Ihadhadaverynarrowescape。AnothermomentandIshouldnothavelivedtotellthetale。ThedaggerthathadalreadyimmolatedtwoofBourgonef’sobjectsofvengeancewouldhavebeeninmybreast。Asitwas，attheverymomentwhentheterribleIvanhadthrownhisarmsaroundmeandwasstiflingmewithchloroform，oneoftheservantsofthehotel，alarmedorattractedbycuriosityatthesoundofhighwordswithintheroom，hadventuredtoopenthedoortoseewhatwasgoingon。Thealarmhadbeengiven，andBourgonefhadbeenarrestedandhandedovertothepolice。Ivan，however，haddisappeared；norwerethepoliceeverabletofindhim。Thismatteredcomparativelylittle。Ivanwithouthismasterwasnomoreredoubtablethananyothernoxiousanimal。Asanaccomplice，asaninstrumenttoexecutethewillofamanlikeBourgonef，hewasadangertosociety。Thedirectingintelligencewithdrawn，hesanktothelevelofthebrute。Iwasnotuneasy，therefore，athishavingescaped。Sufficientformethattherealcriminal，themindthathadconceivedanddirectedthosefearfulmurders，wasatlastinthehandsofjustice。IfeltthatmytaskhadbeenfullyaccomplishedwhenBourgonef’sheadfellonthescaffold。
TheClosedCabinetI
ItwaswithalittlealarmandagooddealofpleasurableexcitementthatIlookedforwardtomyfirstgrown-upvisittoMervynGrange。Ihadbeenthereseveraltimesasachild，butneversinceIwastwelveyearsold，andnowIwasovereighteen。
WewereallofusveryproudofourcousinstheMervyns:itisnoteverybodythatcanclaimkinshipwithafamilywhoareinfullandadmittedpossessionofasecret，acurse，andamysteriouscabinet，inadditiontotheusualsurplusageofhorrorssuppliedinsuchcasesbypopularimagination。SomedeclaredthataMervynofthedaysofHenryVIIIhadbeencursedbyaninjuredabbotfromthefootofthegallows。OthersaffirmedthatadissipatedMervynoftheGeorgianerawasstillplayingcardsforhissoulinsomeremoteregionoftheGrange。Therewerestoriesofwhiteladiesandblackimps，ofbloodstainedpassagesandmagicstones。We，proudofourmoreintimateacquaintancewiththefamily，naturallygavenocredencetothesewildinventions。TheMervyns，indeed，followedtheacceptedprecedentinsuchcases，andgreatlydislikedanyreferencetothereputedmysterybeingmadeintheirpresence；
withtheinevitableresultthattherewasnosubjectsopertinaciouslydiscussedbytheirfriendsintheirabsence。Myfather’ssisterhadmarriedthelateBaronet，SirHenryMervyn，andwealwaysfeltthatsheoughttohavebeenthemeansofimpartingtousaverycompleteknowledgeofthefamilysecret。Butinthisconnectionsheundoubtedlyfailedofherduty。Weknewthattherehadbeenaterribletragedyinthefamilysometwoorthreehundredyearsago——thatapeculiarlywickedownerofMervyn，whoflourishedinthelatterpartofthesixteenthcentury，hadbeenmurderedbyhiswifewhosubsequentlycommittedsuicide。Weknewthatthemysteriouscursehadsomeconnectionwiththiscrime，butwhatthecurseexactlywaswehadneverbeenabletodiscover。Thehistoryofthefamilysincethattimehadindeedinonesensebeenfullofmisfortune。Notineverysense。Acoalminehadbeendiscoveredinonepartoftheestate，andapopulouscityhadgrownoverthecornerofanotherpart；andtheMervynsofto-day，inspiteoftheusualpercentageofextravagantheirsandpoliticalmistakes，werethreetimesasrichastheirancestorshadbeen。Butstilltheirstorywasfullofbloodshedandshame，oftalesofduelsandsuicides，brokenheartsandbrokenhonor。Onlythesecalamitiesseemedtohavelittleornorelationtoeachother，andwhattheprecisecursewasthatwassupposedtoconnectoraccountforthemwecouldnotlearn。Whenshefirstmarried，myauntwastoldnothingaboutit。Lateroninlife，whenmyfatheraskedherforthestory，shebeggedhimtotalkuponapleasantersubject；andbeingunluckilyamanofmuchcourtesyandlittlecuriosity，hecompliedwithherrequest。This，however，wastheonlypartoftheghostlytraditionsofherhusband’shomeuponwhichshewassoreticent。Thehauntedchamber，forinstance——which，ofcourse，existedattheGrange——shetreatedwiththegreatestcontempt。