Les indes-noirs. English

by Jules Verne

  CHAPTER XIV. A SUNRISE

  A MONTH after this, on the evening of the 20th of August, Simon Ford andMadge took leave, with all manner of good wishes, of four tourists, whowere setting forth from the cottage.

  James Starr, Harry, and Jack Ryan were about to lead Nell's steps overyet untrodden paths, and to show her the glories of nature by a light towhich she was as yet a stranger. The excursion was to last for two days.James Starr, as well as Harry, considered that during these eightand forty hours spent above ground, the maiden would be able to seeeverything of which she must have remained ignorant in the gloomy pit;all the varied aspects of the globe, towns, plains, mountains, rivers,lakes, gulfs, and seas would pass, panorama-like, before her eyes.

  In that part of Scotland lying between Edinburgh and Glasgow, naturewould seem to have collected and set forth specimens of every one ofthese terrestrial beauties. As to the heavens, they would be spreadabroad as over the whole earth, with their changeful clouds, serene orveiled moon, their radiant sun, and clustering stars. The expedition hadbeen planned so as to combine a view of all these things.

  Simon and Madge would have been glad to go with Nell; but they neverleft their cottage willingly, and could not make up their minds to quittheir subterranean home for a single day.

  James Starr went as an observer and philosopher, curious to note, froma psychological point of view, the novel impressions made upon Nell;perhaps also with some hope of detecting a clue to the mysterious eventsconnected with her childhood. Harry, with a little trepidation, askedhimself whether it was not possible that this rapid initiation into thethings of the exterior world would change the maiden he had known andloved hitherto into quite a different girl. As for Jack Ryan, he was asjoyous as a lark rising in the first beams of the sun. He only trustedthat his gayety would prove contagious, and enliven his travelingcompanions, thus rewarding them for letting him join them. Nell waspensive and silent.

  James Starr had decided, very sensibly, to set off in the evening.It would be very much better for the girl to pass gradually from thedarkness of night to the full light of day; and that would in this waybe managed, since between midnight and noon she would experience thesuccessive phases of shade and sunshine, to which her sight had to getaccustomed.

  Just as they left the cottage, Nell took Harry's hand saying, "Harry, isit really necessary for me to leave the mine at all, even for these fewdays?"

  "Yes, it is, Nell," replied the young man. "It is needful for both ofus."

  "But, Harry," resumed Nell, "ever since you found me, I have been ashappy as I can possibly be. You have been teaching me. Why is that notenough? What am I going up there for?"

  Harry looked at her in silence. Nell was giving utterance to nearly hisown thoughts.

  "My child," said James Starr, "I can well understand the hesitation youfeel; but it will be good for you to go with us. Those who love you aretaking you, and they will bring you back again. Afterwards you will befree, if you wish it, to continue your life in the coal mine, likeold Simon, and Madge, and Harry. But at least you ought to be ableto compare what you give up with what you choose, then decide freely.Come!"

  "Come, dear Nell!" cried Harry.

  "Harry, I am willing to follow you," replied the maiden. At nineo'clock the last train through the tunnel started to convey Nell andher companions to the surface of the earth. Twenty minutes later theyalighted on the platform where the branch line to New Aberfoyle joinsthe railway from Dumbarton to Stirling.

  The night was already dark. From the horizon to the zenith, lightvapory clouds hurried through the upper air, driven by a refreshingnorthwesterly breeze. The day had been lovely; the night promised to beso likewise.

  On reaching Stirling, Nell and her friends, quitting the train, left thestation immediately. Just before them, between high trees, they couldsee a road which led to the banks of the river Forth.

  The first physical impression on the girl was the purity of the airinhaled eagerly by her lungs.

  "Breathe it freely, Nell," said James Starr; "it is fragrant with allthe scents of the open country."

  "What is all that smoke passing over our heads?" inquired Nell.

  "Those are clouds," answered Harry, "blown along by the westerly wind."

  "Ah!" said Nell, "how I should like to feel myself carried along in thatsilent whirl! And what are those shining sparks which glance here andthere between rents in the clouds?"

  "Those are the stars I have told you about, Nell. So many suns they are,so many centers of worlds like our own, most likely."

  The constellations became more clearly visible as the wind cleared theclouds from the deep blue of the firmament. Nell gazed upon the myriadstars which sparkled overhead. "But how is it," she said at length,"that if these are suns, my eyes can endure their brightness?"

  "My child," replied James Starr, "they are indeed suns, but suns at anenormous distance. The nearest of these millions of stars, whose rayscan reach us, is Vega, that star in Lyra which you observe near thezenith, and that is fifty thousand millions of leagues distant. Itsbrightness, therefore, cannot affect your vision. But our own sun, whichwill rise to-morrow, is only distant thirty-eight millions of leagues,and no human eye can gaze fixedly upon that, for it is brighter than theblaze of any furnace. But come, Nell, come!"

  They pursued their way, James Starr leading the maiden, Harry walkingby her side, while Jack Ryan roamed about like a young dog, impatient ofthe slow pace of his masters. The road was lonely. Nell kept looking atthe great trees, whose branches, waving in the wind, made them seem toher like giants gesticulating wildly. The sound of the breeze in thetree-tops, the deep silence during a lull, the distant line of thehorizon, which could be discerned when the road passed over openlevels--all these things filled her with new sensations, and leftlasting impressions on her mind.

  After some time she ceased to ask questions, and her companionsrespected her silence, not wishing to influence by any words of theirsthe girl's highly sensitive imagination, but preferring to allow ideasto arise spontaneously in her soul.

  At about half past eleven o'clock, they gained the banks of the riverForth. There a boat, chartered by James Starr, awaited them. In a fewhours it would convey them all to Granton. Nell looked at the clearwater which flowed up to her feet, as the waves broke gently on thebeach, reflecting the starlight. "Is this a lake?" said she.

  "No," replied Harry, "it is a great river flowing towards the sea, andsoon opening so widely as to resemble a gulf. Taste a little of thewater in the hollow of your hand, Nell, and you will perceive that it isnot sweet like the waters of Lake Malcolm."

  The maiden bent towards the stream, and, raising a little water to herlips, "This is quite salt," said she.

  "Yes, the tide is full; the sea water flows up the river as far asthis," answered Harry.

  "Oh, Harry! Harry!" exclaimed the maiden, "what can that red glow on thehorizon be? Is it a forest on fire?"

  "No, it is the rising moon, Nell."

  "To be sure, that's the moon," cried Jack Ryan, "a fine big silverplate, which the spirits of air hand round and round the sky to collectthe stars in, like money."

  "Why, Jack," said the engineer, laughing, "I had no idea you couldstrike out such bold comparisons!"

  "Well, but, Mr. Starr, it is a just comparison. Don't you see the starsdisappear as the moon passes on? so I suppose they drop into it."

  "What you mean to say, Jack, is that the superior brilliancy of the mooneclipses that of stars of the sixth magnitude, therefore they vanish asshe approaches."

  "How beautiful all this is!" repeated Nell again and again, with herwhole soul in her eyes. "But I thought the moon was round?"

  "So she is, when 'full,'" said James Starr; "that means when she is justopposite to the sun. But to-night the moon is in the last quarter, shornof her just proportions, and friend Jack's grand silver plate looks morelike a barber's basin."

  "Oh, Mr. Starr, what a base comparison!" he exclaimed, "I was just goingto begi
n a sonnet to the moon, but your barber's basin has destroyed allchance of an inspiration."

  Gradually the moon ascended the heavens. Before her light the lingeringclouds fled away, while stars still sparkled in the west, beyondthe influence of her radiance. Nell gazed in silence on the gloriousspectacle. The soft silvery light was pleasant to her eyes, and herlittle trembling hand expressed to Harry, who clasped it, how deeply shewas affected by the scene.

  "Let us embark now," said James Starr. "We have to get to the top ofArthur's Seat before sunrise."

  The boat was moored to a post on the bank. A boatman awaited them. Nelland her friends took their seats; the sail was spread; it quickly filledbefore the northwesterly breeze, and they sped on their way.

  What a new sensation was this for the maiden! She had been rowed on thewaters of Lake Malcolm; but the oar, handled ever so lightly by Harry,always betrayed effort on the part of the oarsman. Now, for the firsttime, Nell felt herself borne along with a gliding movement, like thatof a balloon through the air. The water was smooth as a lake, andNell reclined in the stern of the boat, enjoying its gentle rocking.Occasionally the effect of the moonlight on the waters was as though theboat sailed across a glittering silver field. Little wavelets rippledalong the banks. It was enchanting.

  At length Nell was overcome with drowsiness, her eyelids drooped, herhead sank on Harry's shoulder--she slept. Harry, sorry that she shouldmiss any of the beauties of this magnificent night, would have arousedher.

  "Let her sleep!" said the engineer. "She will better enjoy the noveltiesof the day after a couple of hours' rest."

  At two o'clock in the morning the boat reached Granton pier. Nell awoke."Have I been asleep?" inquired she.

  "No, my child," said James Starr. "You have been dreaming that youslept, that's all."

  The night continued clear. The moon, riding in mid-heaven, diffusedher rays on all sides. In the little port of Granton lay two or threefishing boats; they rocked gently on the waters of the Firth. The windfell as the dawn approached. The atmosphere, clear of mists, promisedone of those fine autumn days so delicious on the sea coast.

  A soft, transparent film of vapor lay along the horizon; the firstsunbeam would dissipate it; to the maiden it exhibited that aspect ofthe sea which seems to blend it with the sky. Her view was now enlarged,without producing the impression of the boundless infinity of ocean.

  Harry taking Nell's hand, they followed James Starr and Jack Ryan asthey traversed the deserted streets. To Nell, this suburb of the capitalappeared only a collection of gloomy dark houses, just like Coal Town,only that the roof was higher, and gleamed with small lights.

  She stepped lightly forward, and easily kept pace with Harry. "Are younot tired, Nell?" asked he, after half an hour's walking.

  "No! my feet seem scarcely to touch the earth," returned she. "This skyabove us seems so high up, I feel as if I could take wing and fly!"

  "I say! keep hold of her!" cried Jack Ryan. "Our little Nell is too goodto lose. I feel just as you describe though, myself, when I have notleft the pit for a long time."

  "It is when we no longer experience the oppressive effect of the vaultedrocky roof above Coal Town," said James Starr, "that the spaciousfirmament appears to us like a profound abyss into which we have, as itwere, a desire to plunge. Is that what you feel, Nell?"

  "Yes, Mr. Starr, it is exactly like that," said Nell. "It makes me feelgiddy."

  "Ah! you will soon get over that, Nell," said Harry. "You will get usedto the outer world, and most likely forget all about our dark coal pit."

  "No, Harry, never!" said Nell, and she put her hand over her eyes, asthough she would recall the remembrance of everything she had latelyquitted.

  Between the silent dwellings of the city, the party passed along LeithWalk, and went round the Calton Hill, where stood, in the light of thegray dawn, the buildings of the Observatory and Nelson's Monument. ByRegent's Bridge and the North Bridge they at last reached the lowerextremity of the Canongate. The town still lay wrapt in slumber.

  Nell pointed to a large building in the center of an open space, asking,"What great confused mass is that?"

  "That confused mass, Nell, is the palace of the ancient kings ofScotland; that is Holyrood, where many a sad scene has been enacted! Thehistorian can here invoke many a royal shade; from those of the earlyScottish kings to that of the unhappy Mary Stuart, and the French king,Charles X. When day breaks, however, Nell, this palace will not lookso very gloomy. Holyrood, with its four embattled towers, is not unlikesome handsome country house. But let us pursue our way. There, justabove the ancient Abbey of Holyrood, are the superb cliffs calledSalisbury Crags. Arthur's Seat rises above them, and that is wherewe are going. From the summit of Arthur's Seat, Nell, your eyes shallbehold the sun appear above the horizon seaward."

  They entered the King's Park, then, gradually ascending they passedacross the Queen's Drive, a splendid carriageway encircling the hill,which we owe to a few lines in one of Sir Walter Scott's romances.

  Arthur's Seat is in truth only a hill, seven hundred and fifty feethigh, which stands alone amid surrounding heights. In less than halfan hour, by an easy winding path, James Starr and his party reached thecrest of the crouching lion, which, seen from the west, Arthur's Seat somuch resembles. There, all four seated themselves; and James Starr, everready with quotations from the great Scottish novelist, simply said,"Listen to what is written by Sir Walter Scott in the eighth chapterof the Heart of Mid-Lothian. 'If I were to choose a spot from which therising or setting sun could be seen to the greatest possible advantage,it would be from this neighborhood.' Now watch, Nell! the sun will soonappear, and for the first time you will contemplate its splendor."

  The maiden turned her eyes eastward. Harry, keeping close besideher, observed her with anxious interest. Would the first beams of dayoverpower her feelings? All remained quiet, even Jack Ryan. A faintstreak of pale rose tinted the light vapors of the horizon. It was thefirst ray of light attacking the laggards of the night. Beneath the hilllay the silent city, massed confusedly in the twilight of dawn. Here andthere lights twinkled among the houses of the old town. Westward rosemany hill-tops, soon to be illuminated by tips of fire.

  Now the distant horizon of the sea became more plainly visible. Thescale of colors fell into the order of the solar. Every instant theyincreased in intensity, rose color became red, red became fiery,daylight dawned. Nell now glanced towards the city, of which theoutlines became more distinct. Lofty monuments, slender steeples emergedfrom the gloom; a kind of ashy light was spread abroad. At length onesolitary ray struck on the maiden's sight. It was that ray of greenwhich, morning or evening, is reflected upwards from the sea when thehorizon is clear.

  An instant afterwards, Nell turned, and pointing towards a brightprominent point in the New Town, "Fire!" cried she.

  "No, Nell, that is no fire," said Harry. "The sun has touched with goldthe top of Sir Walter Scott's monument"--and, indeed, the extreme pointof the monument blazed like the light of a pharos.

  It was day--the sun arose--his disc seemed to glitter as though heindeed emerged from the waters of the sea. Appearing at first very largefrom the effects of refraction, he contracted as he rose and assumed theperfectly circular form. Soon no eye could endure the dazzling splendor;it was as though the mouth of a furnace was opened through the sky.

  Nell closed her eyes, but her eyelids could not exclude the glare, andshe pressed her fingers over them. Harry advised her to turn in theopposite direction. "Oh, no," said she, "my eyes must get used to lookat what yours can bear to see!"

  Even through her hands Nell perceived a rosy light, which became morewhite as the sun rose above the horizon. As her sight became accustomedto it, her eyelids were raised, and at length her eyes drank in thelight of day.

  The good child knelt down, exclaiming, "Oh Lord God! how beautiful isThy creation!" Then she rose and looked around. At her feet extended thepanorama of Edinburgh--the clear, distinct lines of streets in the NewT
own, and the irregular mass of houses, with their confused network ofstreets and lanes, which constitutes Auld Reekie, properly so called.Two heights commanded the entire city; Edinburgh Castle, crowning itshuge basaltic rock, and the Calton Hill, bearing on its rounded summit,among other monuments, ruins built to represent those of the Parthenonat Athens.

  Fine roadways led in all directions from the capital. To the north, thecoast of the noble Firth of Forth was indented by a deep bay, in whichcould be seen the seaport town of Leith, between which and this ModernAthens of the north ran a street, straight as that leading to thePiraeus.

  Beyond the wide Firth could be seen the soft outlines of the countyof Fife, while beneath the spectator stretched the yellow sands ofPortobello and Newhaven.

  Nell could not speak. Her lips murmured a word or two indistinctly; shetrembled, became giddy, her strength failed her; overcome by the purityof the air and the sublimity of the scene, she sank fainting intoHarry's arms, who, watching her closely, was ready to support her.

  The youthful maiden, hitherto entombed in the massive depths of theearth, had now obtained an idea of the universe--of the works both ofGod and of man. She had looked upon town and country, and beyond these,into the immensity of the sea, the infinity of the heavens.