right: the janizary obeyed. I said to Darvell, «How did you know this? » — He replied, «From our situation; you must perceive that this place was once inhabited, and could not have been so without springs; I have also been here before.»> «You have been here before! How came you never to mention this to me? and what could you be doing in a place where no one would remain a moment longer than they could help it 1) ? » To this question I received no answer. In the meantime Suleiman returned with the water leaving the serrugee and the horses at the fountain. The quenching 2) of his thirst had the appearance of reviving him for a moment; and 1 conceived hopes of his being able to proceed, or at least to return, and I urged the attempt. He was silent and appeared to be collecting his spirits for an effort to speak. He began. <<This is the end of my journey, and of my life I came here to die: but I have a request to make, a command for such 3) my last words must be You will observe it?» «Most certainly; but have better hopes.» death from every human being.»> that you will recover, and. >> <<I do.»> << Swear it, by solemnity. << There is no quest; and to doubt me is >>> «I have no hopes, nor wishes, but this - conceal my «I hope there will be no occasion; << Peace! it must be so: promise this.>> all that >> He here dictated an oath of great occasion for this I will observe your re«It cannot be helped, you must swear.»> I took the oath: it appeared to relieve him. He removed a seal ring from his finger, on which were some Arabic characters, and presented it to me. He proceeded «On the ninth day of the month, at noon precisely, what month you please, but this must be the day you must fling this ring into the salt springs which run into the Bay of Eleusis: the day after at the same hour, you repair to the ruins of the temple of Ceres, and wait one hour.»>< <<<Why?»> «You will see.» «The ninth day of the month, you say?» << The ninth.>> As I observed the present was the ninth day of the month, his countenance changed, and he paused. As he sate, evidently becoming more feeble, a stork, with a snake in her beak, perched upon a tombstone near us; and, without devouring her prey, appeared to be steadfastly regarding us. I know not what impelled me to drive it away, but the attempt was useless; she1) made a few circles in the air, and returned exactly to the same spot. Darvell pointed to it, and smiled: he spoke I know not whether to himself or to me but the words were only, «'Tis well!» — «<What is well? what do you mean?»> «No matter: you must bury me here this evening, and exactly where that bird is now perched. You know the rest of my injunctions. >>> He then proceeded to give me several directions as to the manner in which his death might be best concealed. After these were finished, he exclaimed, «You perceive that bird?» << Certainly. >> «Doubt «And the serpent writhing in her beak?» less: there is nothing uncommon in it; it is her natural prey. But it is odd that she does not devour it. >> He smiled in a ghastly manner, and said, faintly, «It is not yet time!» As he spoke, the stork flew away. My eyes followed it for a moment, it could hardly be longer than ten might be counted. I felt Darvell's weight, as it were, increase upon my shoulder, and, turning to look upon his face, perceived that he was dead! I was shocked with the sudden certainty which could not be mistaken his countenance in a few minutes became nearly black. I should have attributed so rapid a change to poison, had 1) (336). 2) (231) (232). 3) (156). 4) (95). I not been aware that he had no opportunity of receiving it unperceived. The day was declining, the body was rapidly altering, and nothing remained but to fulfil his request. With the aid of Suleiman's ataghan and my own sabre, we scooped a shallow grave upon the spot which Darvell had indicated: the earth easily gave way, having already received some Mahometan tenant. We dug as deeply as the time permitted us, and throwing the dry earth upon all that remained of the singular being so lately) departed, we cut a few sods of greener turf from the less withered soil around us, and laid them upon his sepulchre. Between astonishment and grief, I was tearless. 5. The Voyage. (By Washington Irving.) Ships, ships, I will descrie you Amidst the main, I will come and try you, And projecting, What's your end and aim. One goes abroad for merchandize and trading, A third is coming home with rich and wealthy lading. To an American visiting Europe, the long voyage he has to make is an excellent preparative. The temporary absence of worldly scenes and employments produces a state of mind peculiarly fitted to receive new and vivid impressions. The vast space of waters that separates the hemispheres is like a blank 2) page in existence. There is no gradual transition by which, as in Europe, the features and population of one country blend almost imperceptibly with those of another. From the moment you lose sight of the land you have left, all is vacancy until you step on the opposite shore, and are launched at once into the bustle and novelties of another world. It In travelling by land there is a continuity 3) of scene, and a connected succession of persons and incidents, that carry on the story of life, and lessen the effect of absence and separation. We drag, it is true, «a lengthening chain» at each remove of our pilgrimage; but the chain is unbroken: we can trace it back link by link: and we feel that the last of them still grapples us to home. But a wide sea voyage severs us at once. makes us conscious of being cast loose from the secure anchorage ) of settled life, and sent adrift upon a doubtful world. It interposes a gulf, not merely imaginary, but real, between us and our homes a gulf subject to tempest, and fear, and uncertainty, that makes distance palpable, and return precarious. Such), at least, was the case with myself. As I saw the last blue line of my native land fade away like a cloud in the horizon, it seemed as if I had closed one volume of the world and its concerns, and had time for meditation, before I opened another. That land, too, now vanishing from my view, which contained all that was most dear to me in life; what vicissitudes might occur in it, what changes might take place in me, before I should visit it again! Who can tell when he sets forth to wander, whither 6) he may be driven by the uncertain currents of existence; or 1) So eben erst. 2) Unbeschriebene (leere) Seite. 3) (88). 4) (89). 5) (156). 6) (327). when he may return; or whether it may ever be his lot to revisit the scenes of his childhood? I said that at sea all is vacancy 1); I should correct the expression. To one given 2) to 3) day-dreaming, and fond of losing himself in reveries, a sea voyage is full of subjects for meditation; but then they are the wonders of the deep, and of the air, and rather tend to abstract the mind from worldly themes. I delighted to loll over the quarter railing1), or climb to the main top, of a calm day, and muse for hours together on the tranquil bosom of a summer's sea; to gaze upon the piles of golden clouds just peering above the horizon, fancy them some fairy realms, and people them with a creation of my own; to watch the gentle undulating billows, rolling their silver volumes, as if to die away on those happy shores. There was a delicious sensation of mingled security and awe with which I looked down, from my giddy height, on the monsters of the deep at their uncouth gambols. Shoals of porpoises 5) tumbling about the bow of the ship; the grampus 6) slowly heaving his huge form above the surface; or the ravenous shark, darting, like a spectre, through the blue waters. My imagination would conjure up all that I had heard or read of the watery world beneath me; of the finny herds that roam its fathomless 7) valleys; of the shapeless monsters that lurk among the very foundations of the earth; and of those wild phantasms that swell the tales of fishermen and sailors. Sometimes a distant sail, gliding along the edge of the ocean, would be another theme of idle speculation. How interesting this fragment of a world, hastening to rejoin the great mass of existence! What a glorious monument of human invention! that has thus triumphed over wind and wave; has brought the ends of the world into communion; has established an interchange of blessings, pouring into the sterile regions of the north all the luxuries of the south; has diffused the light of knowledge and the charities of cultivated life; and has thus bound together those scattered portions of the human race, between which nature seemed to have thrown an unsurmountable barrier. We one day descried some shapeless object drifting at a distance. At sea, every thing that breaks the monotony of the surrounding expanse attracts attention. It proved to be the mast of a ship that must have been completely wrecked; for there were the remains of handkerchiefs, by which some of the crew had fastened themselves to this spar, to prevent their being washed off by the waves. There was no trace by which the name of the ship could be ascertained. The wreck had evidently drifted about for many months; clusters of shell-fish had fastened about it, and long sea weeds ) flaunted at its sides. But where, thought I, is the crew? Their struggle has long been over they have gone down amidst the roar of the tempest their bones lie whitening among the caverns of the deep. Silence oblivion, like the waves, have closed over them, and no one can tell the story of their end. What sighs have been wafted after that ship; what prayers offered up at the deserted fireside of home! How often has the mistress, the wife, the mother, pored over the daily news9), to catch some casual intelligence of this rover of the deep. How has expectation darkened into anxiety anxiety into dread and dread into despair! Alas! not one memento 1o) shall ever return for love to cherish. All that shall ever be known, is, that she sailed from her port, «and was never heard of more!» The sight of this wreck, as usual, gave rise to 1) (87). 2) (335). 3) Ergeben, zugethan. 4) Seitengallerie. 5) Meerschwein. 6) Nordkaper. 7) Unergründlich. 8) Kräuter. 9) Zeitung. 10) (102). many dismal anecdotes. This was particularly the case in the evening, when the weather, which had hitherto been fair, began to look wild and threatening, and gave indications of one of those sudden storms that will sometimes break in upon the serenity of a summer voyage. As we sat round the dull light of a lamp in the cabin, that made the gloom more ghastly, every one had his tale of shipwreck and disaster. I was particularly struck with a short one related by the captain. «As I was once sailing,» said he, «in a fine stout ship, across the banks of Newfoundland, one of those heavy fogs that prevail in those parts rendered it impossible for us to see far a head1), even in the day-time; but at night the weather was so thick that we could not distinguish any object at twice the length of the ship. I kept lights at the mast head, and a constant watch forward to look out for fishing smacks 2), which are accustomed to lie at anchor on the banks. The wind was blowing a smacking breeze, and we were going at a great rate through the water. Suddenly the watch gave the alarm of «a sail a-head!»> it was sarcely uttered before 3) we were upon her. She was a small schooner, at anchor, with her broad side towards us. The crew were all asleep, and had neglected to hoist a light. We struck her just amid - ships 4). The force, the size, and weight of our vessel bore her down below the waves; we passed over her, and were hurried on our course. As the crashing wreck was sinking beneath us, I had a glimpse of two or three half-naked wretches rushing from her cabin; they just started from their beds to be swallowed shrieking by the waves. I heard their drowning cry mingling with the wind. The blast that bore it to our ears swept us out of all farther hearing. I shall never forget that cry! It was sometime before we could put the ship about, she was under such headway 5). We returned, as nearly as we could guess, to the place where the smack had anchored. We cruised about for several hours in the dense fog. We fired signal guns, and listened if we might hear the halloo, of any survivors 6): but all was silent we never saw or heard any thing of them more!>> I confess these stories, for a time, put an end to all my fine fancies. The storm increased with the night. The sea was lashed into tremendous confusion. There was a fearful, sullen sound of rushing waves, and broken surges. Deep) called unto deep. At times the black volume of clouds over head seemed rent asunder by flashes of lightning that quivered along the foaming billows, and made the succeeding darkness doubly terrible. The thunders bellowed over the wild waste of waters, and were echoed and prolonged by the mountain waves. As I saw the ship staggering and plunging among these roaring caverns, it seemed miraculous that she regained her balance, or preserved her buoyancy. Her yards would dip into the water: her bow was almost buried beneath the waves. Sometimes an impending surge appeared ready to overwhelm her, and nothing but a dexterous movement of the helm preserved her from the shock. When I retired to my cabin, the awful scene still followed me. The whistling of the wind through the rigging sounded like funeral wailings. The creaking of the masts, the straining and groaning of bulk heads, as the ship laboured in the weltering sea, were frightful. As I heard the waves rushing along the side of the ship, and roaring in my very ear, it seemed as if Death were raging round this floating prison, seeking for his prey, the mere starting of a nail, the yawning of a seam might give him entrance. 1) Geradeaus, vorwärts. 2) Kleine einmastige Schiffe. 3) (330). 4) Gerade quer durch. 5) So stark vorwärts treibend. 6) (86). 7) Hier Substantiv. II. Vierte Auflage. 15 A fine day, however, with a tranquil sea and favouring breeze, soon put all these dismal reflections in flight. It is impossible to resist the gladdening influence of fine weather and fair wind at sea. When the ship is decked out in all her canvas, every sail swelled, and careering gaily over the curling waves, how lofty, how gallant she appears - how she seems to lord it') over the deep! I might fill a volume with the reveries of a sea voyage, for with me it is always a continual reverie but it is time to get to shore. It was a fine sunny morning when the thrilling cry of «land!» was given from the mast head. None but those who have experienced it, can form an idea of the delicious throng of sensations which rush into an American's bosom, when he first comes in sight of Europe. There is a volume of associations 2) with the very name. It is the land of promise, teeming with every thing of which his childhood has heard, or on which his studious years have pondered. From that time until the moment of arrival, it was all feverish excitement. The ships of war, that prowled like guardian giants along the coast; the head lands of Ireland, stretching out into the channel; the Welsh mountains, towering into the clouds; all were objects of intense interest. As we sailed up the Mersey, I reconnoitred the shores with a telescope. My eye dwelt with delight on neat cottages, with their trim shrubberies and green grass plots. I saw the mouldering ruin of an abbey overrun with ivy, and the taper spire of a village church rising from the brow of a neighbouring hill — all were characteristic of England. - The tide and wind were so favourable, that the ship was enabled to come at once to the pier. It was thronged with people; some idle lookerson, others eager expectants of friends or relatives. I could distinguish the merchant to whom the ship was consigned. I knew him by his calculating brow and restless air. His hands were thrust into his pockets; he was whistling thoughtfully, and walking to and fro, a small space having been accorded him by the crowd, in deference of his temporary importance. There were repeated cheerings and salutations interchanged between the shore and the ship, as friends happened to recognize each other. I particulary noticed one young woman of humble dress, but interesting demeanour. She was leaning forward from among the crowd; her eye hurried over the ship as it neared the shore, to catch some wished for 3) countenance. She seemed disappointed and agitated; when I heard a faint voice call her name. It was from a poor sailor who had been ill all the voyage, and had excited the sympathy of every one on board. When the weather was fine, his messmates had spread a mattres for him on deck in the shade, but of late his illness had so increased, that he had taken 1) to his hammock, and only breathed a wish that he might see his wife before he died. He had been helped on deck as we came up the river, and was now leaning against the shrouds, with a countenance so wasted, so pale, so ghastly, that it was no wonder even the eye of affection did not recognize him. But at the sound of his voice, her eye darted on his features; it read, at once, a whole volume of sorrow; she clasped her hands, uttered a faint shriek, and stood ringing them in silent agony. All now was hurry and bustle. The meetings of acquaintances — the greetings of friends the consultations of men of business. I alone was solitary and idle. I had no friend to meet, no cheering to receive. I stepped upon the land of my forefathers — but felt that I was stranger in the land. 1) Die Herrschaft zu üben. ) Gedankenverbindungen. 3) Erwünscht. 4) Bleis ben mußte auf. |