Story 6--Chapter I.STORY SIX—The Spirit of the Storm.There once existed in the Pacific Ocean a beautiful island, called the Island of Gracia. In the early ages of the world, before the human race had begun to explore the more distant regions of the globe, it was probably a wild and barren rock, with abrupt sharp-edged hills and dark pools of stagnant water, without a patch of green herbage, or animal or vegetable life of any description to enliven its solitude; while the only sound heard around it was that of the wild waves dashing ceaselessly on its rugged shores. Ages passed away, and those indefatigable insects, the coral worms, built up their wonderful habitations, like lofty walls, around it; toiling, seemingly, for no other purpose than to show how for their structures can surpass in size the most mighty efforts of men. The reefs thus created broke the force of the fierce waves; a soft yellow sand was formed, and shells of many shapes and delicate tints were washed up uninjured on the beach. The sun and rain, with alternate influence, softened also the hard rock, and a soil was formed, and birds of the air rested there in their passage across the ocean, and brought seeds of various descriptions from far-distant lands, which took root and sprung up; and the hills became clothed with fragrant shrubs and gorgeous flowers, and tall trees with luscious fruits grew in the valleys, and a soft green herbage covered the banks of the silent lakes and murmuring streams. Thus the island became a fit habitation for man. Now, it happened that a canoe or a galley with many oars, or a vessel of some description, such as was used in ancient times, with a chief and his followers, and their wives and children, set sail from a remote country. Either they fled from their victorious enemies, or they were driven by a storm so far from their native shores that they could not return. Thus they floated over the ocean, till they reached the Island of Gracia. So shattered was their vessel by the tempest, and so delighted were the chief and his people with the appearance of that beautiful land, that they were well contented to remain. Their chief now became their King.In the course of a few generations the descendants of the first adventurers had thickly peopled the whole island, and had lost all record of the land from whence they came, nor did they know whether it lay to the north or south, or to the east or west.Monarch succeeded monarch, till King Zaphor came to the throne of Gracia. Everybody loved King Zaphor, for he was a benignant and paternal sovereign, who attended to the wants of his subjects. The King had a daughter, the Princess Serena; he loved his people, but he absolutely doted on his daughter. She was the child of his affections, the sole relic of a departed wife, the soother of his regal cares, the companion of his hours of retirement. The people loved their King, but they almost adored the Princess, and there was not a man in the island who would not have gladly died to protect her from harm.Her heart was tender and good, and if she heard of any persons who were ill or in trouble, she was not contented till she had done her utmost to relieve them. Her blooming countenance was radiant with smiles and animation, and she was beautiful, too, as she was amiable. The poets of Gracia used to liken her to a graceful sea-bird floating on the calm bosom of the deep, as, followed by her attendant maidens, as was her daily custom, she tripped across the flowery mead, or through the shady woods, or along the yellow sands, herself the fairest and most agile of them all!The Princess and her youthful maids loved to pluck the sweet-scented flowers to make chaplets for their hair, or wreaths to twine round their sylph-like forms. At other times they would amuse themselves by dancing on the smooth sands, or they would plunge fearlessly into the water, and would sport like sea-nymphs in the clear bright waves within the coral reefs, while the rocks and adjacent woods rang with their joyous laughter.The Princess also had a beautiful bower, where none but her own attendants dared intrude. It was formed of branches of red and white coral, beautifully polished and interlaced. The roof was covered with the long, thick leaves of the palmetto, and the outside walls were built of the long-enduring bamboo, so closely placed together that neither wind nor rain could penetrate; while the whole was shaded by a wide-spreading palm-tree, and surrounded by a grove of cocoa-nut and plantain-trees. In front, through an opening in the wood, the sands of the 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 the heat of the day, to partake of their simple but delicious repasts of bread made from the quick-growing cariaca or the cassada root, the nutritive and luscious plantain, the heads of the cockarito-palm, and boiled pappaws, with sea-side grapes, and other fruits and vegetables too numerous to mention; or they would ply the distaff, or would make dresses of feathers and baskets of reeds, while they amused themselves with pleasant talk; and thus their days passed innocently and happily away.
There once existed in the Pacific Ocean a beautiful island, called the Island of Gracia. In the early ages of the world, before the human race had begun to explore the more distant regions of the globe, it was probably a wild and barren rock, with abrupt sharp-edged hills and dark pools of stagnant water, without a patch of green herbage, or animal or vegetable life of any description to enliven its solitude; while the only sound heard around it was that of the wild waves dashing ceaselessly on its rugged shores. Ages passed away, and those indefatigable insects, the coral worms, built up their wonderful habitations, like lofty walls, around it; toiling, seemingly, for no other purpose than to show how for their structures can surpass in size the most mighty efforts of men. The reefs thus created broke the force of the fierce waves; a soft yellow sand was formed, and shells of many shapes and delicate tints were washed up uninjured on the beach. The sun and rain, with alternate influence, softened also the hard rock, and a soil was formed, and birds of the air rested there in their passage across the ocean, and brought seeds of various descriptions from far-distant lands, which took root and sprung up; and the hills became clothed with fragrant shrubs and gorgeous flowers, and tall trees with luscious fruits grew in the valleys, and a soft green herbage covered the banks of the silent lakes and murmuring streams. Thus the island became a fit habitation for man. Now, it happened that a canoe or a galley with many oars, or a vessel of some description, such as was used in ancient times, with a chief and his followers, and their wives and children, set sail from a remote country. Either they fled from their victorious enemies, or they were driven by a storm so far from their native shores that they could not return. Thus they floated over the ocean, till they reached the Island of Gracia. So shattered was their vessel by the tempest, and so delighted were the chief and his people with the appearance of that beautiful land, that they were well contented to remain. Their chief now became their King.
In the course of a few generations the descendants of the first adventurers had thickly peopled the whole island, and had lost all record of the land from whence they came, nor did they know whether it lay to the north or south, or to the east or west.
Monarch succeeded monarch, till King Zaphor came to the throne of Gracia. Everybody loved King Zaphor, for he was a benignant and paternal sovereign, who attended to the wants of his subjects. The King had a daughter, the Princess Serena; he loved his people, but he absolutely doted on his daughter. She was the child of his affections, the sole relic of a departed wife, the soother of his regal cares, the companion of his hours of retirement. The people loved their King, but they almost adored the Princess, and there was not a man in the island who would not have gladly died to protect her from harm.
Her heart was tender and good, and if she heard of any persons who were ill or in trouble, she was not contented till she had done her utmost to relieve them. Her blooming countenance was radiant with smiles and animation, and she was beautiful, too, as she was amiable. The poets of Gracia used to liken her to a graceful sea-bird floating on the calm bosom of the deep, as, followed by her attendant maidens, as was her daily custom, she tripped across the flowery mead, or through the shady woods, or along the yellow sands, herself the fairest and most agile of them all!
The Princess and her youthful maids loved to pluck the sweet-scented flowers to make chaplets for their hair, or wreaths to twine round their sylph-like forms. At other times they would amuse themselves by dancing on the smooth sands, or they would plunge fearlessly into the water, and would sport like sea-nymphs in the clear bright waves within the coral reefs, while the rocks and adjacent woods rang with their joyous laughter.
The Princess also had a beautiful bower, where none but her own attendants dared intrude. It was formed of branches of red and white coral, beautifully polished and interlaced. The roof was covered with the long, thick leaves of the palmetto, and the outside walls were built of the long-enduring bamboo, so closely placed together that neither wind nor rain could penetrate; while the whole was shaded by a wide-spreading palm-tree, and surrounded by a grove of cocoa-nut and plantain-trees. In front, through an opening in the wood, the sands of the 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 the heat of the day, to partake of their simple but delicious repasts of bread made from the quick-growing cariaca or the cassada root, the nutritive and luscious plantain, the heads of the cockarito-palm, and boiled pappaws, with sea-side grapes, and other fruits and vegetables too numerous to mention; or they would ply the distaff, or would make dresses of feathers and baskets of reeds, while they amused themselves with pleasant talk; and thus their days passed innocently and happily away.
Story 6--Chapter II.In the very deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean, directly under the Equator, Neptune, the Sovereign of the Seas, once held his regal court. His palace was of vast dimensions, capable of holding all the Ocean Spirits, the rulers and guardians of the realms of water below, and of all the islands which adorn its surface. Its outside was composed of huge black rocks piled up like mountains, one upon another, and covered with dark masses of seaweed, which, floating upward, appeared like a forest of trees, of a growth far more gigantic than the earth can produce, and yet it seemed but like lichens growing on the roof of a house in comparison with the size of the edifice. The inside was more magnificent than mortal eye has ever seen. There was one vast hall, pervaded by a green yet clear light, which came from above, and increased the grandeur and solemnity which reigned around. To say that the walls were of red coral and immense shells, each of which was as large as many a vessel which floats on the ocean, while pearls of surpassing brilliancy and whiteness were interspersed among them, and that the roof was of crystal of gorgeous tinge, can in no way picture the surpassing magnificence of the structure. At one end was a lofty throne, proportioned to the size of the building, of jet-black rock, glittering with that gold which the toil of man had won from the bowels of the earth, but which his carelessness had lost in the stormy sea. It was surrounded by many thousand other thrones, the seats of Neptune’s vassal Spirits—his Governors, Tritons, and other attendants. It must be understood that, once upon a time, whatever may now be the case, every fish which swims, every insect which crawls in the sea, had its governor and king. The largest was the King of the Whales. He was a vast monster of dark form, whose dwelling was in the regions of icebergs and glaciers at the North Pole. The fiercest was the King of the Sharks; he had sharp teeth, and eyes full of malignancy and hatred to the human race. He was the most wicked of all the Spirits. The fastest and most beautiful was the King of the Dolphins; the most unwieldy the King of the Porpoises; the ugliest the King of the Cat-fish; and the tallest the King of the Big Sea Serpents—for they all partook somewhat of the forms of the fish over whom they were placed to govern. Their thrones, too, were of appropriate forms; some sat on huge sea-eggs, others on shells. The King of the Whales sat on an iceberg, but the King of the Big Sea Serpents was obliged to twist himself in and out about the pillars of the hall to find room for his long body. It is impossible to describe their vast mysterious forms, shrouded as they were in their dark-green mantles of vapours and obscurity.That portion of the Pacific Ocean in which the Island of Gracia is situated was ruled over by a sea spirit of the name of Borasco. As he was not the king of any particular fish (indeed, he was superior in power to most of them), his appearance was a mixture of many. His body was covered with scales, and from his back mighty wings projected, to aid him in his flight across the ocean, while his feet were like those of a seal; his eyes were large, fierce, and glowing; his mouth had large tusks, and on either side were black bunches, like the feelers of a walrus. On his head grew masses of long hair, like seaweed, streaming in the wind; while his arms and hands had more the appearance of the claws of a shell-fish than of anything else; at the same time that his vast size, and the indistinctness which surrounded him, gave to his appearance a grandeur which partook more of the terrific than the hideous. Borasco had a palace which might vie in magnificence and beauty, though not in size, with that of Neptune. One day he sallied forth, and mounting his prancing steed, which was a huge wave with a foaming crest, he rode furiously off, as he was accustomed to do, over the ocean. The water roared and hissed, the mid wind howled, as, shouting loudly with a voice like thunder, onward he went in his fierce career; 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 fetter 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 eyesFlash 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; the footsteps of his steed, the dark furrows of the foaming waves; his track marked by the shattered wrecks of the hapless barks over which he passed, till at length he reached the Island of Gracia, his strength exhausted and his fury assuaged. He gazed, delighted, on its smooth yellow sands, sparkling in the beams of the sun, its cool and waving groves giving forth their rich perfumes, and resounding with the harmonious notes of their feathered denizens; its smiling hills, its green meadows, and the thousand beauties of the landscape before him. The light spray, tinted with the varied hues of the rainbow, played round his mysterious form, as his steed, with a loud roar with echoed from rock to rock, receding towards the ocean, left him standing on the shore.Wildly throwing his arms around, he shook the water from his robe, which, as it fell, appeared like the spray from some mighty cataract, and then, reclining beneath the shade of an overhanging rock, he stretched forth his huge limbs, and, calmed by the fragrant air and the tranquillity of the scene, he slept.Tempted by the beauty of the evening, after the fierce storm which had raged all day, the Princess Serena and a troop of youthful maidens took their way to the sea-shore. For a time they sang and sported in exuberance of spirits; then they formed a circle and danced around their mistress; then they bound her hair with bright flowers, and decked her neck with softly-tinted shells, and then, hand-in-hand, they ran towards the water; now they retired, and now advanced, uttering peals of laughter, as the bright waves rippled over their feet. At last one, more daring, rushed into the sea; others followed, and as they threw about the sparkling spray in mimic fight, the rocks and woods echoed with their merriment.The sounds reached the ears of the sleeping Borasco. He awoke, and rising, listened, when, advancing from among the rocks which had hitherto concealed him, he suddenly appeared before the eyes of the astonished maidens. No sooner did they see the monster, than with shrieks of terror they fled into the woods, forgetting even the Princess—or, rather, they thought she was flying with them.Instead of flying, however, she stood entranced with horror, her feet refusing to move, and her eyes fixed on the hideous being before her. Borasco gazed at the Princess with deep admiration. Neither on the sea nor under the sea had he ever in all his wanderings beheld anything to be compared to her in beauty. Feelings totally strange and new to him rushed like a torrent into his bosom.The purest and most exalted love took possession of his soul; horror, disgust, and loathing, were the feelings most powerful in the breast of the Princess as she beheld him. At length, forgetting the hideousness of his shape, and the natural repugnance she must have felt for him, he advanced towards her to address her. “Beautiful creature!” he exclaimed in a voice as loud as thunder—“What are you? Whence come you?” No sooner did he speak than the spell was broken, and with a cry of fear she fled away from him as fleetly as a startled fawn.Her voice and action would have convinced an ordinary mortal that he had no hope of gaining her affections. Not so the Spirit of the Storm.“Stay, sweet being! oh, stay and listen to me!” he repeated, but the words only hastened her flight. He gazed after her till she disappeared, and when he found that it was useless to follow, and that there was not the remotest chance of her returning, he sat himself down on a rock which hung over the sea to consider what he should do. As he sat, the water became perfectly calm as a glass mirror; and looking into it, after some minutes’ deep meditation he beheld the reflection of his own monstrous form. He had been so long accustomed to look at Tritons, and other sea spirits as hideous as himself, that he was not aware how ugly he was. Now, with grief at his heart, he at once saw the difference between the Princess Serena and himself. His late exposure to the sun had not added to his beauty, for his hands and arms and the top of his head had become red, while the anguish he was suffering increased the wild expression of his countenance.With good reason, he was at length very nearly giving way to despair.“Alas! unhappy spirit that I am,” he cried, “why did I look at that mortal maiden? Why do I long for what is beyond my reach? Why am I not content with the enjoyment proper to my own fierce nature? Alas! this new feeling overpowers me, and a delicate maiden has enslaved the mighty Borasco.” While he was speaking a sound reached his ears. He knew it well, for it was the summons to Neptune’s conclave. “Ah!” he exclaimed, “I will consult King Neptune, and ask his aid. If any one can help me, he can, to win the heart of that lovely damsel.“And now my bold steed, with the white-flowing crest,Come hither, come hither, arouse thee from rest.Oh! what courser like thee can so rapidly bound,When I mount thee to ride o’er the waters profound?Then haste, my brave steed, again hie to me,And together once more we will range o’er the sea.”While he was uttering these words, a mighty wave rolled in towards the shore. Leaping on it, away he went over the ocean at a rapid rate, leaving in his track a line of glittering foam, till he reached the centre of the Atlantic, over the palace of Neptune—then down, down he descended, till he entered the gateway of its rocky halls.
In the very deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean, directly under the Equator, Neptune, the Sovereign of the Seas, once held his regal court. His palace was of vast dimensions, capable of holding all the Ocean Spirits, the rulers and guardians of the realms of water below, and of all the islands which adorn its surface. Its outside was composed of huge black rocks piled up like mountains, one upon another, and covered with dark masses of seaweed, which, floating upward, appeared like a forest of trees, of a growth far more gigantic than the earth can produce, and yet it seemed but like lichens growing on the roof of a house in comparison with the size of the edifice. The inside was more magnificent than mortal eye has ever seen. There was one vast hall, pervaded by a green yet clear light, which came from above, and increased the grandeur and solemnity which reigned around. To say that the walls were of red coral and immense shells, each of which was as large as many a vessel which floats on the ocean, while pearls of surpassing brilliancy and whiteness were interspersed among them, and that the roof was of crystal of gorgeous tinge, can in no way picture the surpassing magnificence of the structure. At one end was a lofty throne, proportioned to the size of the building, of jet-black rock, glittering with that gold which the toil of man had won from the bowels of the earth, but which his carelessness had lost in the stormy sea. It was surrounded by many thousand other thrones, the seats of Neptune’s vassal Spirits—his Governors, Tritons, and other attendants. It must be understood that, once upon a time, whatever may now be the case, every fish which swims, every insect which crawls in the sea, had its governor and king. The largest was the King of the Whales. He was a vast monster of dark form, whose dwelling was in the regions of icebergs and glaciers at the North Pole. The fiercest was the King of the Sharks; he had sharp teeth, and eyes full of malignancy and hatred to the human race. He was the most wicked of all the Spirits. The fastest and most beautiful was the King of the Dolphins; the most unwieldy the King of the Porpoises; the ugliest the King of the Cat-fish; and the tallest the King of the Big Sea Serpents—for they all partook somewhat of the forms of the fish over whom they were placed to govern. Their thrones, too, were of appropriate forms; some sat on huge sea-eggs, others on shells. The King of the Whales sat on an iceberg, but the King of the Big Sea Serpents was obliged to twist himself in and out about the pillars of the hall to find room for his long body. It is impossible to describe their vast mysterious forms, shrouded as they were in their dark-green mantles of vapours and obscurity.
That portion of the Pacific Ocean in which the Island of Gracia is situated was ruled over by a sea spirit of the name of Borasco. As he was not the king of any particular fish (indeed, he was superior in power to most of them), his appearance was a mixture of many. His body was covered with scales, and from his back mighty wings projected, to aid him in his flight across the ocean, while his feet were like those of a seal; his eyes were large, fierce, and glowing; his mouth had large tusks, and on either side were black bunches, like the feelers of a walrus. On his head grew masses of long hair, like seaweed, streaming in the wind; while his arms and hands had more the appearance of the claws of a shell-fish than of anything else; at the same time that his vast size, and the indistinctness which surrounded him, gave to his appearance a grandeur which partook more of the terrific than the hideous. Borasco had a palace which might vie in magnificence and beauty, though not in size, with that of Neptune. One day he sallied forth, and mounting his prancing steed, which was a huge wave with a foaming crest, he rode furiously off, as he was accustomed to do, over the ocean. The water roared and hissed, the mid wind howled, as, shouting loudly with a voice like thunder, onward he went in his fierce career; 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 fetter 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 eyesFlash 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.”
“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 fetter 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 eyesFlash 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; the footsteps of his steed, the dark furrows of the foaming waves; his track marked by the shattered wrecks of the hapless barks over which he passed, till at length he reached the Island of Gracia, his strength exhausted and his fury assuaged. He gazed, delighted, on its smooth yellow sands, sparkling in the beams of the sun, its cool and waving groves giving forth their rich perfumes, and resounding with the harmonious notes of their feathered denizens; its smiling hills, its green meadows, and the thousand beauties of the landscape before him. The light spray, tinted with the varied hues of the rainbow, played round his mysterious form, as his steed, with a loud roar with echoed from rock to rock, receding towards the ocean, left him standing on the shore.
Wildly throwing his arms around, he shook the water from his robe, which, as it fell, appeared like the spray from some mighty cataract, and then, reclining beneath the shade of an overhanging rock, he stretched forth his huge limbs, and, calmed by the fragrant air and the tranquillity of the scene, he slept.
Tempted by the beauty of the evening, after the fierce storm which had raged all day, the Princess Serena and a troop of youthful maidens took their way to the sea-shore. For a time they sang and sported in exuberance of spirits; then they formed a circle and danced around their mistress; then they bound her hair with bright flowers, and decked her neck with softly-tinted shells, and then, hand-in-hand, they ran towards the water; now they retired, and now advanced, uttering peals of laughter, as the bright waves rippled over their feet. At last one, more daring, rushed into the sea; others followed, and as they threw about the sparkling spray in mimic fight, the rocks and woods echoed with their merriment.
The sounds reached the ears of the sleeping Borasco. He awoke, and rising, listened, when, advancing from among the rocks which had hitherto concealed him, he suddenly appeared before the eyes of the astonished maidens. No sooner did they see the monster, than with shrieks of terror they fled into the woods, forgetting even the Princess—or, rather, they thought she was flying with them.
Instead of flying, however, she stood entranced with horror, her feet refusing to move, and her eyes fixed on the hideous being before her. Borasco gazed at the Princess with deep admiration. Neither on the sea nor under the sea had he ever in all his wanderings beheld anything to be compared to her in beauty. Feelings totally strange and new to him rushed like a torrent into his bosom.
The purest and most exalted love took possession of his soul; horror, disgust, and loathing, were the feelings most powerful in the breast of the Princess as she beheld him. At length, forgetting the hideousness of his shape, and the natural repugnance she must have felt for him, he advanced towards her to address her. “Beautiful creature!” he exclaimed in a voice as loud as thunder—“What are you? Whence come you?” No sooner did he speak than the spell was broken, and with a cry of fear she fled away from him as fleetly as a startled fawn.
Her voice and action would have convinced an ordinary mortal that he had no hope of gaining her affections. Not so the Spirit of the Storm.
“Stay, sweet being! oh, stay and listen to me!” he repeated, but the words only hastened her flight. He gazed after her till she disappeared, and when he found that it was useless to follow, and that there was not the remotest chance of her returning, he sat himself down on a rock which hung over the sea to consider what he should do. As he sat, the water became perfectly calm as a glass mirror; and looking into it, after some minutes’ deep meditation he beheld the reflection of his own monstrous form. He had been so long accustomed to look at Tritons, and other sea spirits as hideous as himself, that he was not aware how ugly he was. Now, with grief at his heart, he at once saw the difference between the Princess Serena and himself. His late exposure to the sun had not added to his beauty, for his hands and arms and the top of his head had become red, while the anguish he was suffering increased the wild expression of his countenance.
With good reason, he was at length very nearly giving way to despair.
“Alas! unhappy spirit that I am,” he cried, “why did I look at that mortal maiden? Why do I long for what is beyond my reach? Why am I not content with the enjoyment proper to my own fierce nature? Alas! this new feeling overpowers me, and a delicate maiden has enslaved the mighty Borasco.” While he was speaking a sound reached his ears. He knew it well, for it was the summons to Neptune’s conclave. “Ah!” he exclaimed, “I will consult King Neptune, and ask his aid. If any one can help me, he can, to win the heart of that lovely damsel.
“And now my bold steed, with the white-flowing crest,Come hither, come hither, arouse thee from rest.Oh! what courser like thee can so rapidly bound,When I mount thee to ride o’er the waters profound?Then haste, my brave steed, again hie to me,And together once more we will range o’er the sea.”
“And now my bold steed, with the white-flowing crest,Come hither, come hither, arouse thee from rest.Oh! what courser like thee can so rapidly bound,When I mount thee to ride o’er the waters profound?Then haste, my brave steed, again hie to me,And together once more we will range o’er the sea.”
While he was uttering these words, a mighty wave rolled in towards the shore. Leaping on it, away he went over the ocean at a rapid rate, leaving in his track a line of glittering foam, till he reached the centre of the Atlantic, over the palace of Neptune—then down, down he descended, till he entered the gateway of its rocky halls.
Story 6--Chapter III.King Neptune, in great state, sat on his throne; the Tritons stood before him, but the chief seats were empty. Waving his trident round his head, he spoke. The words were those which reached the ears of Borasco, then thousands of miles away:—“Haste hither, wild Spirits,Who wandering roamThe wide-rolling ocean,When covered with foam.Abandon your fierce workOf death and dismay;Haste, fly o’er the billows,My mandate obey.From where the north galesSo ragingly blow,On whiten’d wing flyingFrom frost and from snow;Ye, in the storm striving,To swell the loud blast,The helpless bark driving,While shivers the mast,When a shriek is heard soundingMid ocean’s wild roar,And the doom’d bark is groundingUpon the dark shore,Haste hither, Sea Spirits,I bid ye appear;Haste, haste, at my call;I summon ye here!”Even while Neptune was speaking, troops of sea-monsters of every wonderful form, and of every colour, came rushing into the hall, and having made their obeisance to him, took their seats on their respective thrones. In they came, till the edifice, vast as it was, was almost full of them. There were the King of the Whales, the King of the Sharks, the King of the Porpoises, and the King of the Dolphins, the King of the Cat-fish, and the King of the Big Sea Serpents; the Kings of Ice and Snow, of Tempests and Whirlpools, and there were the guardian spirits of every headland and bay, and of every island and river in the universe; so that it is not surprising that their number should have been so considerable. Neptune then inquired in a loud voice how each had been occupied since the last convocation.“I,” answered the King of the Whales, “have been engaged in protecting my subjects by hurling together large masses of ice, and by crushing the ships which come to attack them, even to the very heart of my kingdom.” “And I,” said the King of the Sharks, “have been engaged in sinking all the ships I could meet, so that I might give to my subjects an abundance of the food they like best.” The King of the Porpoises replied, that he had been teaching his subjects to keep in the deep sea out of harm’s way; and the King of the Cat-fish said, he had advised his to make themselves as disagreeable as possible, so that no one would wish to catch them; while the tall monarch of the Big Sea Serpents observed that he had strictly enjoined his to keep out of sight altogether, which fully accounts, for so few of them having ever been seen. Among the Spirits there was one who, in beauty of form, surpassed them all, for it was almost that of a human being, but more grand and majestic. The Spirit rose and spoke:—“I have, mighty sovereign, been engaged in watching over the island of which you have made me guardian. I found the women good and beautiful, and the men brave and hardy, true sons of the ocean, their barks roving to every distant clime, and bringing back the produce of each to their sea-girt shore.”“’Tis well, Britannia,” said the sovereign of the ocean; “let them understand, that as long as they remain faithful to me—as long as they keep their fleets well manned, their sea-barks ready to repel any aggression—as long as they refuse to submit to the slightest interference of any foreign prince or potentate, Albion shall be my favoured isle, the land of peace and liberty.”When Neptune had ceased speaking, all the Kings of the Sea and Tritons signified their desire to support their sovereign’s wishes. Neptune then looked round, and seeing Borasco’s throne vacant, inquired what had become of him. Before any one could answer, the Spirit of the Storm entered the hall, and making a low obeisance, walked with a dejected air to his seat.To the customary inquiry, Borasco informed his sovereign of all the storms which had blown, and the shipwrecks which had occurred.“Now tell me, Borasco,” asked the monarch, “why have you the downcast look I see you wear?”Borasco replied, “Dread chief, I come to crave your aid for a cause in which all the power I possess I find of no avail. As I was lately wandering over the ocean, I reached the shores of a lovely island clothed with beautiful shrubs and trees and sweet-scented flowers, and canopied by skies of purest blue. Never have I seen a spot more beautiful; and yet it is but the setting of a precious jewel—a pearl of matchless price. That jewel is a lovely and youthful maiden, a princess, the daughter of the mortal sovereign of that island. As I slept, concealed beneath the rocks, she and her maidens, she outshining them all, came to sport upon the sands. Their laughter, sweet as the murmuring of the breeze upon the summer waves, roused me from my slumber; but no sooner did I present myself before them, than they fled with shrieks of terror, fast as the fleet dolphin from the voracious shark. She alone remained behind. I gazed delighted. I endeavoured to approach her, to behold her nearer; but no sooner did I move, than, affrighted, she fled far away from me into the woods, where I could not follow. I endeavoured to shout to her, to entreat her to tarry, to listen to what I had to say; but my voice (it was somewhat loud, I confess) only made her fly the faster. When she and her attendants had disappeared, I sat me down on a rock, disconsolate, to consider the state of the case, when I by degrees began to suspect that she was frightened by the form I am doomed to wear, which I fear is somewhat more hideous than she is accustomed to see. I meditated still further, and at length I came to the conclusion that I am what human beings call desperately in love. Yes, dread Sovereign, the fierce Borasco is in love!”On hearing this confession of Borasco, all the Kings of the Sea and Tritons lifted up their hands with surprise, and a smile of incredulity rested on their countenances, while a murmur ran through the hall, “Borasco in love! Borasco in love! oh, oh!” for no one would have guessed that he could have become a slave to the tender passion. They smiled, too, at his only then having discovered his own ugliness, for, frightful as they were themselves, they all fancied that he was more so.Britannia was the only spirit who compassionated him, and she pleaded his cause with Neptune so successfully, that the Monarch expressed his willingness to assist him, if means so to do could be found. “Tell me by what rules, in thy favoured island, youths manage to win the hearts of the maidens they love?” said Neptune, addressing Britannia.The Spirit smiled and replied: “In the first place, the youths wear forms somewhat more attractive than that of Borasco; but as to rules, I can lay down none, so various are the means by which the hearts of maidens are won, and of such different materials do they appear to be made. Some seem to me to be composed of iron or adamant, some of glass, some of wax, some of lead, and some of stuff not more consistent than butter, while a few, I suspect, have no hearts at all. Sighs and timid looks attract some, laughter and bold admiration others, and gold has no little influence in affairs of that description; but the man who requires rules to make love has but small chance indeed.”Borasco sat in a very melancholy and downcast mood, with his chin resting on his hand, while several deep sighs, which sounded somewhat like thunder, burst from his heaving bosom, and echoed round and round the hall. At last he looked up and said, “It is very well for you, brother Kings, who are fancy free, to laugh; but let me tell you, if you felt as I do you would find it no laughing matter. And thou, O mighty Neptune, if thou canst not help me to win the lovely in aid, I know not what I shall do, while I remain as hideous as I own I am.”Neptune, on hearing this, thought deeply for some minutes; he then spoke:—“Be not, my brave Borasco, thus dismay’d,You know my love, and I will give thee aid.I grant thee leave to seek some human formIn which the life-blood yet is flowing warm,Which from some sea-tossed, shattered wreck is torn,And on the shore by raging billows borne.Such you may enter, while your present formReturns to mingle with the air and storm.But also learn, the force of fire or steel,Like other mortals, you’ll be doomed to feel;And if of mortal life you are bereft,You must resume the native form you left,And thence for ever in that shape remain,Nor e’er in human semblance shine again;And also, every year you most repairTo this my court in that same form you wear,Leaving your mortal shape in seeming sleep,While for one day you stay beneath the deep.Such is, Borasco, tried and faithful friend,The best assistance which I now can lend.”On hearing these words, the looks of the Spirit of the Storm brightened. He rose and made obeisance. “Thanks, mighty Sovereign,” he exclaimed; “my hopes brighten, my courage returns. I will, with your permission, at once hasten and put into execution this most excellent plan. It must succeed, and cannot fail to secure my happiness; and I here promise to obey your mandates, and faithfully to return once a year, to pay my respects at your court.”“Do so,” replied Neptune; “but remember that I can give you power only over the form of a human being who in his lifetime has been guilty of many crimes. With the innocent and virtuous no Spirit must interfere. Now let our court break up; and, Kings of the Sea, and ye, great Spirits of the Wind and Air, disperse yourselves across the billowy main.”On hearing these words the Spirits answered:“We fly, mighty Monarch, we fly at thy will,With tempest and tumult the ocean to fill;Where rocks and where sandbanks and whirlpools abound,And barks are hurled onward, we there shall be found.”When the Spirits ceased speaking they dispersed, with a loud rushing sound, in all directions, while the Kings of the Sea, the Islands, and Rocks, retired with a more dignified pace, and the vast hall was left, as before, in solitude and silence.
King Neptune, in great state, sat on his throne; the Tritons stood before him, but the chief seats were empty. Waving his trident round his head, he spoke. The words were those which reached the ears of Borasco, then thousands of miles away:—
“Haste hither, wild Spirits,Who wandering roamThe wide-rolling ocean,When covered with foam.Abandon your fierce workOf death and dismay;Haste, fly o’er the billows,My mandate obey.From where the north galesSo ragingly blow,On whiten’d wing flyingFrom frost and from snow;Ye, in the storm striving,To swell the loud blast,The helpless bark driving,While shivers the mast,When a shriek is heard soundingMid ocean’s wild roar,And the doom’d bark is groundingUpon the dark shore,Haste hither, Sea Spirits,I bid ye appear;Haste, haste, at my call;I summon ye here!”
“Haste hither, wild Spirits,Who wandering roamThe wide-rolling ocean,When covered with foam.Abandon your fierce workOf death and dismay;Haste, fly o’er the billows,My mandate obey.From where the north galesSo ragingly blow,On whiten’d wing flyingFrom frost and from snow;Ye, in the storm striving,To swell the loud blast,The helpless bark driving,While shivers the mast,When a shriek is heard soundingMid ocean’s wild roar,And the doom’d bark is groundingUpon the dark shore,Haste hither, Sea Spirits,I bid ye appear;Haste, haste, at my call;I summon ye here!”
Even while Neptune was speaking, troops of sea-monsters of every wonderful form, and of every colour, came rushing into the hall, and having made their obeisance to him, took their seats on their respective thrones. In they came, till the edifice, vast as it was, was almost full of them. There were the King of the Whales, the King of the Sharks, the King of the Porpoises, and the King of the Dolphins, the King of the Cat-fish, and the King of the Big Sea Serpents; the Kings of Ice and Snow, of Tempests and Whirlpools, and there were the guardian spirits of every headland and bay, and of every island and river in the universe; so that it is not surprising that their number should have been so considerable. Neptune then inquired in a loud voice how each had been occupied since the last convocation.
“I,” answered the King of the Whales, “have been engaged in protecting my subjects by hurling together large masses of ice, and by crushing the ships which come to attack them, even to the very heart of my kingdom.” “And I,” said the King of the Sharks, “have been engaged in sinking all the ships I could meet, so that I might give to my subjects an abundance of the food they like best.” The King of the Porpoises replied, that he had been teaching his subjects to keep in the deep sea out of harm’s way; and the King of the Cat-fish said, he had advised his to make themselves as disagreeable as possible, so that no one would wish to catch them; while the tall monarch of the Big Sea Serpents observed that he had strictly enjoined his to keep out of sight altogether, which fully accounts, for so few of them having ever been seen. Among the Spirits there was one who, in beauty of form, surpassed them all, for it was almost that of a human being, but more grand and majestic. The Spirit rose and spoke:—
“I have, mighty sovereign, been engaged in watching over the island of which you have made me guardian. I found the women good and beautiful, and the men brave and hardy, true sons of the ocean, their barks roving to every distant clime, and bringing back the produce of each to their sea-girt shore.”
“’Tis well, Britannia,” said the sovereign of the ocean; “let them understand, that as long as they remain faithful to me—as long as they keep their fleets well manned, their sea-barks ready to repel any aggression—as long as they refuse to submit to the slightest interference of any foreign prince or potentate, Albion shall be my favoured isle, the land of peace and liberty.”
When Neptune had ceased speaking, all the Kings of the Sea and Tritons signified their desire to support their sovereign’s wishes. Neptune then looked round, and seeing Borasco’s throne vacant, inquired what had become of him. Before any one could answer, the Spirit of the Storm entered the hall, and making a low obeisance, walked with a dejected air to his seat.
To the customary inquiry, Borasco informed his sovereign of all the storms which had blown, and the shipwrecks which had occurred.
“Now tell me, Borasco,” asked the monarch, “why have you the downcast look I see you wear?”
Borasco replied, “Dread chief, I come to crave your aid for a cause in which all the power I possess I find of no avail. As I was lately wandering over the ocean, I reached the shores of a lovely island clothed with beautiful shrubs and trees and sweet-scented flowers, and canopied by skies of purest blue. Never have I seen a spot more beautiful; and yet it is but the setting of a precious jewel—a pearl of matchless price. That jewel is a lovely and youthful maiden, a princess, the daughter of the mortal sovereign of that island. As I slept, concealed beneath the rocks, she and her maidens, she outshining them all, came to sport upon the sands. Their laughter, sweet as the murmuring of the breeze upon the summer waves, roused me from my slumber; but no sooner did I present myself before them, than they fled with shrieks of terror, fast as the fleet dolphin from the voracious shark. She alone remained behind. I gazed delighted. I endeavoured to approach her, to behold her nearer; but no sooner did I move, than, affrighted, she fled far away from me into the woods, where I could not follow. I endeavoured to shout to her, to entreat her to tarry, to listen to what I had to say; but my voice (it was somewhat loud, I confess) only made her fly the faster. When she and her attendants had disappeared, I sat me down on a rock, disconsolate, to consider the state of the case, when I by degrees began to suspect that she was frightened by the form I am doomed to wear, which I fear is somewhat more hideous than she is accustomed to see. I meditated still further, and at length I came to the conclusion that I am what human beings call desperately in love. Yes, dread Sovereign, the fierce Borasco is in love!”
On hearing this confession of Borasco, all the Kings of the Sea and Tritons lifted up their hands with surprise, and a smile of incredulity rested on their countenances, while a murmur ran through the hall, “Borasco in love! Borasco in love! oh, oh!” for no one would have guessed that he could have become a slave to the tender passion. They smiled, too, at his only then having discovered his own ugliness, for, frightful as they were themselves, they all fancied that he was more so.
Britannia was the only spirit who compassionated him, and she pleaded his cause with Neptune so successfully, that the Monarch expressed his willingness to assist him, if means so to do could be found. “Tell me by what rules, in thy favoured island, youths manage to win the hearts of the maidens they love?” said Neptune, addressing Britannia.
The Spirit smiled and replied: “In the first place, the youths wear forms somewhat more attractive than that of Borasco; but as to rules, I can lay down none, so various are the means by which the hearts of maidens are won, and of such different materials do they appear to be made. Some seem to me to be composed of iron or adamant, some of glass, some of wax, some of lead, and some of stuff not more consistent than butter, while a few, I suspect, have no hearts at all. Sighs and timid looks attract some, laughter and bold admiration others, and gold has no little influence in affairs of that description; but the man who requires rules to make love has but small chance indeed.”
Borasco sat in a very melancholy and downcast mood, with his chin resting on his hand, while several deep sighs, which sounded somewhat like thunder, burst from his heaving bosom, and echoed round and round the hall. At last he looked up and said, “It is very well for you, brother Kings, who are fancy free, to laugh; but let me tell you, if you felt as I do you would find it no laughing matter. And thou, O mighty Neptune, if thou canst not help me to win the lovely in aid, I know not what I shall do, while I remain as hideous as I own I am.”
Neptune, on hearing this, thought deeply for some minutes; he then spoke:—
“Be not, my brave Borasco, thus dismay’d,You know my love, and I will give thee aid.I grant thee leave to seek some human formIn which the life-blood yet is flowing warm,Which from some sea-tossed, shattered wreck is torn,And on the shore by raging billows borne.Such you may enter, while your present formReturns to mingle with the air and storm.But also learn, the force of fire or steel,Like other mortals, you’ll be doomed to feel;And if of mortal life you are bereft,You must resume the native form you left,And thence for ever in that shape remain,Nor e’er in human semblance shine again;And also, every year you most repairTo this my court in that same form you wear,Leaving your mortal shape in seeming sleep,While for one day you stay beneath the deep.Such is, Borasco, tried and faithful friend,The best assistance which I now can lend.”
“Be not, my brave Borasco, thus dismay’d,You know my love, and I will give thee aid.I grant thee leave to seek some human formIn which the life-blood yet is flowing warm,Which from some sea-tossed, shattered wreck is torn,And on the shore by raging billows borne.Such you may enter, while your present formReturns to mingle with the air and storm.But also learn, the force of fire or steel,Like other mortals, you’ll be doomed to feel;And if of mortal life you are bereft,You must resume the native form you left,And thence for ever in that shape remain,Nor e’er in human semblance shine again;And also, every year you most repairTo this my court in that same form you wear,Leaving your mortal shape in seeming sleep,While for one day you stay beneath the deep.Such is, Borasco, tried and faithful friend,The best assistance which I now can lend.”
On hearing these words, the looks of the Spirit of the Storm brightened. He rose and made obeisance. “Thanks, mighty Sovereign,” he exclaimed; “my hopes brighten, my courage returns. I will, with your permission, at once hasten and put into execution this most excellent plan. It must succeed, and cannot fail to secure my happiness; and I here promise to obey your mandates, and faithfully to return once a year, to pay my respects at your court.”
“Do so,” replied Neptune; “but remember that I can give you power only over the form of a human being who in his lifetime has been guilty of many crimes. With the innocent and virtuous no Spirit must interfere. Now let our court break up; and, Kings of the Sea, and ye, great Spirits of the Wind and Air, disperse yourselves across the billowy main.”
On hearing these words the Spirits answered:
“We fly, mighty Monarch, we fly at thy will,With tempest and tumult the ocean to fill;Where rocks and where sandbanks and whirlpools abound,And barks are hurled onward, we there shall be found.”
“We fly, mighty Monarch, we fly at thy will,With tempest and tumult the ocean to fill;Where rocks and where sandbanks and whirlpools abound,And barks are hurled onward, we there shall be found.”
When the Spirits ceased speaking they dispersed, with a loud rushing sound, in all directions, while the Kings of the Sea, the Islands, and Rocks, retired with a more dignified pace, and the vast hall was left, as before, in solitude and silence.
Story 6--Chapter IV.The seas were, in those days, infested by a band of pirates, who were possessed of several large ships, with which they defied all efforts to destroy them. The chief of the pirates was called Don Alonzo. Though very blood-thirsty and wicked, for he robbed all he met, and spared no one who made any resistance, he was very brave, and young, and handsome; indeed, on looking at him, few would believe that he could commit the crimes of which he was guilty. It happened that his ship, having separated from her consorts, was sailing across the Pacific.Now, as Borasco was returning from Neptune’s conclave to his own palace, he espied her in the far distance floating calmly on the waves. He soon knew her to be the ship of the pirate Alonzo, and instantly summoning all his wildest spirits to his aid, a violent tempest began to rage, and thus the Spirit of the Storm sang, as, riding on his foam-crested steed, he followed the doomed bark:—“’Tis now that the billows are covered with foam—’Tis now my wild spirit rejoices to roam,When waves tossing high with dark clouds are at play,To dim the pale moon with their bright frothy spray;When loud-rolling thunder resounds thro’ the skies,And fast through the night air the northern mist flies;Oh! now is the time when my spirit is free,And wildly I ride o’er the fathomless sea.“Yon tempest-toss’d vessel before me now flies,And loudly I echo the mariners’ cries,As sadly they gaze on the breakers before,Which madly leap over the iron-bound shore,When hope has deserted, and, pallid with fear,The stoutest heart trembles at death drawing near.Oh! now is the time I shout loudest with glee,And gaily ride over the foam-covered sea.”Onward sailed the sea-robbers, thoughtless of coming danger, when suddenly the gentle breeze, which had hitherto been wafting them on their course, rose to a furious gale. Over the ship heeled to its rage. The tall masts bent and cracked, and one by one, with crash upon crash, they were carried away, till the ship drove before the tempest a helpless wreck on the waste of waters. The wild cries of the seamen, as they saw their doom approach, rose above the shrieks of the sea-bird, or the mocking laughter of the Spirits of the Storm. Their chief alone stood undaunted, youth in his eye, and manly vigour in every limb; though the lightning flashed around his head—though the foaming billows washed over the frail planks on which his feet were planted, and death with all its horrors frowned upon him.On, on drove the ship—dark clouds above, the yawning waves below—till the land (it was the Island of Gracia), at that part fringed with sharp, threatening rocks, appeared ahead. On she went. The eager waves leaped round her; they lifted her to their summit, and then down she came, crashing upon the rocks. Her timbers were riven asunder and scattered far and wide, and of the human beings who lately trod her deck but one alone was washed on shore, and from his body life had departed, though it was uninjured, either by the rocks or shattered planks and spars. It was that of Alonzo, the captain of the pirate crew. No sooner did Borasco behold the work which his powers had accomplished, than he hastened to the beach, and there he found, stretched on the sand, the body of the pirate. He looked at it delighted, for the form was very handsome; and though life was gone, it yet retained its warmth. High rocks surrounded the spot, so that no human being could observe what was happening. A voice (it seemed to come from the air) then uttered, in an awful tone, the following spell:—“Dark form! my mystic words obey,To thin air vanish, haste away!Go, wander o’er the boundless main,Nor dare this shape resume again,Till by dark spells of potent might,I summon thee to re-unite.”As he spoke the hideous form began gradually to expand into vast proportions, growing each moment more mist-like and indistinct. Signs of animation now returned to the body of Alonzo, who speedily arose, and while he waved his arm, the shape Borasco had lately worn mingled with the surrounding atmosphere, till it finally disappeared like a mist blown off from the sea.Alonzo, or rather Alonzo’s form animated by Borasco’s spirit, walked slowly on, for he felt weary, as a person does who has long buffeted with the waves, for with the form so he partook in a measure of the human feelings of the pirate. His nature, however, in other respects was not altered; his love for Serena was rather increased than lost, and he was still the same bold Spirit he had before been, with the same power, only softened and refined by the magic influence of love.He looked into a mirror-like pool of water among the rocks, and there, seeing his new figure reflected, he drew himself up, and stretching out his arms proudly, he exclaimed, “Ah, I now look like a man indeed; I feel the life-blood rush fleetly through my veins, my pulses beat steadily; methinks when the maiden sees me she will not fly from me as she did before. Ah, now in truth I have a chance of winning her. Thanks, thanks, mighty Neptune! for the aid you have afforded me. The dawn approaches; she will soon be here! and then once more, lovely Princess! I shall again behold thy matchless beauty.” As he spoke a few faint streaks, the harbingers of the rising sun, appeared, in the eastern sky, the wind went down, and the sea grew perfectly smooth.After wandering along the sea beach for some distance to stretch his legs, for he naturally felt somewhat strange in his new form, he at length, overcome with fatigue and a desire for repose, laid himself down on the dry sand under the shade of an overhanging rock. Here, in the course of a few minutes, he fell fast asleep; and so sound was his sleep that he appeared like some shipwrecked mariner who had been drowned and washed on shore by the stormy waves.
The seas were, in those days, infested by a band of pirates, who were possessed of several large ships, with which they defied all efforts to destroy them. The chief of the pirates was called Don Alonzo. Though very blood-thirsty and wicked, for he robbed all he met, and spared no one who made any resistance, he was very brave, and young, and handsome; indeed, on looking at him, few would believe that he could commit the crimes of which he was guilty. It happened that his ship, having separated from her consorts, was sailing across the Pacific.
Now, as Borasco was returning from Neptune’s conclave to his own palace, he espied her in the far distance floating calmly on the waves. He soon knew her to be the ship of the pirate Alonzo, and instantly summoning all his wildest spirits to his aid, a violent tempest began to rage, and thus the Spirit of the Storm sang, as, riding on his foam-crested steed, he followed the doomed bark:—
“’Tis now that the billows are covered with foam—’Tis now my wild spirit rejoices to roam,When waves tossing high with dark clouds are at play,To dim the pale moon with their bright frothy spray;When loud-rolling thunder resounds thro’ the skies,And fast through the night air the northern mist flies;Oh! now is the time when my spirit is free,And wildly I ride o’er the fathomless sea.“Yon tempest-toss’d vessel before me now flies,And loudly I echo the mariners’ cries,As sadly they gaze on the breakers before,Which madly leap over the iron-bound shore,When hope has deserted, and, pallid with fear,The stoutest heart trembles at death drawing near.Oh! now is the time I shout loudest with glee,And gaily ride over the foam-covered sea.”
“’Tis now that the billows are covered with foam—’Tis now my wild spirit rejoices to roam,When waves tossing high with dark clouds are at play,To dim the pale moon with their bright frothy spray;When loud-rolling thunder resounds thro’ the skies,And fast through the night air the northern mist flies;Oh! now is the time when my spirit is free,And wildly I ride o’er the fathomless sea.“Yon tempest-toss’d vessel before me now flies,And loudly I echo the mariners’ cries,As sadly they gaze on the breakers before,Which madly leap over the iron-bound shore,When hope has deserted, and, pallid with fear,The stoutest heart trembles at death drawing near.Oh! now is the time I shout loudest with glee,And gaily ride over the foam-covered sea.”
Onward sailed the sea-robbers, thoughtless of coming danger, when suddenly the gentle breeze, which had hitherto been wafting them on their course, rose to a furious gale. Over the ship heeled to its rage. The tall masts bent and cracked, and one by one, with crash upon crash, they were carried away, till the ship drove before the tempest a helpless wreck on the waste of waters. The wild cries of the seamen, as they saw their doom approach, rose above the shrieks of the sea-bird, or the mocking laughter of the Spirits of the Storm. Their chief alone stood undaunted, youth in his eye, and manly vigour in every limb; though the lightning flashed around his head—though the foaming billows washed over the frail planks on which his feet were planted, and death with all its horrors frowned upon him.
On, on drove the ship—dark clouds above, the yawning waves below—till the land (it was the Island of Gracia), at that part fringed with sharp, threatening rocks, appeared ahead. On she went. The eager waves leaped round her; they lifted her to their summit, and then down she came, crashing upon the rocks. Her timbers were riven asunder and scattered far and wide, and of the human beings who lately trod her deck but one alone was washed on shore, and from his body life had departed, though it was uninjured, either by the rocks or shattered planks and spars. It was that of Alonzo, the captain of the pirate crew. No sooner did Borasco behold the work which his powers had accomplished, than he hastened to the beach, and there he found, stretched on the sand, the body of the pirate. He looked at it delighted, for the form was very handsome; and though life was gone, it yet retained its warmth. High rocks surrounded the spot, so that no human being could observe what was happening. A voice (it seemed to come from the air) then uttered, in an awful tone, the following spell:—
“Dark form! my mystic words obey,To thin air vanish, haste away!Go, wander o’er the boundless main,Nor dare this shape resume again,Till by dark spells of potent might,I summon thee to re-unite.”
“Dark form! my mystic words obey,To thin air vanish, haste away!Go, wander o’er the boundless main,Nor dare this shape resume again,Till by dark spells of potent might,I summon thee to re-unite.”
As he spoke the hideous form began gradually to expand into vast proportions, growing each moment more mist-like and indistinct. Signs of animation now returned to the body of Alonzo, who speedily arose, and while he waved his arm, the shape Borasco had lately worn mingled with the surrounding atmosphere, till it finally disappeared like a mist blown off from the sea.
Alonzo, or rather Alonzo’s form animated by Borasco’s spirit, walked slowly on, for he felt weary, as a person does who has long buffeted with the waves, for with the form so he partook in a measure of the human feelings of the pirate. His nature, however, in other respects was not altered; his love for Serena was rather increased than lost, and he was still the same bold Spirit he had before been, with the same power, only softened and refined by the magic influence of love.
He looked into a mirror-like pool of water among the rocks, and there, seeing his new figure reflected, he drew himself up, and stretching out his arms proudly, he exclaimed, “Ah, I now look like a man indeed; I feel the life-blood rush fleetly through my veins, my pulses beat steadily; methinks when the maiden sees me she will not fly from me as she did before. Ah, now in truth I have a chance of winning her. Thanks, thanks, mighty Neptune! for the aid you have afforded me. The dawn approaches; she will soon be here! and then once more, lovely Princess! I shall again behold thy matchless beauty.” As he spoke a few faint streaks, the harbingers of the rising sun, appeared, in the eastern sky, the wind went down, and the sea grew perfectly smooth.
After wandering along the sea beach for some distance to stretch his legs, for he naturally felt somewhat strange in his new form, he at length, overcome with fatigue and a desire for repose, laid himself down on the dry sand under the shade of an overhanging rock. Here, in the course of a few minutes, he fell fast asleep; and so sound was his sleep that he appeared like some shipwrecked mariner who had been drowned and washed on shore by the stormy waves.
Story 6--Chapter V.The bright sun was shedding his beams across the dancing waves, when the lovely Serena and her maidens, tempted by the beauty of the morning, left the palace to enjoy the fresh air on the beach, no longer dreading to meet the hideous monster who had once so frightened them in the same spot. As they walked on they talked of the storm which had raged during the night. “And, my Princess,” said Linda, one of the maidens, “they say that there was seen last night, by those who were on the watch, a huge black mass driving towards the shore, but that it burst asunder, and only fragments of wood and some extraordinary-shaped things were found among the rocks. Some people think it was a big canoe, and others a monster, but no one is certain.”“There are many strange things happening,” replied Serena. “Last night my father dreamed a dream; he dreamed that one of the sages of our people came to him, and reminded him of a prophecy which was uttered years ago: it ran thus:—”‘In hour of dangerSaved by a stranger,The King and stateGive him guerdon great,But a Sea-monster will preyOn his reward that day.’“My sire awoke repeating the words, and the sage was gone, but the storm was raging with greater fury than before.”“Since the day we saw the dreadful monster, wonders have never ceased,” observed Linda; “now, I should not be surprised if some other wonder was going to happen.”While they were speaking they happened to approach the very spot where the form of Alonzo was sleeping. The Princess and her maidens started with surprise, and then cautiously drew near, curious to know what strange being he was; for, from his dress, which was the costume of Spain, and from his appearance being so totally different to that of the islanders, they did not at first suppose that he was a human being.Remembering the fright they had had before, from the strange monster which had appeared so suddenly out of the sea, they approached very cautiously, thinking this might do them some harm if they were not careful. Hand-in-hand they advanced, treading lightly, and uttering no sound, and ready every instant to run away. At last they all got close up to him, and began to examine him with curious eyes, their fears gradually growing less and less. Linda was the first to make the wonderful discovery, that instead of a strange monster, he was a young and handsome man. “Oh, my dear mistress, I am sure he must be a Prince, for he is so very good-looking and prince-like,” she exclaimed, bending over him; as she did so she uttered an exclamation of sorrow, and wrung her hands; “Alas, alas!” she cried, “but I fear he is dead!”The maidens now all drew near, and knelt mournfully round him, when at last the Princess ventured to take his hand. Instead of letting it drop, she exclaimed joyfully, “Oh, no! he is not dead; his pulse yet beats with life, and look, the colour mantles on his cheeks.”Her touch, or the voices of her maidens expressing their satisfaction, awoke Alonzo, as Borasco now called himself, out of his deep sleep. He opened his eyes, and fixing them on her, he said in a low voice, expressive of his surprise, “Do I dream? Are you a mortal? or have the skies sent some being radiant with beauty to dwell on earth?”The Princess was not insensible to the compliment, though it was rather high-flown; but she was so astonished at hearing him speak, that, instead of answering him, and not knowing what else to say, she asked, “What are you? whence do you come?”Before Alonzo could answer these questions he had to collect his thoughts sufficiently to frame a story; for he had had till then no idea that they would naturally be put to him. He therefore rose, and, kneeling at the feet of the Princess, took her hand, and replied, “I come from the sea, fair Princess! My ship was dashed to pieces last night on those pointed rocks, while I, her chief, was cast on shore, and am the sole survivor of her crew. My name is Alonzo, and I am your humble slave, fair lady.”The Princess, though she did not comprehend all the stranger said, and certainly did not understand his compliments, had not the slightest doubt of the truth of the story. She entreated him to rise, and then retired with her maidens to consult what should be done; for there existed in Gracia a law which condemned to death any stranger who should venture to the island, of whose character and history the chiefs and magistrates were not fully satisfied. Without, therefore, their permission, she could not venture to invite him to her father’s palace. At this juncture a number of the islanders appeared from the wood close by, and seeing a strange person standing by himself, for the Princess and her maidens were hid from them by the rocks, they rushed down and seized him, demanding who he was. The Princess heard their voices, but before she could interfere, overwhelmed by numbers, the stranger was borne to the ground. He struggled in vain, and was surprised to find how easily he was overcome; for he forgot that with a mortal form he possessed only the strength of a mortal, and had at first supposed that he could drive them off with as much ease as he would have done had he retained the form of Borasco.The Princess hurried forward. “Oh, spare him! spare him!” she exclaimed; “I am certain he will do no harm. See how amiable and gentle he looks!”The islanders loved their Princess, and therefore refrained from offering further violence to the stranger, but still they held him tight, and insisted on carrying him into the presence of King Zaphor. Now, Serena, as she felt that she might more successfully plead his cause before her indulgent father than any one else, gladly consented to this arrangement.King Zaphor sat in state, with his wise men and councillors around him, when Alonzo was brought bound before him by a large concourse of his subjects. The Princess, attended by her maidens, also appeared in court, for there was no one else to plead his cause; and as she had been the first to discover him, she considered that she was in duty bound to protect him. Alonzo stood before the King with a dignified air, and his arms folded on his bosom, his personal appearance gaining him many friends; but when he was questioned as to his occupation and calling, he began to reflect whether he had not done an unwise thing in entering the form of so wicked a person as the pirate captain, handsome though he was; for he feared that should the Princess discover that his form was that of Alonzo, nothing that he could say to the contrary would persuade her that he was not Alonzo himself. He felt, indeed, the truth that beauty, without real goodness and a good character, is worthless indeed. He, however, gave the same account of himself that he had done to the Princess, in so clear and concise a way, that he gained much in the good opinion of the wise men. He then vowed so earnestly, that far from wishing to injure any of the inhabitants of the Island of Gracia, he would devote himself to their service, that he made a still further advance; and when the Princess spoke in his favour, it was unanimously decreed that, not only should his life be spared, but that full permission should be given him to remain in the island.The fair Serena was delighted at her success, and consequently took greater interest than before in the stranger. King Zaphor, with great courtesy and kindness, invited him to his palace, where a feast was prepared, and a chamber made ready for him. All the chiefs of the island attended the feast, and were much pleased, as was the King, with his wisdom and general information. The King, indeed, confessed that he was superior to any of the councillors who sat at his council-table; and this made them not a little jealous of him, as people of small minds are apt to be of strangers who surpass them in intellect. Meantime the Princess listened attentively to all Alonzo said, and the interest she felt ripened into a still warmer feeling—a feeling with which Borasco in his proper shape would never have inspired her. The stranger rapidly gained his way into her good graces, and days, weeks, and months passed happily away without their finding them an hour too long.
The bright sun was shedding his beams across the dancing waves, when the lovely Serena and her maidens, tempted by the beauty of the morning, left the palace to enjoy the fresh air on the beach, no longer dreading to meet the hideous monster who had once so frightened them in the same spot. As they walked on they talked of the storm which had raged during the night. “And, my Princess,” said Linda, one of the maidens, “they say that there was seen last night, by those who were on the watch, a huge black mass driving towards the shore, but that it burst asunder, and only fragments of wood and some extraordinary-shaped things were found among the rocks. Some people think it was a big canoe, and others a monster, but no one is certain.”
“There are many strange things happening,” replied Serena. “Last night my father dreamed a dream; he dreamed that one of the sages of our people came to him, and reminded him of a prophecy which was uttered years ago: it ran thus:—
”‘In hour of dangerSaved by a stranger,The King and stateGive him guerdon great,But a Sea-monster will preyOn his reward that day.’
”‘In hour of dangerSaved by a stranger,The King and stateGive him guerdon great,But a Sea-monster will preyOn his reward that day.’
“My sire awoke repeating the words, and the sage was gone, but the storm was raging with greater fury than before.”
“Since the day we saw the dreadful monster, wonders have never ceased,” observed Linda; “now, I should not be surprised if some other wonder was going to happen.”
While they were speaking they happened to approach the very spot where the form of Alonzo was sleeping. The Princess and her maidens started with surprise, and then cautiously drew near, curious to know what strange being he was; for, from his dress, which was the costume of Spain, and from his appearance being so totally different to that of the islanders, they did not at first suppose that he was a human being.
Remembering the fright they had had before, from the strange monster which had appeared so suddenly out of the sea, they approached very cautiously, thinking this might do them some harm if they were not careful. Hand-in-hand they advanced, treading lightly, and uttering no sound, and ready every instant to run away. At last they all got close up to him, and began to examine him with curious eyes, their fears gradually growing less and less. Linda was the first to make the wonderful discovery, that instead of a strange monster, he was a young and handsome man. “Oh, my dear mistress, I am sure he must be a Prince, for he is so very good-looking and prince-like,” she exclaimed, bending over him; as she did so she uttered an exclamation of sorrow, and wrung her hands; “Alas, alas!” she cried, “but I fear he is dead!”
The maidens now all drew near, and knelt mournfully round him, when at last the Princess ventured to take his hand. Instead of letting it drop, she exclaimed joyfully, “Oh, no! he is not dead; his pulse yet beats with life, and look, the colour mantles on his cheeks.”
Her touch, or the voices of her maidens expressing their satisfaction, awoke Alonzo, as Borasco now called himself, out of his deep sleep. He opened his eyes, and fixing them on her, he said in a low voice, expressive of his surprise, “Do I dream? Are you a mortal? or have the skies sent some being radiant with beauty to dwell on earth?”
The Princess was not insensible to the compliment, though it was rather high-flown; but she was so astonished at hearing him speak, that, instead of answering him, and not knowing what else to say, she asked, “What are you? whence do you come?”
Before Alonzo could answer these questions he had to collect his thoughts sufficiently to frame a story; for he had had till then no idea that they would naturally be put to him. He therefore rose, and, kneeling at the feet of the Princess, took her hand, and replied, “I come from the sea, fair Princess! My ship was dashed to pieces last night on those pointed rocks, while I, her chief, was cast on shore, and am the sole survivor of her crew. My name is Alonzo, and I am your humble slave, fair lady.”
The Princess, though she did not comprehend all the stranger said, and certainly did not understand his compliments, had not the slightest doubt of the truth of the story. She entreated him to rise, and then retired with her maidens to consult what should be done; for there existed in Gracia a law which condemned to death any stranger who should venture to the island, of whose character and history the chiefs and magistrates were not fully satisfied. Without, therefore, their permission, she could not venture to invite him to her father’s palace. At this juncture a number of the islanders appeared from the wood close by, and seeing a strange person standing by himself, for the Princess and her maidens were hid from them by the rocks, they rushed down and seized him, demanding who he was. The Princess heard their voices, but before she could interfere, overwhelmed by numbers, the stranger was borne to the ground. He struggled in vain, and was surprised to find how easily he was overcome; for he forgot that with a mortal form he possessed only the strength of a mortal, and had at first supposed that he could drive them off with as much ease as he would have done had he retained the form of Borasco.
The Princess hurried forward. “Oh, spare him! spare him!” she exclaimed; “I am certain he will do no harm. See how amiable and gentle he looks!”
The islanders loved their Princess, and therefore refrained from offering further violence to the stranger, but still they held him tight, and insisted on carrying him into the presence of King Zaphor. Now, Serena, as she felt that she might more successfully plead his cause before her indulgent father than any one else, gladly consented to this arrangement.
King Zaphor sat in state, with his wise men and councillors around him, when Alonzo was brought bound before him by a large concourse of his subjects. The Princess, attended by her maidens, also appeared in court, for there was no one else to plead his cause; and as she had been the first to discover him, she considered that she was in duty bound to protect him. Alonzo stood before the King with a dignified air, and his arms folded on his bosom, his personal appearance gaining him many friends; but when he was questioned as to his occupation and calling, he began to reflect whether he had not done an unwise thing in entering the form of so wicked a person as the pirate captain, handsome though he was; for he feared that should the Princess discover that his form was that of Alonzo, nothing that he could say to the contrary would persuade her that he was not Alonzo himself. He felt, indeed, the truth that beauty, without real goodness and a good character, is worthless indeed. He, however, gave the same account of himself that he had done to the Princess, in so clear and concise a way, that he gained much in the good opinion of the wise men. He then vowed so earnestly, that far from wishing to injure any of the inhabitants of the Island of Gracia, he would devote himself to their service, that he made a still further advance; and when the Princess spoke in his favour, it was unanimously decreed that, not only should his life be spared, but that full permission should be given him to remain in the island.
The fair Serena was delighted at her success, and consequently took greater interest than before in the stranger. King Zaphor, with great courtesy and kindness, invited him to his palace, where a feast was prepared, and a chamber made ready for him. All the chiefs of the island attended the feast, and were much pleased, as was the King, with his wisdom and general information. The King, indeed, confessed that he was superior to any of the councillors who sat at his council-table; and this made them not a little jealous of him, as people of small minds are apt to be of strangers who surpass them in intellect. Meantime the Princess listened attentively to all Alonzo said, and the interest she felt ripened into a still warmer feeling—a feeling with which Borasco in his proper shape would never have inspired her. The stranger rapidly gained his way into her good graces, and days, weeks, and months passed happily away without their finding them an hour too long.
Story 6--Chapter VI.Months wore on, and the wisdom of Alonzo had wonderfully increased the prosperity of King Zaphor’s dominions. All the people began to respect the stranger, and to look upon him as the husband of the Princess, and their future sovereign. One day, as Alonzo and Serena were wandering by the shore, they saw approaching far off on the sea, a number of large canoes. Alonzo regarded them attentively till he felt convinced that they were war-canoes full of warriors, intending to attack the island. So he hurried back to collect all the fighting men to repel the enemy. On came the canoes, and it was soon seen that Alonzo was not mistaken, for before the fighting men of the island could assemble, they had run upon the beach. Alonzo and a few followers were the only persons ready to meet, the invaders, who had already formed on the sand, expecting an easy victory. With a sharp sword in his hand—a sword forged within the bowels of the earth, and which had been brought to him by a Sea Spirit from an island in the Mediterranean—he rushed down among them. His sharp sword flashed fire, as he whirled it round his head, among the showers of arrows which flew about him, and numbers of the enemy lay cut to pieces at his feet. Fearless of the deadly weapons aimed at him, so rapidly did he perform his work, that all the invaders were either destroyed or had fallen on their knees to sue for mercy before the King and his followers could get up to the scene of action.Thus the Island of Gracia was delivered from the greatest peril to which it had ever been exposed. Then the King gave a banquet to commemorate the happy event, and he summoned to it his lords and councillors, and all the chief men of the island, and they all came and congratulated the King on his victory.The King, however, graciously would not claim the credit which was not his due; but, pointing to Alonzo, who sat on his right side, told them that they owed their freedom to him. Then, taking him by one hand, he took Serena by the other, and informed his chiefs that he thus betrothed those whose hearts were already one, and he inquired whether they would consent to receive the stranger as their future chief. No sooner had the King done speaking, than all the nobles arose, and exclaimed, “Hail to the brave stranger, our gallant defender! hail to Prince Alonzo, the husband of our beloved Princess, our future sovereign!”The King was much pleased with this expression of the loyalty of his subjects, nor was the Princess less so at their approval of a husband to whom she was so devotedly attached. Thus the stranger Alonzo was raised to the highest dignity of the state.Nearly a year had passed since his arrival, when one day he espied a large ship, under full sail, approaching the island. The people were surprised, and many were much alarmed, for they had never before seen so extraordinary a sight. Some thought it some mighty sea-bird, and others some monster of the deep; but none could tell what the portend might forbode. On the ship came, and, casting anchor, several of the crew landed. They wandered about through the woods, singing and carousing, and otherwise amusing themselves. When also they happened to discover any of the cottages of the natives, they did not scruple to enter, and to appropriate anything which struck their fancy. Alonzo was attending to the affairs of state when news was brought him of the behaviour of the strangers, and that they were actually approaching the precincts of the Palace. On this he immediately sent out to put a stop to the mischief. As he was proceeding a shriek reached his ear. He knew the voice at once—it was that of the Princess Serena—and, rushing on with the speed of lightning, he found her and her maidens in the rude grasp of the strangers. When they saw him and his followers, while some held fast the damsels, the rest advanced with arms in their hands to meet him. As, however, they got nearer to him, instead of attempting to run him through with their swords, they shouted out, “’Tis he! ’tis he! our long-lost chief! Why, brave Captain Alonzo, we thought you long since dead. What, don’t you know us? Don’t you remember Almagro, and Sancho, and Pedro?”But Alonzo looked at them as on total strangers, for, of course, he could not remember having ever seen them before. “I know you only from your own confession and your deeds to be wicked villains,” he exclaimed; “and I order you instantly to quit this island, or I shall hand you over to the laws of the realm. I spare you now. Begone, but remember my warning.”This made them very indignant. “What, not know your old friends? Come, come, you look very magnificent, doubtless, but we cannot let you or any other man interfere with our proceedings.”As they said this, some drew their swords, while others attempted to drag off Serena and her maidens. The magic weapon of Alonzo was in his hand in an instant, and as it struck the blades of the pirates, for such they were, it shivered them to atoms. Some of the pirates were killed, but Alonzo was merciful, and the Princess being placed in safety, he allowed the rest to escape, as they fled before him. That day he published a decree banishing the pirates from the island, on pain of death if they remained. Instead of going, however, they hid themselves among the rocks on the sea-shore, for the purpose of issuing forth at night to weak their vengeance on one whom they supposed to have been their chief, but who had now become their enemy.
Months wore on, and the wisdom of Alonzo had wonderfully increased the prosperity of King Zaphor’s dominions. All the people began to respect the stranger, and to look upon him as the husband of the Princess, and their future sovereign. One day, as Alonzo and Serena were wandering by the shore, they saw approaching far off on the sea, a number of large canoes. Alonzo regarded them attentively till he felt convinced that they were war-canoes full of warriors, intending to attack the island. So he hurried back to collect all the fighting men to repel the enemy. On came the canoes, and it was soon seen that Alonzo was not mistaken, for before the fighting men of the island could assemble, they had run upon the beach. Alonzo and a few followers were the only persons ready to meet, the invaders, who had already formed on the sand, expecting an easy victory. With a sharp sword in his hand—a sword forged within the bowels of the earth, and which had been brought to him by a Sea Spirit from an island in the Mediterranean—he rushed down among them. His sharp sword flashed fire, as he whirled it round his head, among the showers of arrows which flew about him, and numbers of the enemy lay cut to pieces at his feet. Fearless of the deadly weapons aimed at him, so rapidly did he perform his work, that all the invaders were either destroyed or had fallen on their knees to sue for mercy before the King and his followers could get up to the scene of action.
Thus the Island of Gracia was delivered from the greatest peril to which it had ever been exposed. Then the King gave a banquet to commemorate the happy event, and he summoned to it his lords and councillors, and all the chief men of the island, and they all came and congratulated the King on his victory.
The King, however, graciously would not claim the credit which was not his due; but, pointing to Alonzo, who sat on his right side, told them that they owed their freedom to him. Then, taking him by one hand, he took Serena by the other, and informed his chiefs that he thus betrothed those whose hearts were already one, and he inquired whether they would consent to receive the stranger as their future chief. No sooner had the King done speaking, than all the nobles arose, and exclaimed, “Hail to the brave stranger, our gallant defender! hail to Prince Alonzo, the husband of our beloved Princess, our future sovereign!”
The King was much pleased with this expression of the loyalty of his subjects, nor was the Princess less so at their approval of a husband to whom she was so devotedly attached. Thus the stranger Alonzo was raised to the highest dignity of the state.
Nearly a year had passed since his arrival, when one day he espied a large ship, under full sail, approaching the island. The people were surprised, and many were much alarmed, for they had never before seen so extraordinary a sight. Some thought it some mighty sea-bird, and others some monster of the deep; but none could tell what the portend might forbode. On the ship came, and, casting anchor, several of the crew landed. They wandered about through the woods, singing and carousing, and otherwise amusing themselves. When also they happened to discover any of the cottages of the natives, they did not scruple to enter, and to appropriate anything which struck their fancy. Alonzo was attending to the affairs of state when news was brought him of the behaviour of the strangers, and that they were actually approaching the precincts of the Palace. On this he immediately sent out to put a stop to the mischief. As he was proceeding a shriek reached his ear. He knew the voice at once—it was that of the Princess Serena—and, rushing on with the speed of lightning, he found her and her maidens in the rude grasp of the strangers. When they saw him and his followers, while some held fast the damsels, the rest advanced with arms in their hands to meet him. As, however, they got nearer to him, instead of attempting to run him through with their swords, they shouted out, “’Tis he! ’tis he! our long-lost chief! Why, brave Captain Alonzo, we thought you long since dead. What, don’t you know us? Don’t you remember Almagro, and Sancho, and Pedro?”
But Alonzo looked at them as on total strangers, for, of course, he could not remember having ever seen them before. “I know you only from your own confession and your deeds to be wicked villains,” he exclaimed; “and I order you instantly to quit this island, or I shall hand you over to the laws of the realm. I spare you now. Begone, but remember my warning.”
This made them very indignant. “What, not know your old friends? Come, come, you look very magnificent, doubtless, but we cannot let you or any other man interfere with our proceedings.”
As they said this, some drew their swords, while others attempted to drag off Serena and her maidens. The magic weapon of Alonzo was in his hand in an instant, and as it struck the blades of the pirates, for such they were, it shivered them to atoms. Some of the pirates were killed, but Alonzo was merciful, and the Princess being placed in safety, he allowed the rest to escape, as they fled before him. That day he published a decree banishing the pirates from the island, on pain of death if they remained. Instead of going, however, they hid themselves among the rocks on the sea-shore, for the purpose of issuing forth at night to weak their vengeance on one whom they supposed to have been their chief, but who had now become their enemy.
Story 6--Chapter VII.It required but one day to complete the year since the Princess Serena first beheld Alonzo, when, as they sat in her bower, watching the blue tranquil sea in the distance, he folded her in his arms, and told her, with a voice of tenderness, that he must for a short time quit her. In vain she endeavoured to draw from him the reason of his intended absence. He assured her that it would be but for a few short hours, that he must go to a distant part of the island, and that he would faithfully return. She entreated to be allowed to accompany him, but to that he could not consent. Had he entrusted his awful secret to her, though it would have terrified her to find that she had got a Spirit for a husband, it might have been happier for him.Every argument which the Princess could use was employed in vain to induce the seeming Alonzo to remain; far more powerful were the stern decrees of Neptune. Once more pressing her to his heart, he tore himself from her, and rushed out along the beach till the tall rocks hid him from her sight. The Princess remained bathed in tears, and overcome with grief and forebodings of evil.Meantime Alonzo wandered along the shore in search of some sequestered cavern, where he might leave in security the mortal form he wore, while he repaired, according to his bounden duty, to Neptune’s conclave. For some time he could not satisfy himself, for he was naturally fearful of being disturbed or injured. Far, far better would it have been had he entrusted his body to the safe and loving care of the Princess. At last he discovered a cavern which could only be entered from the sea. Inside it there was a small extent of sand and several ledges of dry rock, to which the waters never reached. Nothing could be better suited to his purpose; so, standing at the mouth of the cave, he stretched out his hand over the sea, and uttered this potent spell:—“Haste, wandering form,Dark mist o’er the main.From wind and from storm,I call thee again.I once bade thee retire,But now hither repair,Whether glowing in fire,Or sailing in air.Again this stern spell,Dark shape, thou must hear,Come, come, whence you dwell,Haste hither, appear!”As he spoke a thick mist seemed to rise from the sea in the horizon, extending upward, and growing denser and denser, till it assumed the faint outlines of Borasco’s form. Then it glided forward, as if borne onward by a gentle wind, till it reached the mouth of the cavern. Meantime Alonzo placed himself on an upper ledge of the rock in an attitude of sleep, and forthwith his spirit passed into his proper form, from which an awful voice uttered these words:—“Rest thee, mortal form, rest here,Till I once again appear.Cursed the hands that dare to smite thee,Or by injury to blight thee.Let with horror fate condemn them,And the raging seas o’erwhelm them.”While he was thus speaking, Borasco glided over the sea till he disappeared in the far distance.Now it happened, as we have said, that the pirates, whom Alonzo had ordered to quit the island, instead of so doing, had hid themselves among the rocks on the sea-shore, waiting for an opportunity to wreak their vengeance on him; and as they were rowing along in their boat, they reached the mouth of the cavern in which he had left the body of Alonzo. Leaving their boat secured to a rock, they jumped on to the sand.“Ah, here is a secure place indeed, where we may remain concealed though all the people of the island were hunting for us, till an opportunity occurs for punishing our traitor Captain,” said Almagro, who was now chief of the band, and was afraid, should Alonzo return, of losing his authority.“It’s secure enough; but if the sea were to get up we should be caught, like mice in a trap,” observed Sancho, one of the lieutenants. “Why, where’s the boat?” As he spoke the boat drifted away from the cavern out of their reach.“What clumsy fellow pretended to secure the boat? Ah, see, the sea is already rising,” ejaculated Almagro, in a tone of horror.The pirates were now compelled to retire higher up the cavern. What was their astonishment when, as they reached the further end, they saw before them the very man they had been seeking, as they supposed fast asleep. Immediately they held consultation what should be done. Sancho, and some of the more merciful, were for binding him and carrying him off to their ship, but Almagro, who saw that thus his object would probably be defeated, was for destroying him while he slept. Several of the worst sided with him, and before Sancho could interfere, they sprang forward and plunged their daggers into Alonzo’s form. Scarcely had they done so, when loud peals of thunder echoed along the rocks, vivid lightning flashed from the skies, and the foaming waves rushed up into the cavern.In vain the guilty and affrighted pirates fled into the interior of the cave. The angry waters foamed up on every side. Shrieking they fled from rock to rock; still the waves rose higher and higher, and swept them far off into the boiling sea, while the dead body of Alonzo was carried away into the depths of the ocean.
It required but one day to complete the year since the Princess Serena first beheld Alonzo, when, as they sat in her bower, watching the blue tranquil sea in the distance, he folded her in his arms, and told her, with a voice of tenderness, that he must for a short time quit her. In vain she endeavoured to draw from him the reason of his intended absence. He assured her that it would be but for a few short hours, that he must go to a distant part of the island, and that he would faithfully return. She entreated to be allowed to accompany him, but to that he could not consent. Had he entrusted his awful secret to her, though it would have terrified her to find that she had got a Spirit for a husband, it might have been happier for him.
Every argument which the Princess could use was employed in vain to induce the seeming Alonzo to remain; far more powerful were the stern decrees of Neptune. Once more pressing her to his heart, he tore himself from her, and rushed out along the beach till the tall rocks hid him from her sight. The Princess remained bathed in tears, and overcome with grief and forebodings of evil.
Meantime Alonzo wandered along the shore in search of some sequestered cavern, where he might leave in security the mortal form he wore, while he repaired, according to his bounden duty, to Neptune’s conclave. For some time he could not satisfy himself, for he was naturally fearful of being disturbed or injured. Far, far better would it have been had he entrusted his body to the safe and loving care of the Princess. At last he discovered a cavern which could only be entered from the sea. Inside it there was a small extent of sand and several ledges of dry rock, to which the waters never reached. Nothing could be better suited to his purpose; so, standing at the mouth of the cave, he stretched out his hand over the sea, and uttered this potent spell:—
“Haste, wandering form,Dark mist o’er the main.From wind and from storm,I call thee again.I once bade thee retire,But now hither repair,Whether glowing in fire,Or sailing in air.Again this stern spell,Dark shape, thou must hear,Come, come, whence you dwell,Haste hither, appear!”
“Haste, wandering form,Dark mist o’er the main.From wind and from storm,I call thee again.I once bade thee retire,But now hither repair,Whether glowing in fire,Or sailing in air.Again this stern spell,Dark shape, thou must hear,Come, come, whence you dwell,Haste hither, appear!”
As he spoke a thick mist seemed to rise from the sea in the horizon, extending upward, and growing denser and denser, till it assumed the faint outlines of Borasco’s form. Then it glided forward, as if borne onward by a gentle wind, till it reached the mouth of the cavern. Meantime Alonzo placed himself on an upper ledge of the rock in an attitude of sleep, and forthwith his spirit passed into his proper form, from which an awful voice uttered these words:—
“Rest thee, mortal form, rest here,Till I once again appear.Cursed the hands that dare to smite thee,Or by injury to blight thee.Let with horror fate condemn them,And the raging seas o’erwhelm them.”
“Rest thee, mortal form, rest here,Till I once again appear.Cursed the hands that dare to smite thee,Or by injury to blight thee.Let with horror fate condemn them,And the raging seas o’erwhelm them.”
While he was thus speaking, Borasco glided over the sea till he disappeared in the far distance.
Now it happened, as we have said, that the pirates, whom Alonzo had ordered to quit the island, instead of so doing, had hid themselves among the rocks on the sea-shore, waiting for an opportunity to wreak their vengeance on him; and as they were rowing along in their boat, they reached the mouth of the cavern in which he had left the body of Alonzo. Leaving their boat secured to a rock, they jumped on to the sand.
“Ah, here is a secure place indeed, where we may remain concealed though all the people of the island were hunting for us, till an opportunity occurs for punishing our traitor Captain,” said Almagro, who was now chief of the band, and was afraid, should Alonzo return, of losing his authority.
“It’s secure enough; but if the sea were to get up we should be caught, like mice in a trap,” observed Sancho, one of the lieutenants. “Why, where’s the boat?” As he spoke the boat drifted away from the cavern out of their reach.
“What clumsy fellow pretended to secure the boat? Ah, see, the sea is already rising,” ejaculated Almagro, in a tone of horror.
The pirates were now compelled to retire higher up the cavern. What was their astonishment when, as they reached the further end, they saw before them the very man they had been seeking, as they supposed fast asleep. Immediately they held consultation what should be done. Sancho, and some of the more merciful, were for binding him and carrying him off to their ship, but Almagro, who saw that thus his object would probably be defeated, was for destroying him while he slept. Several of the worst sided with him, and before Sancho could interfere, they sprang forward and plunged their daggers into Alonzo’s form. Scarcely had they done so, when loud peals of thunder echoed along the rocks, vivid lightning flashed from the skies, and the foaming waves rushed up into the cavern.
In vain the guilty and affrighted pirates fled into the interior of the cave. The angry waters foamed up on every side. Shrieking they fled from rock to rock; still the waves rose higher and higher, and swept them far off into the boiling sea, while the dead body of Alonzo was carried away into the depths of the ocean.