Foxholme Hall, and Other Tales
Page 24
sand was formed, and shells of manyshapes and delicate tints were washed up uninjured on the beach. Thesun and rain, with alternate influence, softened also the hard rock, anda soil was formed, and birds of the air rested there in their passageacross the ocean, and brought seeds of various descriptions fromfar-distant lands, which took root and sprung up; and the hills becameclothed with fragrant shrubs and gorgeous flowers, and tall trees withluscious fruits grew in the valleys, and a soft green herbage coveredthe banks of the silent lakes and murmuring streams. Thus the islandbecame a fit habitation for man. Now, it happened that a canoe or agalley with many oars, or a vessel of some description, such as was usedin ancient times, with a chief and his followers, and their wives andchildren, set sail from a remote country. Either they fled from theirvictorious enemies, or they were driven by a storm so far from theirnative shores that they could not return. Thus they floated over theocean, till they reached the Island of Gracia. So shattered was theirvessel by the tempest, and so delighted were the chief and his peoplewith the appearance of that beautiful land, that they were wellcontented to remain. Their chief now became their King.
In the course of a few generations the descendants of the firstadventurers had thickly peopled the whole island, and had lost allrecord of the land from whence they came, nor did they know whether itlay to the north or south, or to the east or west.
Monarch succeeded monarch, till King Zaphor came to the throne ofGracia. Everybody loved King Zaphor, for he was a benignant andpaternal sovereign, who attended to the wants of his subjects. The Kinghad a daughter, the Princess Serena; he loved his people, but heabsolutely doted on his daughter. She was the child of his affections,the sole relic of a departed wife, the soother of his regal cares, thecompanion of his hours of retirement. The people loved their King, butthey almost adored the Princess, and there was not a man in the islandwho would not have gladly died to protect her from harm.
Her heart was tender and good, and if she heard of any persons who wereill or in trouble, she was not contented till she had done her utmost torelieve them. Her blooming countenance was radiant with smiles andanimation, and she was beautiful, too, as she was amiable. The poets ofGracia used to liken her to a graceful sea-bird floating on the calmbosom of the deep, as, followed by her attendant maidens, as was herdaily custom, she tripped across the flowery mead, or through the shadywoods, or along the yellow sands, herself the fairest and most agile ofthem all!
The Princess and her youthful maids loved to pluck the sweet-scentedflowers to make chaplets for their hair, or wreaths to twine round theirsylph-like forms. At other times they would amuse themselves by dancingon the smooth sands, or they would plunge fearlessly into the water, andwould sport like sea-nymphs in the clear bright waves within the coralreefs, while the rocks and adjacent woods rang with their joyouslaughter.
The Princess also had a beautiful bower, where none but her ownattendants dared intrude. It was formed of branches of red and whitecoral, beautifully polished and interlaced. The roof was covered withthe long, thick leaves of the palmetto, and the outside walls were builtof the long-enduring bamboo, so closely placed together that neitherwind nor rain could penetrate; while the whole was shaded by awide-spreading palm-tree, and surrounded by a grove of cocoa-nut andplantain-trees. In front, through an opening in the wood, the sands ofthe sea-shore and its fantastic-shaped rocks, and the blue ocean,glittering in the sunshine, could be seen.
Here the Princess Serena and her attendants used to retire during theheat of the day, to partake of their simple but delicious repasts ofbread made from the quick-growing cariaca or the cassada root, thenutritive and luscious plantain, the heads of the cockarito-palm, andboiled pappaws, with sea-side grapes, and other fruits and vegetablestoo numerous to mention; or they would ply the distaff, or would makedresses of feathers and baskets of reeds, while they amused themselveswith pleasant talk; and thus their days passed innocently and happilyaway.
STORY SIX, CHAPTER TWO.
In the very deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean, directly under theEquator, Neptune, the Sovereign of the Seas, once held his regal court.His palace was of vast dimensions, capable of holding all the OceanSpirits, the rulers and guardians of the realms of water below, and ofall the islands which adorn its surface. Its outside was composed ofhuge black rocks piled up like mountains, one upon another, and coveredwith dark masses of seaweed, which, floating upward, appeared like aforest of trees, of a growth far more gigantic than the earth canproduce, and yet it seemed but like lichens growing on the roof of ahouse in comparison with the size of the edifice. The inside was moremagnificent than mortal eye has ever seen. There was one vast hall,pervaded by a green yet clear light, which came from above, andincreased the grandeur and solemnity which reigned around. To say thatthe walls were of red coral and immense shells, each of which was aslarge as many a vessel which floats on the ocean, while pearls ofsurpassing brilliancy and whiteness were interspersed among them, andthat the roof was of crystal of gorgeous tinge, can in no way picturethe surpassing magnificence of the structure. At one end was a loftythrone, proportioned to the size of the building, of jet-black rock,glittering with that gold which the toil of man had won from the bowelsof the earth, but which his carelessness had lost in the stormy sea. Itwas surrounded by many thousand other thrones, the seats of Neptune'svassal Spirits--his Governors, Tritons, and other attendants. It mustbe understood that, once upon a time, whatever may now be the case,every fish which swims, every insect which crawls in the sea, had itsgovernor and king. The largest was the King of the Whales. He was avast monster of dark form, whose dwelling was in the regions of icebergsand glaciers at the North Pole. The fiercest was the King of theSharks; he had sharp teeth, and eyes full of malignancy and hatred tothe human race. He was the most wicked of all the Spirits. The fastestand most beautiful was the King of the Dolphins; the most unwieldy theKing of the Porpoises; the ugliest the King of the Cat-fish; and thetallest the King of the Big Sea Serpents--for they all partook somewhatof the forms of the fish over whom they were placed to govern. Theirthrones, too, were of appropriate forms; some sat on huge sea-eggs,others on shells. The King of the Whales sat on an iceberg, but theKing of the Big Sea Serpents was obliged to twist himself in and outabout the pillars of the hall to find room for his long body. It isimpossible to describe their vast mysterious forms, shrouded as theywere in their dark-green mantles of vapours and obscurity.
That portion of the Pacific Ocean in which the Island of Gracia issituated was ruled over by a sea spirit of the name of Borasco. As hewas not the king of any particular fish (indeed, he was superior inpower to most of them), his appearance was a mixture of many. His bodywas covered with scales, and from his back mighty wings projected, toaid him in his flight across the ocean, while his feet were like thoseof a seal; his eyes were large, fierce, and glowing; his mouth had largetusks, and on either side were black bunches, like the feelers of awalrus. On his head grew masses of long hair, like seaweed, streamingin the wind; while his arms and hands had more the appearance of theclaws of a shell-fish than of anything else; at the same time that hisvast size, and the indistinctness which surrounded him, gave to hisappearance a grandeur which partook more of the terrific than thehideous. Borasco had a palace which might vie in magnificence andbeauty, though not in size, with that of Neptune. One day he salliedforth, and mounting his prancing steed, which was a huge wave with afoaming crest, he rode furiously off, as he was accustomed to do, overthe ocean. The water roared and hissed, the mid wind howled, as,shouting loudly with a voice like thunder, onward he went in his fiercecareer; and these were the words he uttered:--
"I'm a wandering spirit where rolls the broad sea, For no bonds, for no bonds, can e'er fetter me: My steed is a wave, with a white crest of foam, Which gallantly bears me wherever I roam; Lashed to fury, he dashes the waters on high, As bounding he lifts his proud head to the sky. Oh! no charger of earth can so rapidly flee, While no bonds, while no bonds, can e'er fett
er me.
"I fly on the tempest while loud shrieks are heard, And more shrilly I cry than the roaming sea-bird: When rocks are resounding with ocean's loud roar, And forms are rebounding, pale waifs on the shore-- When barks are deserted to roam o'er the waves, And mortals are hurled unprepared to their graves-- Then, then is the time I shriek loudest with glee, And no bonds are so strong they can e'er fetter me.
"My hair, the thick mist or the wild-driving snow, All wildly floats round when the northern blasts blow; My breath's in the whirlwind, my voice in the clouds, And night, as a mantle, my stern visage shrouds. The vivid fork'd lightnings which dart from mine eyes Flash fearfully over the dark low'ring skies: Oh! then my wild voice is heard shouting with glee, As I ride o'er the boundless and fathomless sea."
On, on he flew, terror before him, devastation in his rear; thefootsteps of his steed, the dark furrows