer the test, which means that if you have a problem with the test, you will have to determine if you need to contact ETS or if you have to contact the company that owns the testing center. It is usually best to begin with ETS and they will direct you, if necessary, to the testing center. It is just good to remember, though, that you might be dealing with two different companies for this one test, and if that distinction is not clear, you may be confused about who you are talking to and why.  

Many students think that the PBT is an easier test than the iBT for a few reasons:

1. It has a grammar section, and some people think that grammar rules are easier to learn.
2. It does not have a Speaking section.
3. You can see the Listening questions while you are listening to the Lecture
4. There is only one essay to write instead of two.

Strictly English cannot stress enough that favoring the PBT over the iBT is a very bad way to begin your preparation for studying in an English-speaking institution. The demands of a university education will be far harder than even the iBT, so if you’re trying to run from taking the iBT because it is too difficult, then you will most likely find your university courses impossible. In addition, at the center of university education—especially in MBA programs—is a strong focus on classroom discussion and group classes that require a lot of talking. If you’re trying to avoid the iBT because you cannot speak clearly, then this is a big indication that you are not ready for graduate school. So instead of lowering your expectations, raise them!




Sumber : http://www.f1gmat.com/toefl/three-version-PBT-CBT-iBT

The Masque of the Red Death

The red death had long devastated the country.No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its seal--the madness and the horror of blood. There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution. The scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim, were the pest ban which shut him out from the aid and from the sympathy of his fellow-men. And the whole seizure, progress, and termination of the disease, were incidents of half an hour.

But Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious. When his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court, and with these retired to the deep seclusion of one of his crenellated abbeys. This was an extensive and magnificent structure, the creation of the prince's own eccentric yet august taste. A strong and lofty wall girdled it in. This wall had gates of iron. The courtiers, having entered, brought furnaces and massy hammers and welded the bolts.

They resolved to leave means neither of ingress nor egress to the sudden impulses of despair or of frenzy from within. The abbey was amply provisioned. With such precautions the courtiers might bid defiance to contagion. The external world could take care of itself. In the meantime it was folly to grieve or to think. The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure. There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and security were within. Without was the "Red Death."

It was toward the close of the fifth or sixth month of his seclusion that the Prince Prospero entertained his thousand friends at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence.

It was a voluptuous scene, that masquerade. But first let me tell of the rooms in which it was held. There were seven--an imperial suite, In many palaces, however, such suites form a long and straight vista, while the folding doors slide back nearly to the walls on either hand, so that the view of the whole extant is scarcely impeded. Here the case was very different; as might have been expected from the duke's love of the "bizarre." The apartments were so irregularly disposed that the vision embraced but little more than one at a time. There was a sharp turn at the right and left, in the middle of each wall, a tall and narrow Gothic window looked out upon a closed corridor of which pursued the windings of the suite. These windows were of stained glass whose color varied in accordance with the prevailing hue of the decorations of the chamber into which it opened. That at the eastern extremity was hung, for example, in blue--and vividly blue were its windows. The second chamber was purple in its ornaments and tapestries, and here the panes were purple. The third was green throughout, and so were the casements. The fourth was furnished and lighted with orange--the fifth with white--the sixth with violet. The seventh apartment was closely shrouded in black velvet tapestries that hung all over the ceiling and down the walls, falling in heavy folds upon a carpet of the same material and hue. But in this chamber only, the color of the windows failed to correspond with the decorations. The panes were scarlet--a deep blood color. Now in no one of any of the seven apartments was there any lamp or candelabrum, amid the profusion of golden ornaments that lay scattered to and fro and depended from the roof. There was no light of any kind emanating from lamp or candle within the suite of chambers. But in the corridors that followed the suite, there stood, opposite each window, a heavy tripod, bearing a brazier of fire, that projected its rays through the tinted glass and so glaringly lit the room. And thus were produced a multitude of gaudy and fantastic appearances. But in the western or back chamber the effect of the fire-light that streamed upon the dark hangings through the blood-tinted panes was ghastly in the extreme, and produced so wild a look upon the countenances of those who entered, that there were few of the company bold enough to set foot within its precincts at all. It was within this apartment, also, that there stood against the western wall, a gigantic clock of ebony. It pendulum swung to and fro with a dull, heavy, monotonous clang; and when the minute-hand made the circuit of the face, and the hour was to be stricken, there came from the brazen lungs of the clock a sound which was clear and loud and deep and exceedingly musical, but of so peculiar a note and emphasis that, at each lapse of an hour, the musicians of the orchestra were constrained to pause, momentarily, in their performance, to hearken to the sound; and thus the waltzers perforce ceased their evolutions; and there was a brief disconcert of the whole gay company; and while the chimes of the clock yet rang. it was observed that the giddiest grew pale, and the more aged and sedate passed their hands over their brows as if in confused revery or meditation. But when the echoes had fully ceased, a light laughter at once pervaded the assembly; the musicians looked at each other and smiled as if at their own nervousness and folly, and made whispering vows, each to the other, that the next chiming of the clock should produce in them no similar emotion; and then, after the lapse of sixty minutes (which embrace three thousand and six hundred seconds of Time that flies), there came yet another chiming of the clock, and then were the same disconcert and tremulousness and meditation as before. But, in spite of these things, it was a gay and magnificent revel. The tastes of the duke were peculiar. He had a fine eye for color and effects. He disregarded the "decora" of mere fashion. His plans were bold and fiery, and his conceptions glowed with barbaric lustre. There are some who would have thought him mad. His followers felt that he was not. It was necessary to hear and see and touch him to be _sure_ he was not.

He had directed, in great part, the movable embellishments of the seven chambers, upon occasion of this great fete; and it was his own guiding taste which had given character to the masqueraders. Be sure they were grotesque. There were much glare and glitter and piquancy and phantasm--much of what has been seen in "Hernani." There were arabesque figures with unsuited limbs and appointments. There were delirious fancies such as the madman fashions. There were much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust. To and fro in the seven chambers stalked, in fact, a multitude of dreams. And these the dreams--writhed in and about, taking hue from the rooms, and causing the wild music of the orchestra to seem as the echo of their steps. And, anon, there strikes the ebony clock which stands in the hall of the velvet. And then, for a moment, all is still, and all is silent save the voice of the clock. The dreams are stiff-frozen as they stand. But the echoes of the chime die away--they have endured but an instant--and a light half-subdued laughter floats after them as they depart. And now the music swells, and the dreams live, and writhe to and fro more merrily than ever, taking hue from the many-tinted windows through which stream the rays of the tripods. But to the chamber which lies most westwardly of the seven there are now none of the maskers who venture, for the night is waning away; and there flows a ruddier light through the blood-colored panes; and the blackness of the sable drapery appalls; and to him whose foot falls on the sable carpet, there comes from the near clock of ebony a muffled peal more solemnly emphatic than any which reaches _their_ ears who indulge in the more remote gaieties of the other apartments.

But these other apartments were densely crowded, and in them beat feverishly the heart of life. And the revel went whirlingly on, until at length there commenced the sounding of midnight upon the clock. And then the music ceased, as I have told; and the evolutions of the waltzers were quieted; and there was an uneasy cessation of all things as before. But now there were twelve strokes to be sounded by the bell of the clock; and thus it happened, perhaps that more of thought crept, with more of time into the meditations of the thoughtful among those who revelled. And thus too, it happened, that before the last echoes of the last chime had utterly sunk into silence, there were many individuals in the crowd who had found leisure to become aware of the presence of a masked figure which had arrested the attention of no single individual before. And the rumor of this new presence having spread itself whisperingly around, there arose at length from the whole company a buzz, or murmur, of horror, and of disgust.

In an assembly of phantasms such as I have painted, it may well be supposed that no ordinary appearance could have excited such sensation. In truth the masquerade license of the night was nearly unlimited; but the figure in question had out-Heroded Herod, and gone beyond the bounds of even the prince's indefinite decorum. There are chords in the hearts of the most reckless which cannot be touched without emotion. Even with the utterly lost, to whom life and death are equally jests, there are matters of which no jest can be made. The whole company, indeed, seemed now deeply to feel that in the costume and bearing of the stranger neither wit nor propriety existed. The figure was tall and gaunt, and shrouded from head to foot in the habiliments of the grave. The mask which concealed the visage was made so nearly to resemble the countenance of a stiffened corpse that the closest scrutiny must have difficulty in detecting the cheat. And yet all this might have been endured, if not approved, by the mad revellers around. But the mummer had gone so far as to assume the type of the Red Death. His vesture was dabbled in _blood_--and his broad brow, with all the features of his face, was besprinkled with the scarlet horror.

When the eyes of Prince Prospero fell on this spectral image (which, with a slow and solemn movement, as if more fully to sustain its role, stalked to and fro among the waltzers) he was seen to be convulsed, in the first moment with a strong shudder either of terror or distaste; but in the next, his brow reddened with rage.

"Who dares"--he demanded hoarsely of the courtiers who stood near him--"who dares insult us with this blasphemous mockery? Seize him and unmask him--that we may know whom we have to hang, at sunrise, from the battlements!"

It was in the eastern or blue chamber in which stood Prince Prospero as he uttered these words. They rang throughout the seven rooms loudly and clearly, for the prince was a bold and robust man, and the music had become hushed at the waving of his hand.

It was in the blue room where stood the prince, with a group of pale courtiers by his side. At first, as he spoke, there was a slight rushing movement of this group in the direction of the intruder, who, at the moment was also near at hand, and now, with deliberate and stately step, made closer approach to the speaker. But from a certain nameless awe with which the mad assumptions of the mummer had inspired the whole party, there were found none who put forth a hand to seize him; so that, unimpeded, he passed within a yard of the prince's person; and while the vast assembly, as with one impulse, shrank from the centers of the rooms to the walls, he made his way uninterruptedly, but with the same solemn and measured step which had distinguished him from the first, through the blue chamber to the purple--to the purple to the green--through the green to the orange--through this again to the white--and even thence to the violet, ere a decided movement had been made to arrest him. It was then, however, that the Prince Prospero, maddened with rage and the shame of his own momentary cowardice, rushed hurriedly through the six chambers, while none followed him on account of a deadly terror that had seized upon all. He bore aloft a drawn dagger, and had approached, in rapid impetuosity, to within three or four feet of the retreating figure, when the latter, having attained the extremity of the velvet apartment, turned suddenly and confronted his pursuer. There was a sharp cry--and the dagger dropped gleaming upon the sable carpet, upon which most instantly afterward, fell prostrate in death the Prince Prospero. Then summoning the wild courage of despair, a throng of the revellers at once threw themselves into the black apartment, and seizing the mummer whose tall figure stood erect and motionless within the shadow of the ebony clock, gasped in unutterable horror at finding the grave cerements and corpse-like mask, which they handled with so violent a rudeness, untenanted by any tangible form.

And now was acknowledged the presence of the red death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall. And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay. And the flames of the tripods expired. And darkness and decay and the red death held illimitable dominion over all.

A Dark Brown Dog

 

A Child was standing on a street-corner. He leaned with one shoulder against a high board-fence and swayed the other to and fro, the while kicking carelessly at the gravel.

Sunshine beat upon the cobbles, and a lazy summer wind raised yellow dust which trailed in clouds down the avenue. Clattering trucks moved with indistinctness through it. The child stood dreamily gazing.

After a time, a little dark-brown dog came trotting with an intent air down the sidewalk. A short rope was dragging from his neck. Occasionally he trod upon the end of it and stumbled.

He stopped opposite the child, and the two regarded each other. The dog hesitated for a moment, but presently he made some little advances with his tail. The child put out his hand and called him. In an apologetic manner the dog came close, and the two had an interchange of friendly pattings and waggles. The dog became more enthusiastic with each moment of the interview, until with his gleeful caperings he threatened to overturn the child. Whereupon the child lifted his hand and struck the dog a blow upon the head.

This thing seemed to overpower and astonish the little dark-brown dog, and wounded him to the heart. He sank down in despair at the child's feet. When the blow was repeated, together with an admonition in childish sentences, he turned over upon his back, and held his paws in a peculiar manner. At the same time with his ears and his eyes he offered a small prayer to the child. 

He looked so comical on his back, and holding his paws peculiarly, that the child was greatly amused and gave him little taps repeatedly, to keep him so. But the little dark-brown dog took this chastisement in the most serious way, and no doubt considered that he had committed some grave crime, for he wriggled contritely and showed his repentance in every way that was in his power. He pleaded with the child and petitioned him, and offered more prayers. 

At last the child grew weary of this amusement and turned toward home. The dog was praying at the time. He lay on his back and turned his eyes upon the retreating form. 

Presently he struggled to his feet and started after the child. The latter wandered in a perfunctory way toward his home, stopping at times to investigate various matters. During one of these pauses he discovered the little dark-brown dog who was following him with the air of a footpad. 

The child beat his pursuer with a small stick he had found. The dog lay down and prayed until the child had finished, and resumed his journey. Then he scrambled erect and took up the pursuit again. 

On the way to his home the child turned many times and beat the dog, proclaiming with childish gestures that he held him in contempt as an unimportant dog, with no value save for a moment. For being this quality of animal the dog apologized and eloquently expressed regret, but he continued stealthily to follow the child. His manner grew so very guilty that he slunk like an assassin. 

When the child reached his door-step, the dog was industriously ambling a few yards in the rear. He became so agitated with shame when he again confronted the child that he forgot the dragging rope. He tripped upon it and fell forward. 

The child sat down on the step and the two had another interview. During it the dog greatly exerted himself to please the child. He performed a few gambols with such abandon that the child suddenly saw him to be a valuable thing. He made a swift, avaricious charge and seized the rope. 

He dragged his captive into a hall and up many long stairways in a dark tenement. The dog made willing efforts, but he could not hobble very skilfully up the stairs because he was very small and soft, and at last the pace of the engrossed child grew so energetic that the dog became panic-stricken. In his mind he was being dragged toward a grim unknown. His eyes grew wild with the terror of it. He began to wiggle his head frantically and to brace his legs. 

The child redoubled his exertions. They had a battle on the stairs. The child was victorious because he was completely absorbed in his purpose, and because the dog was very small. He dragged his acquirement to the door of his home, and finally with triumph across the threshold. 

No one was in. The child sat down on the floor and made overtures to the dog. These the dog instantly accepted. He beamed with affection upon his new friend. In a short time they were firm and abiding comrades. 

When the child's family appeared, they made a great row. The dog was examined and commented upon and called names. Scorn was leveled at him from all eyes, so that he became much embarrassed and drooped like a scorched plant. But the child went sturdily to the center of the floor, and, at the top of his voice, championed the dog. It happened that he was roaring protestations, with his arms clasped about the dog's neck, when the father of the family came in from work. 

The parent demanded to know what the blazes they were making the kid howl for. It was explained in many words that the infernal kid wanted to introduce a disreputable dog into the family. 
A family council was held. On this depended the dog's fate, but he in no way heeded, being busily engaged in chewing the end of the child's dress. 

The affair was quickly ended. The father of the family, it appears, was in a particularly savage temper that evening, and when he perceived that it would amaze and anger everybody if such a dog were allowed to remain, he decided that it should be so. The child, crying softly, took his friend off to a retired part of the room to hobnob with him, while the father quelled a fierce rebellion of his wife. So it came to pass that the dog was a member of the household. 

He and the child were associated together at all times save when the child slept. The child became a guardian and a friend. If the large folk kicked the dog and threw things at him, the child made loud and violent objections. Once when the child had run, protesting loudly, with tears raining down his face and his arms outstretched, to protect his friend, he had been struck in the head with a very large saucepan from the hand of his father, enraged at some seeming lack of courtesy in the dog. Ever after, the family were careful how they threw things at the dog. Moreover, the latter grew very skilful in avoiding missiles and feet. In a small room containing a stove, a table, a bureau and some chairs, he would display strategic ability of a high order, dodging, feinting and scuttling about among the furniture. He could force three or four people armed with brooms, sticks and handfuls of coal, to use all their ingenuity to get in a blow. And even when they did, it was seldom that they could do him a serious injury or leave any imprint. 

But when the child was present, these scenes did not occur. It came to be recognized that if the dog was molested, the child would burst into sobs, and as the child, when started, was very riotous and practically unquenchable, the dog had therein a safeguard. 

However, the child could not always be near. At night, when he was asleep, his dark-brown friend would raise from some black corner a wild, wailful cry, a song of infinite lowliness and despair, that would go shuddering and sobbing among the buildings of the block and cause people to swear. At these times the singer would often be chased all over the kitchen and hit with a great variety of articles. 

Sometimes, too, the child himself used to beat the dog, although it is not known that he ever had what could be truly called a just cause. The dog always accepted these thrashings with an air of admitted guilt. He was too much of a dog to try to look to be a martyr or to plot revenge. He received the blows with deep humility, and furthermore he forgave his friend the moment the child had finished, and was ready to caress the child's hand with his little red tongue. 

When misfortune came upon the child, and his troubles overwhelmed him, he would often crawl under the table and lay his small distressed head on the dog's back. The dog was ever sympathetic. It is not to be supposed that at such times he took occasion to refer to the unjust beatings his friend, when provoked, had administered to him. 

He did not achieve any notable degree of intimacy with the other members of the family. He had no confidence in them, and the fear that he would express at their casual approach often exasperated them exceedingly. They used to gain a certain satisfaction in underfeeding him, but finally his friend the child grew to watch the matter with some care, and when he forgot it, the dog was often successful in secret for himself. 
So the dog prospered. He developed a large bark, which came wondrously from such a small rug of a dog. He ceased to howl persistently at night. Sometimes, indeed, in his sleep, he would utter little yells, as from pain, but that occurred, no doubt, when in his dreams he encountered huge flaming dogs who threatened him direfully. 

His devotion to the child grew until it was a sublime thing. He wagged at his approach; he sank down in despair at his departure. He could detect the sound of the child's step among all the noises of the neighborhood. It was like a calling voice to him. 

The scene of their companionship was a kingdom governed by this terrible potentate, the child; but neither criticism nor rebellion ever lived for an instant in the heart of the one subject. Down in the mystic, hidden fields of his little dog-soul bloomed flowers of love and fidelity and perfect faith. 

The child was in the habit of going on many expeditions to observe strange things in the vicinity. On these occasions his friend usually jogged aimfully along behind. Perhaps, though, he went ahead. This necessitated his turning around every quarter-minute to make sure the child was coming. He was filled with a large idea of the importance of these journeys. He would carry himself with such an air! He was proud to be the retainer of so great a monarch. 

One day, however, the father of the family got quite exceptionally drunk. He came home and held carnival with the cooking utensils, the furniture and his wife. He was in the midst of this recreation when the child, followed by the dark-brown dog, entered the room. They were returning from their voyages. 

The child's practised eye instantly noted his father's state. He dived under the table, where experience had taught him was a rather safe place. The dog, lacking skill in such matters, was, of course, unaware of the true condition of affairs. He looked with interested eyes at his friend's sudden dive. He interpreted it to mean: Joyous gambol. He started to patter across the floor to join him. He was the picture of a little dark-brown dog en route to a friend. 

The head of the family saw him at this moment. He gave a huge howl of joy, and knocked the dog down with a heavy coffee-pot. The dog, yelling in supreme astonishment and fear, writhed to his feet and ran for cover. The man kicked out with a ponderous foot. It caused the dog to swerve as if caught in a tide. A second blow of the coffee-pot laid him upon the floor. 

Here the child, uttering loud cries, came valiantly forth like a knight. The father of the family paid no attention to these calls of the child, but advanced with glee upon the dog. Upon being knocked down twice in swift succession, the latter apparently gave up all hope of escape. He rolled over on his back and held his paws in a peculiar manner. At the same time with his eyes and his ears he offered up a small prayer. 

But the father was in a mood for having fun, and it occurred to him that it would be a fine thing to throw the dog out of the window. So he reached down and grabbing the animal by a leg, lifted him, squirming, up. He swung him two or three times hilariously about his head, and then flung him with great accuracy through the window. 

The soaring dog created a surprise in the block. A woman watering plants in an opposite window gave an involuntary shout and dropped a flower-pot. A man in another window leaned perilously out to watch the flight of the dog. A woman, who had been hanging out clothes in a yard, began to caper wildly. Her mouth was filled with clothes-pins, but her arms gave vent to a sort of exclamation. In appearance she was like a gagged prisoner. Children ran whooping. 

The dark-brown body crashed in a heap on the roof of a shed five stories below. From thence it rolled to the pavement of an alleyway. 

The child in the room far above burst into a long, dirgelike cry, and toddled hastily out of the room. It took him a long time to reach the alley, because his size compelled him to go downstairs backward, one step at a time, and holding with both hands to the step above. 

When they came for him later, they found him seated by the body of his dark-brown friend.