of the boundary wall, and reached a narrow corner. Here
we perceived an immense, frowning, ruinous palace, open at the top,
reaching to the wall where were the innumerable doors, all of which led
to this huge, terrific court. The walls were constructed with the sculls
of men, which grinned horribly with their teeth. The clay was black, and
was prepared with tears and sweat; and the mortar on the outside was
variegated with phlegm and pus, and on the inside with black-red blood.
On the top of each turret, you might see a little death, with a smoking
heart stuck on the point of his dart.

Around the palace was a wood, consisting of a few poisonous yews and
deadly cypresses, and in these, owls, blood crows, vultures and the like
were nestling; and croaking continually for flesh, though the whole place
was nothing but a stinking shamble. We entered the gate. All the
pillars of the hall were made of human thigh bones; the pillars of the
parlour were of shank bones; and the floors were one continued layer of
every species of offal. It was not long before I came in sight of a vast
and frightful altar, where I beheld the king of Terrors swallowing human
flesh and blood, and a thousand petty deaths, from every hole, feeding
him with fresh, warm flesh. "Behold," said the death who brought me
there, addressing himself to the king, "a spark, whom I found in the
midst of the land of Oblivion; he came so light footed, that your majesty
never tasted a morsel of him." "How can that be?" said the king, and
opened his jaws as wide as an earthquake to swallow me. Whereupon I
turned all trembling to Sleep. "It was I," said Sleep, "who brought him
here." "Well," said the meagre, grizly king, turning to me, "for my
brother Sleep's sake, you shall be permitted to return this time, but
beware of me the next." After having employed himself for a considerable
time in casting carcasses into his insatiable paunch, he caused his
subjects to be called together, and moved from the altar to a terrific
throne of exceeding height, to pronounce judgment on the prisoners newly
arrived. In an instant came innumerable multitudes of the dead, making
their obeisance to their king, and taking their stations in remarkable
order. And lo! king Death was in his regal vest of flaming scarlet,
covered all over with figures of women and children weeping, and men
uttering groans; about his head was a black-red three-cornered cap (which
his friend Lucifer