The Works of William Harrison Ainsworth

by William Harrison Ainsworth

  “What seek you?” replied he; “but I need not ask. It is my life you wish to deprive me of — take it — in so doing, you will rob me of that which I wish not to preserve — a burden that I would gladly lose. You hesitate. Why do you delay now? — vengeance is in your power — do yourself justice — think of the wrongs that you have suffered from me — the miseries you have endured; and then can you remain long inactive?” I knew not what it was, but something restrained me from any deed of violence against him, whom I had followed so long, in hopes of vengeance; whom I had hated with unnatural hatred. While I looked at him he suddenly grew paler; he staggered, and fell down. I found he had fainted — I chafed his temples — I ran for some water, with which I sprinkled his face, and after some time he opened his eyes, but closed them again with a faint shudder. In a few minutes he recovered, but was unable to walk, the hardships he had undergone having weakened his frame, unsupported by the charm which gave strength and endurance to mine. I supported him towards the cave; but the slowness with which we proceeded was such, that it was near evening before we arrived at it. When we came to it, I placed him on my rude couch, and departed in search of food for him and myself. I had much difficulty in doing this, for even the wretched fare on which since being cast on the island I had subsisted, was scanty. When I returned, he was asleep, and I sat down to watch by him.

  I have not an idea what it was that induced me at the time to concern myself about the welfare of one, whom I had such reason to detest as this man. It is one of those contradictions which so strongly marked all my actions, and which will ever characterize the proceedings of one of acute feelings and ungoverned passions.

  For several days I continued to watch over him, with the attention of, a brother; but he was sinking rapidly, and I saw that a very short period would put an end to his existence. During the whole time, he had never spoken; but on the day of his death he broke his silence. He asked why I had attended to his wants, and why I had not rather hastened, to wreak my vengeance on him. I would not suffer him to talk long, for he was too feeble to bear the least exertion without injury. But the expression of his countenance spoke for him. His eyes rolled with a wild and frenzied gaze; his features were, by fits, twisted; and convulsed with agony, and smothered, and lengthened groans burst from him. The evening drew on, and the scene was still more dreadful, by the uncertain and fading light that prevailed. Suddenly he started; he gazed at me, and asked, in a voice which pierced me to the soul, “if I could forgive him?” I did forgive him; God is my witness how sincerely at that moment I forgave every injury, every offence which he had committed against me. He spoke not again. Two hours afterwards, he caught my hand — he pressed it fervently, and his dying look was such as I can never forget. Although I shall live till the last convulsion of the universe shall bury me in the ashes of the world, that look can never be effaced from my memory.

  It was night. I could not remove the body till morning, and the deep silence rendered my situation doubly horrible. The next morning I buried the remains of him, who, while living, had been my direst foe. But every thought of that nature had now departed; my injuries and my thoughts of revenge were alike forgotten. I shortly after left the island: I was taken up by a ship passing near to it, and conveyed again to inhabited countries. Such was the termination of my labours, my sufferings, my hopes, and my fears. When I reflect on the time which was consumed in this fruitless pursuit of revenge, it seems like one of those frightful dreams from which we start in terror, but even when awake feel horror at the thought. The inconsistencies of which I was guilty, more forcibly urge this idea; — while I spent years of loathsome and anxious labours in seeking for that gift, which, when obtained, is a curse to the possessor, I never thought of the probability, that the object of my hatred might die long before I had discovered the secret of which I was in quest. Such is the contradictory conduct of one, over whose actions reason no longer retains any controul. wealth has no charms for me; for it is in my power to an unlimited extent. I must wander about, alike destitute of hope and of fear, of pleasure or of pain. I look on the past with disgust and inquietude; I regard the future with apathy and listlessness. It may seem egotism in me thus to intrude my personal feelings, but it is thus only that I can convey an idea of the misery: which attends the acquisition of powers, which nature has, for wise purposes, hidden from the grasp of mortals; Thus only can I hope to deter other rash and daring spirits from a like course, by showing the utter and abandoned solitariness, the exhaustion of mental and bodily faculties, and the dead and torpid desolation of spirit, which is the unceasing companion of! the Wanderings of an Immortal. —

  THE SEA SPIRIT.

  Cal. The Spirit torments me: O!

  THE SEA SPIRIT.

  I do not lore to credit tales of magic;

  Heaven’s music, which is order, seems unstrung,

  And this brave world

  (The mystery of God) unbeautified,

  Disorder’d, marl’d, where such strange things are acted.

  THE WITCH.

  PASSING the — in the summer of the year 17 — , we were overtaken by a storm, which rapidly increased, and threatened, by its violence, to ingulf us in the waves. To one who has never experienced such a scene, no description could convey an adequate idea of its horrors; and to those who have been so situated, the description would be superfluous. The roaring of the wind, the raging of the waves, the shivering canvas, and the noise of the creaking and straining cordage, can be but faintly imagined by any but those who have known the reality. As night approached, our situation became more dreadful, and darkness added to the other causes of terror. The ship was for hours together darted along, and again hurled back by successive waves. At length day broke, and the light of the morning, in some degree, revived our spirits; but the sight of our vessel was, in itself, enough to destroy all hope. She had lost a mast, her rigging was burst and shivered, and the torn sails flapped about in long strips. It seemed that but little chance remained of the vessel weathering the storm, and the captain ordered the boats to be got out; and being speedily obeyed, the crew and the few passengers crowded into them. We left the ship, and in a few moments lost sight of her.

  We Were now entirely abandoned to the mercy of the elements. A few boards alone separated us from the ocean; we were exposed to the wind, rain, and the waves, and we had little prospect of escaping death. Added to these evils, our provisions, were scanty, and damaged by the water. Our prospects were melancholy enough, and despair sat on every countenance. Each of us gazed at his neighbour, but shuddered at the horror and dismay which met his glance. Some satin a sullen torpor, whilst others muttered ejaculations of despair, and gazed with wild and intense looks on the waves, which seemed ready to ingulf us on every side.

  The storm continued for several days; we were faint and weary with exertion and suffering. Some lay down to endeavour to obtain rest, while the others threw out the water which came into the boat. A tremendous wave rolled towards us; and the other boat, which had continued to keep at no great distance from us, was instantly swamped, and one of our men washed overboard. The fate of our comrades contributed to increase our misery, for the same fate might every moment overtake the survivors. Our provisions were exhausted, and famine stared us in the face. We chewed the soft leather of our shoes, to deaden the sense of hunger, for every morsel of food had been consumed. One of our number died. He was to be thrown over into the sea. Two sailors laid hold of the body to perform that last sad office to it. A sudden thought seemed to seize their minds; they hesitated; and looked round. It was dreadful; no one spoke, yet every one knew what was meant. The sailors laid the body down; some horrid feeling seemed to agitate every breast, but it could not burst forth in words. It was the deep silence of every one in the boat, the motion of the eye, a certain pervading feeling, which told each man why the body was again placed in the boat, instead of its being committed to its watery grave.

  At last the captain spoke; but his voice could scar
ce be heard, amid the raging of the contending elements. “Why is not the body thrown into the sea?” he said; “will ye keep him here to rot and decay? or do you wish to satisfy your hunger on the carcass of your fellow?” He laid hold of the body, and speaking to a sailor, they lifted it over the side of the boat, and it disappeared.

  The weather soon altered, and grew calm. One morning we were greeted with the welcome cry of land. We strained our eyes to see it, and plainly perceived it at a considerable distance.

  We laboured at our oars, and towards evening arrived at it With some difficulty we landed, and looked round on a barren and comfortless track of country, principally level, and occasionally interrupted by rocks jutting out of the ground, or an ill-formed and bare tree. We were, however, too much rejoiced to have escaped from the sea, to examine minutely the spot on which we were thrown. Exhausted with continued fatigue, we lay down on the ground, and enjoyed a profound sleep till morning. When we arose from our slumbers, the bleak and cheerless prospect depressed our spirits; we were without either shelter or food, and the latter want pressed us most severely. For five days we had not tasted food. We wandered about in hopes of meeting with something, but there were no traces that might indicate that any living creatures, save ourselves, existed on this barren spot; a few roots, however, rewarded our search, and in some degree satisfied our hunger. We spoke but little, and that little consisted in useless and unavailing repinings. At length, it occurred, that we were totally destitute of any lodging to protect us from the rigour of the weather, and we therefore set about looking out for a spot, suitable for. erecting some kind of shelter. Two rocks, which were considerably elevated above the level grounds formed an angle which would shelter us on two sides. We stuck our oars in the ground, and stretched on them a large piece of canvas, which had been used as a sail, and which we had brought along with us in the boat. We were uncovered and exposed over head, it was true, but we were safe on ground, and even this most of us considered far preferable to being tost about on the ocean, in a boat which one wave might swallow up for ever; The weather was now fine and dry; the few trees on the island were covered with verdure; and the leaves strewed on the ground, composed our humble beds, and were likewise of greater use in another manner. We contrived, by means of a pistol and a little powder, to light a fire with leaves and branches which we broke off the trees. The scene in the evening, when the mists began to gather around, was highly picturesque. The flame rose in high and curling flashes, threw its red glare over the island, and blazed against the rocks. As it increased, it was reflected on the waves, and extended in a long red blaze over the water. My companions, as they moved about in the light, which shewed more plainly their hard and deep marked features, seemed like some strange and fearful beings, performing their unhallowed rites. We gradually grew more cheerful, and hope represented to us the chance, that some vessel might pass by, and relieve us from our present desolate situation. Still our condition was wretched, and our food scarce and unwholesome, consisting merely of roots, and the few fish of various kinds that we occasionally found on the shore.

  An incident occurred, which rather startled us, and did not contribute to add to our comfort. A sailor, who had been wandering about the island, had remained out later than usual, and came running into our enclosure out of breath, his eyes starting from their sockets, and exhibiting all the marks of violent terror. We inquired earnestly the reason of this appearance. As soon as he had sufficiently recovered himself, he exclaimed “I have seen a ghost!” Sailors are generally superstitious, and we stared at each other with wild looks, as if each expected: to encounter the eyeless scull and bloody winding-sheet of some terrible apparition. The captain only preserved his composure unmoved; he laughed at our fears, and joked the ghost-seer unmercifully. The man, however, persisted in his tale. He was walking on the shore, at a part of the island to which we had seldom resorted in our peregrinations, on account of its particularly rugged and barren appearance. Here, as he was picking up some shell fish, which lay at his feet, his attention was engaged by a slight noise, and looking up, he perceived, to his horror, the figure of a man, which seemed to skim along the surface of the water, and was followed by a female form who pursued him, and whom he strove, but in vain, to avoid. The woman overtook him, and with a tremendous laugh, plunged him into the waves. In a moment after, the apparition disappeared, and he saw it no more.

  Various were the speculations which this narration gave birth to, among the members of our society. A degree of fear prevailed among us, and whispers were circulated, as if every one had dreaded to hear the sound of his own voice. The captain, too, it was remarked, who had at first made the circumstance an object of merriment, now seemed inwardly troubled, and strove in vain to dispel the melancholy which clouded his brow.

  On retiring to rest, all huddled together in the farthest angle of the rocks. Sleep came over us; but the imaginations of many tormented them with ghostly dreams, and occasionally, an exclamation of horror would burst from some one, and disturb the others, who, scared at the noise, joined in the hubbub, thus increasing the general confusion.

  Morning broke, and dispelled the visions which had haunted us. Our first operation was, to accompany the man to the place where, according to his narration, the spirits had appeared. Nothing was, however, to be found, excepting (what were much more acceptable than ghosts) some shell fish, which, however, the superstitious apprehensions of one or two of our number prevented their touching. Others, who paid less respect to the supernatural visitors, or were more hungry, speedily devoured this sort of food. The day wore away without any novelty occurring, and the shades of the evening began to descend. The sun, which had sunk beneath the sea, still illuminated the edges of the light clouds that skirted the horizon. It was a sweet evening; one of those whose soft and gentle influence steal upon the soul, conjuring up those delightful reminiscences and lang-syne ideas, that the mind dwells upon with unfading pleasure. The wind was quite still, and we sat down near our habitation (if such a name may be given to such a spot). The captain, who had been silent all day, now spoke, and informed us, that he thought he was able to disclose some particulars relating, to the last night’s occurrence. Every one drew nearer to his neighbour, and prepared to listen, with long faces and open mouths; not unmixed with sundry twists of the eyes over the left, and right shoulders, to have due warning, in case any unearthly visitant should clandestinely attempt to attack us in the rear. To obviate the possibility of this, however, we drew, as by instinct, into a circle, in which position, every side being guarded, no undue advantage could be taken by any emissary from the invisible world. “When I was a cabin boy on board the Thunderproof,” said the captain, who, as orator, was stationed in the centre of the assembly, “a plot was concerted, by the greater part of the crew, to murder the captain, and take possession of the vessel. I, with several others who were unconcerned in the scheme, knew nothing of it till the moment of its execution. We were suddenly seized and pinioned; and the captain, after being severely wounded, was thrown overboard. His wile was in the ship, and hearing the noise, came On deck.

  “The villain who had concerted the plot, caught her in his arms; she struggled, and escaping his grasp, ran to the ship’s side, where stumbling, she was again seized. Perceiving herself in the wretch’s power, she desisted from her endeavours to free herself; and he, deceived by her apparent submission, relaxed his hold. At this moment she caught him in her grasp, and with a violent effort, sprung over the ship’s side, dragging the ruffian along with her. We heard them fall into the water; we heard the shrill and heart-rending scream of her victim, as he received his well-merited punishment. We were afterwards unbound; perhaps the villains considered us too few and too insignificant to excite alarm among them. They did not long enjoy the fruits of their crimes. The vessel was wrecked, and I and two others alone escaped; and since that time, the seas near that spot have been considered as haunted by the spirits of the victims and the murderers. Doubtless, it was
near this island that the events took place; but having lost our compass, we can only guess at it; and the appearance which was seen by Jenkins last night, bears relation to the events I have mentioned.”

  This narrative by no means tended to quiet our fears, which rose to a considerable height. After much deliberation, it was proposed that we should sit up and wait in expectation of the unwelcome visitants, which proposal was agreed to by many, with fear and trembling, who, however, assented, that they might not be thought to possess less courage than their fellows.

  Hour after hour passed; but we neither saw nor heard any thing to justify our fears. The disagreeableness of the situation made the time seem much longer than it was in reality. We began to grow uneasy of waiting for spirits, and some spoke of giving up the watch. Still we delayed, when, on the surface of the ocean, far off, a dim light appeared. Certainly it would be highly indecorous in me to speak aught reflecting on the courage of British sailors; but, nathless, I will venture to affirm, that the hair of every individual stood in a more upright and porcupine position than they were wont to do. The appearance presently assumed a more definite form; it seemed the likeness of a woman, and we perceived, with feelings by no means pleasant, that it approached the shore. A second figure was perceived in the act of avoiding the first. It fled towards the shore, and was pursued with incredible speed by the other. It had almost reached the shore, when it was overtaken by the female form. She seized on the hair of his head, dragged him round, and with a laugh, that curdled the blood in my veins, seemingly plunged her victim in the waves, and disappeared. My companions were petrified with terror, and the captain lay senseless on the ground. At last we regained some degree of self-possession, and raising the captain, with much difficulty restored him to the use of his faculties. But the impression made upon him by the scene was so strong, that it was a considerable time before he perfectly recovered from the effects of it. He declared that he knew the features of the figures as well as he knew any one living. He became extremely uneasy, as did the, rest of us, at our abode on, this island, and we thought of again trusting to the boat for our deliverance when we were fortunately taken up by a vessel, and conveyed to England. Our joy at revisiting our native country may be conceived, but not described; but, if I may judge of my own feelings, none of us wish again to tempt like dangers.