Chapter XXII.
I reached without difficulty the opposite bank, but the steep wasinaccessible. I swam along the edge in hopes of meeting with someprojection or recess where I might, at least, rest my weary limbs, and,if it were necessary to recross the river, to lay in a stock ofrecruited spirits and strength for that purpose. I trusted that thewater would speedily become shoal, or that the steep would afford restto my feet. In both these hopes I was disappointed.
There is no one to whom I would yield the superiority in swimming; butmy strength, like that of other human beings, had its limits. Myprevious fatigues had been enormous, and my clothes, heavy withmoisture, greatly encumbered and retarded my movements. I had proposedto free myself from this imprisonment; but I foresaw the inconveniencesof wandering over this scene in absolute nakedness, and was willingtherefore, at whatever hazard, to retain them. I continued to strugglewith the current and to search for the means of scaling the steeps. Mysearch was fruitless, and I began to meditate the recrossing of theriver.
Surely my fate has never been paralleled! Where was this series ofhardships and perils to end? No sooner was one calamity eluded, than Iwas beset by another. I had emerged from abhorred darkness in the heartof the earth, only to endure the extremities of famine and encounter thefangs of a wild beast. From these I was delivered only to be thrown intothe midst of savages, to wage an endless and hopeless war with adepts inkilling, with appetites that longed to feast upon my bowels and to quaffmy heart's blood. From these likewise was I rescued, but merely toperish in the gulfs of the river, to welter on unvisited shores, or tobe washed far away from curiosity or pity.
Formerly water was not only my field of sport but my sofa and my bed. Icould float for hours on its surface, enjoying its delicious cool,almost without the expense of the slightest motion. It was an element asfitted for repose as for exercise; but now the buoyant spirit seemed tohave flown. My muscles were shrunk, the air and water were equallycongealed, and my most vehement exertions were requisite to sustain meon the surface.
At first I had moved along with my wonted celerity and ease, but quicklymy forces were exhausted. My pantings and efforts were augmented, and Isaw that to cross the river again was impracticable. I must continue,therefore, to search out some accessible spot in the bank along which Iwas swimming.
Each moment diminished my stock of strength, and it behooved me to makegood my footing before another minute should escape. I continued toswim, to survey the bank, and to make ineffectual attempts to grasp therock. The shrubs which grew upon it would not uphold me, and thefragments which, for a moment, inspired me with hope, crumbled away assoon as they were touched.
At length I noticed a pine which was rooted in a crevice near the water.The trunk, or any part of the root, was beyond my reach; but I trustedthat I could catch hold of the branch which hung lowest, and that, whencaught, it would assist me in gaining the trunk, and thus deliver mefrom the death which could not be otherwise averted.
The attempt was arduous. Had it been made when I first reached the bank,no difficulty had attended it; but now to throw myself some feet abovethe surface could scarcely be expected from one whose utmost effortsseemed to be demanded to keep him from sinking. Yet this exploit,arduous as it was, was attempted and accomplished. Happily the twigswere strong enough to sustain my weight till I caught at other branchesand finally placed myself upon the trunk.
This danger was now past; but I admitted the conviction that others, noless formidable, remained to be encountered, and that my ultimatedestiny was death. I looked upward. New efforts might enable me to gainthe summit of this steep, but perhaps I should thus be placed merely inthe situation from which I had just been delivered. It was of littlemoment whether the scene of my imprisonment was a dungeon not to bebroken, or a summit from which descent was impossible.
The river, indeed, severed me from a road which was level and safe, butmy recent dangers were remembered only to make me shudder at the thoughtof incurring them a second time by attempting to cross it. I blush atthe recollection of this cowardice. It was little akin to the spiritwhich I had recently displayed. It was, indeed, an alien to my bosom,and was quickly supplanted by intrepidity and perseverance.
I proceeded to mount the hill. From root to root, and from branch tobranch, lay my journey. It was finished, and I sat down upon the highestbrow to meditate on future trials. No road lay along this side of theriver. It was rugged and sterile, and farms were sparingly dispersedover it. To reach one of these was now the object of my wishes. I hadnot lost the desire of reaching Solesbury before morning, but my wetclothes and the coldness of the night seemed to have bereaved me of thepower.
I traversed this summit, keeping the river on my right hand. Happily,its declinations and ascents were by no means difficult, and I wascheered, in the midst of my vexations, by observing that every milebrought me nearer to my uncle's dwelling. Meanwhile I anxiously lookedfor some tokens of a habitation. These at length presented themselves. Awild heath, whistled over by October blasts, meagrely adorned with thedry stalks of scented shrubs and the bald heads of the sapless mullein,was succeeded by a fenced field and a corn-stack. The dwelling to whichthese belonged was eagerly sought.
I was not surprised that all voices were still and all lightsextinguished, for this was the hour of repose. Having reached a piazzabefore the house, I paused. Whether, at this drowsy time, to knock foradmission, to alarm the peaceful tenants and take from them the restwhich their daily toils and their rural innocence had made so sweet, orto retire to what shelter a haystack or barn could afford, was the themeof my deliberations.
Meanwhile, I looked up at the house. It was the model of cleanliness andcomfort. It was built of wood; but the materials had undergone theplane, as well as the axe and the saw. It was painted white, and thewindows not only had sashes, but these sashes were supplied, contrary tocustom, with glass. In most cases the aperture where glass should be isstuffed with an old hat or a petticoat. The door had not only all itsparts entire, but was embellished with mouldings and a pediment. Igathered from these tokens that this was the abode not only of ruralcompetence and innocence, but of some beings raised by education andfortune above the intellectual mediocrity of clowns.
Methought I could claim consanguity with such beings. Not to share theircharity and kindness would be inflicting as well as receiving injury.The trouble of affording shelter, and warmth, and wholesome diet, to awretch destitute as I was, would be eagerly sought by them.
Still, I was unwilling to disturb them. I bethought myself that theirkitchen might be entered, and all that my necessities required beobtained without interrupting their slumber. I needed nothing but thewarmth which their kitchen-hearth would afford. Stretched upon thebricks, I might dry my clothes, and perhaps enjoy some unmolested sleep,in spite of presages of ill and the horrid remembrances of what I hadperformed and endured. I believed that nature would afford a shortrespite to my cares.
I went to the door of what appeared to be a kitchen. The door was wideopen. This circumstance portended evil. Though it be not customary tolock or to bolt, it is still less usual to have entrances unclosed. Ientered with suspicious steps, and saw enough to confirm myapprehensions. Several pieces of wood, half burned, lay in the midst ofthe floor. They appeared to have been removed hither from the chimney,doubtless with a view to set fire to the whole building.
The fire had made some progress on the floor, but had been seasonablyextinguished by pailfuls of water thrown upon it. The floor was stilldeluged with wet: the pail, not emptied of all its contents, stood Uponthe hearth. The earthen vessels and plates, whose proper place was thedresser, were scattered in fragments in all parts of the room. I lookedaround me for some one to explain this scene, but no one appeared.
The last spark of fire was put out, so that, had my curiosity been idle,my purpose could not be accomplished. To retire from this scene, neithercuriosity nor benevolence would permit. That some mortal injury had beenintended was apparent. What greater mi
schief had befallen, or whethergreater might not, by my interposition, be averted, could only beascertained by penetrating farther into the house. I opened a door onone side which led to the main body of the building and entered to abed-chamber. I stood at the entrance and knocked, but no one answered mysignals.
The sky was not totally clouded, so that some light pervaded the room. Isaw that a bed stood in the corner, but whether occupied or not itscurtains hindered me from judging. I stood in suspense a few minutes,when a motion in the bed showed me that some one was there. I knockedagain, but withdrew to the outside of the door. This roused the sleeper,who, half groaning, and puffing the air through his nostrils, grumbledout, in the hoarsest voice that I ever heard, and in a tone of surlyimpatience, "Who is there?"
I hesitated for an answer; but the voice instantly continued, in themanner of one half asleep and enraged at being disturbed, "Is't you,Peg? Damn ye, stay away, now! I tell ye, stay away, or, by God, I willcut your throat!--I will!" He continued to mutter and swear, but withoutcoherence or distinctness.
These were the accents of drunkenness, and denoted a wild and ruffianlife. They were little in unison with the external appearances of themansion, and blasted all the hopes I had formed of meeting under thisroof with gentleness and hospitality. To talk with this being, toattempt to reason him into humanity and soberness, was useless. I was ata loss in what manner to address him, or whether it was proper tomaintain any parley. Meanwhile, my silence was supplied by thesuggestions of his own distempered fancy. "Ay," said he; "ye will, willye? Well, come on; let's see who's the better at the oak stick. If Ipart with ye before I have bared your bones!--I'll teach ye to be alwaysdipping in my dish, ye devil's dam ye."
So saying, he tumbled out of bed. At the first step, he struck his headagainst the bedpost, but, setting himself upright, he staggered towardsthe spot where I stood. Some new obstacle occurred. He stumbled and fellat his length upon the floor.
To encounter or expostulate with a man in this state was plainly absurd.I turned and issued forth, with an aching heart, into the court beforethe house. The miseries which a debauched husband or father inflictedupon all whom their evil destiny allies to him were pictured by myfancy, and wrung from me tears of anguish, These images, however,quickly yielded to reflections on my own state. No expedient nowremained but to seek the barn and find a covering and a bed of straw.
I had scarcely set foot within the barnyard when I heard a sound as ofthe crying of an infant. It appeared to issue from the barn. Iapproached softly and listened at the door. The cries of the babecontinued, but were accompanied by the entreaties of a nurse or a motherto be quiet. These entreaties were mingled with heart-breaking sobs, andexclamations of, "Ah, me, my babe! Canst thou not sleep and afford thyunhappy mother some peace? Thou art cold, and I have not sufficientwarmth to cherish thee! What will become of us? Thy deluded father caresnot if we both perish."
A glimpse of the true nature of the scene seemed to be imparted by thesewords. I now likewise recollected incidents that afforded additionallight. Somewhere on this bank of the river there formerly resided one byname Selby. He was an aged person, who united science and taste to thesimple and laborious habits of a husbandman. He had a son who residedseveral years in Europe, but on the death of his father returned home,accompanied by a wife. He had succeeded to the occupation of the farm,but rumour had whispered many tales to the disadvantage of his morals.His wife was affirmed to be of delicate and polished manners, and muchunlike her companion.
It now occurred to me that this was the dwelling of the Selbys, and Iseemed to have gained some insight into the discord and domesticmiseries by which the unhappy lady suffered. This was no time to wastemy sympathy on others. I could benefit her nothing. Selby had probablyreturned from a carousal, with all his malignant passions raised intofrenzy by intoxication. He had driven his desolate wife from her bed andhouse, and, to shun outrage and violence, she had fled, with herhelpless infant, to the barn. To appease his fury, to console her, tosuggest a remedy for this distress, was not in my power. To have soughtan interview would be merely to excite her terrors and alarm herdelicacy, without contributing to alleviate her calamity. Here, then,was no asylum for me. A place of rest must be sought at someneighbouring habitation. It was probable that one would be found at nogreat distance: the path that led from the spot where I stood, through agate, into a meadow, might conduct me to the nearest dwelling; and thispath I immediately resolved to explore.
I was anxious to open the gate without noise, but I could not succeed.Some creaking of its hinges was unavoidably produced, which I fearedwould be overheard by the lady and multiply her apprehensions andperplexities. This inconvenience was irremediable. I therefore closedthe gate and pursued the footway before me with the utmost expedition. Ihad not gained the farther end of the meadow when I lighted on somethingwhich lay across the path, and which, on being closely inspected,appeared to be a human body. It was the corpse of a girl, mangled by ahatchet. Her head, gory and deprived of its locks, easily explained thekind of enemies by whom she had been assailed. Here was proof that thisquiet and remote habitation had been visited, in their destructiveprogress, by the Indians. The girl had been slain by them, and herscalp, according to their savage custom, had been torn away to bepreserved as a trophy.
The fire which had been kindled on the kitchen-floor tvas nowremembered, and corroborated the inferences which were drawn from thisspectacle. And yet that the mischief had been thus limited, that thebesotted wretch who lay helpless on his bed and careless of impendingdanger, and that the mother and her infant, should escape, excited somedegree of surprise. Could the savages have been interrupted in theirwork, and obliged to leave their vengeance unfinished?
Their visit had been recent. Many hours had not elapsed since theyprowled about these grounds. Had they wholly disappeared, and meant theynot to return? To what new danger might I be exposed in remaining thusguideless and destitute of all defence?
In consequence of these reflections, I proceeded with more caution. Ilooked with suspicious glances before and on either side of me. I nowapproached the fence which, on this side, bounded the meadow. Somethingwas discerned, or imagined, stretched close to the fence, on the ground,and filling up the pathway. My apprehensions of a lurking enemy had beenpreviously awakened, and my fancy instantly figured to itself an armedman lying on the ground and waiting to assail the unsuspectingpassenger.
At first I was prompted to fly, but a second thought showed me that Ihad already approached near enough to be endangered. Notwithstanding mypause, the form was motionless. The possibility of being misled in myconjectures was easily supposed. What I saw might be a log, or it mightbe another victim to savage ferocity. This track was that which mysafety required me to pursue. To turn aside or go back would be merelyto bewilder myself anew.
Urged by these motives, I went nearer, and at last was close enough toperceive that the figure was human. He lay upon his face. Near his righthand was a musket, unclenched. This circumstance, his deathlikeattitude, and the garb and ornaments of an Indian, made me readilysuspect the nature and cause of this catastrophe. Here the invaders hadbeen encountered and repulsed, and one at least of their number had beenleft upon the field.
I was weary of contemplating these rueful objects. Custom, likewise,even in so short a period, had inured me to spectacles of horror. I wasgrown callous and immovable. I stayed not to ponder on the scene, but,snatching the musket, which was now without an owner, and which might beindispensable to my defence, I hastened into the wood. On this side themeadow was skirted by a forest; but a beaten road led into it, and mighttherefore be attempted without danger.