CHAPTER II.
On and on, and on I rowed until the shore and my late companions werelost in the gloomy distance. On and on, and still on, until fatiguedalmost to exhaustion; and still, no land. A feeling of uncontrollablelonesomeness took possession of me. Silence reigned supreme. No soundgreeted me save the swirl of the gently undulating waters against theboat, and the melancholy dip of the oars. Overhead, the familiar eyes ofnight were all that pierced the gloom that seemed to hedge me in. Myfeeling of distress increased when I discovered that my boat had strucka current and was beyond my control. Visions of a cataract andinevitable death instantly shot across my mind. Made passive by intensedespair, I laid down in the bottom of the boat, to let myself drift intowhatever fate was awaiting me.
I must have lain there many hours before I realized that I was travelingin a circle. The velocity of the current had increased, but notsufficiently to insure immediately destruction. Hope began to revive,and I sat up and looked about me with renewed courage. Directly beforeme rose a column of mist, so thin that I could see through it, and ofthe most delicate tint of green. As I gazed, it spread into a curtainthat appeared to be suspended in mid-air, and began to sway gently backand forth, as if impelled by a slight breeze, while sparks of fire, likecountless swarms of fire-flies, darted through it and blazed out into athousand brilliant hues and flakes of color that chased one anotheracross and danced merrily up and down with bewildering swiftness.Suddenly it drew together in a single fold, a rope of yellow mist, theninstantly shook itself out again as a curtain of rainbows fringed withflame. Myriads of tassels, composed of threads of fire, began to darthither and thither through it, while the rainbow stripes deepened in hueuntil they looked like gorgeous ribbons glowing with intensest radiance,yet softened by that delicate misty appearance which is a specialquality of all atmospheric color, and which no pencil can paint, nor themost eloquent tongue adequately describe.
The swaying motion continued. Sometimes the curtain approached nearenough, apparently, to flaunt its fiery fringe almost within my grasp.It hung one instant in all its marvelous splendor of colors, thensuddenly rushed into a compact mass, and shot across the zenith, an arcof crimson fire that lit up the gloomy waters with a weird, unearthlyglare. It faded quickly, and appeared to settle upon the water again ina circular wall of amber mist, round which the current was hurrying mewith rapidly increasing speed. I saw, with alarm, that the circles werenarrowing A whirlpool was my instant conjecture, and I laid myself downin the boat, again expecting every moment to be swept into a seethingabyss of waters. The spray dashed into my face as the boat plungedforward with frightful swiftness. A semi-stupor, born of exhaustion andterror, seized me in its merciful embrace.
It must have been many hours that I lay thus. I have a dim recollectionof my boat going on and on, its speed gradually decreasing, until I wasamazed to perceive that it had ceased its onward motion and was gentlyrocking on quiet waters. I opened my eyes. A rosy light, like the firstblush of a new day, permeated the atmosphere. I sat up and looked aboutme. A circular wall of pale amber mist rose behind me; the shores of anew and beautiful country stretched before. Toward them, I guided myboat with reviving hope and strength.
I entered a broad river, whose current was from the sea, and let myselfdrift along its banks in bewildered delight. The sky appeared bluer, andthe air balmier than even that of Italy's favored clime. The turf thatcovered the banks was smooth and fine, like a carpet of rich greenvelvet. The fragrance of tempting fruit was wafted by the zephyrs fromnumerous orchards. Birds of bright plumage flitted among the branches,anon breaking forth into wild and exultant melody, as if they rejoicedto be in so favored a clime.
And truly it seemed a land of enchantment. The atmosphere had a peculiartransparency, seemingly to bring out clearly objects at a greatdistance, yet veiling the far horizon in a haze of gold and purple.Overhead, clouds of the most gorgeous hues, like precious gems convertedinto vapor, floated in a sky of the serenest azure. The languorousatmosphere, the beauty of the heavens, the inviting shores, produced inme a feeling of contentment not easily described. To add to my sensesanother enjoyment, my ears were greeted with sounds of sweet music, inwhich I detected the mingling of human voices.
I wondered if I had really drifted into an enchanted country, such as Ihad read about in the fairy books of my childhood.
The music grew louder, yet wondrously sweet, and a large pleasure boat,shaped like a fish, glided into view. Its scales glittered like gems asit moved gracefully and noiselessly through the water. Its occupantswere all young girls of the highest type of blonde beauty. It was theirsoft voices, accompanied by some peculiar stringed instruments theycarried, that had produced the music I had heard. They appeared toregard me with curiosity, not unmixed with distrust, for their boatswept aside to give me a wide berth.
I uncovered my head, shook down my long black hair, and falling upon myknees, lifted my hands in supplication. My plea was apparentlyunderstood, for turning their boat around, they motioned me to followthem. This I did with difficulty, for I was weak, and their boat movedwith a swiftness and ease that astonished me. What surprised me most wasits lack of noise.
As I watched its beautiful occupants dressed in rich garments, adornedwith rare and costly gems, and noted the noiseless, gliding swiftness oftheir boat, an uncomfortable feeling of mystery began to invade my mind,as though I really had chanced upon enchanted territory.
As we glided along, I began to be impressed by the weird stillness. Nosound greeted me from the ripening orchards, save the carol of birds;from the fields came no note of harvest labor. No animals were visible,nor sound of any. No hum of life. All nature lay asleep in voluptuousbeauty, veiled in a glorious atmosphere. Everything wore a dreamy look.The breeze had a loving, lingering touch, not unlike to the IndianSummer of North America. But no Indian Summer ever knew that dark greenverdure, like the first robe of spring. Wherever the eye turned it metsomething charming in cloud, or sky, or water, or vegetation. Everythinghad felt the magical touch of beauty.
On the right, the horizon was bounded by a chain of mountains, thatplainly showed their bases above the glowing orchards and verdantlandscapes. It impressed me as peculiar, that everything appeared torise as it gained in distance. At last the pleasure boat halted at aflight of marble steps that touched the water. Ascending these, I gainedan eminence where a scene of surpassing beauty and grandeur lay spreadbefore me. Far, far as the eye could follow it, stretched the statelysplendor of a mighty city. But all the buildings were detached andsurrounded by lawns and shade trees, their white marble and gray granitewalls gleaming through the green foliage.
Upon the lawn, directly before us, a number of most beautiful girls haddisposed themselves at various occupations. Some were reading, somesketching, and some at various kinds of needlework. I noticed that theywere all blondes. I could not determine whether their language possesseda peculiarly soft accent, or whether it was an unusual melody of voicethat made their conversation as musical to the ear as the love notes ofsome amorous wood bird to its mate.
A large building of white marble crowned a slight eminence behind them.Its porticos were supported upon the hands of colossal statues of women,carved out of white marble with exquisite art and beauty. Shade trees ofa feathery foliage, like plumes of finest moss, guarded the entrance andafforded homes for brilliant-plumaged birds that flew about the porticosand alighted on the hands and shoulders of the ladies without fear. Someof the trees had a smooth, straight trunk and flat top, bearing astriking resemblance to a Chinese umbrella. On either side of themarble-paved entrance were huge fountains that threw upward a column ofwater a hundred feet in height, which, dissolving into spray, fell intoimmense basins of clearest crystal. Below the rim of these basins, butcovered with the crystal, as with a delicate film of ice, was a wreathof blood red roses, that looked as though they had just been pluckedfrom the stems and placed there for a temporary ornament. I afterwardlearned that it was the work of an artist, and durable as grani
te.
I supposed I had arrived at a female seminary, as not a man, or thesuggestion of one, was to be seen. If it were a seminary, it was for thewealth of the land, as house, grounds, adornments, and the ladies'attire were rich and elegant.
I stood apart from the groups of beautiful creatures like the genus ofanother race, enveloped in garments of fur that had seen much service. Ipresented a marked contrast. The evident culture, refinement, andgentleness of the ladies, banished any fear I might have entertained asto the treatment I should receive. But a singular silence that pervadedeverything impressed me painfully. I stood upon the uplifted verge of animmense city, but from its broad streets came no sound of traffic, norattle of wheels, no hum of life. Its marble homes of opulence shonewhite and grand through mossy foliage; from innumerable parks thefountains sparkled and statues gleamed like rare gems upon a costlyrobe; but over all a silence, as of death, reigned unbroken. The awe andthe mystery of it pressed heavily upon my spirit, but I could not refuseto obey when a lady stepped out of the group, that had doubtless beendiscussing me, and motioned me to follow her.
She led me through the main entrance into a lofty hall that extendedthrough the entire building, and consisted of a number of grand archesrepresenting scenes in high relief of the finest sculpture. We entered amagnificent salon, where a large assembly of ladies regarded me withunmistakable astonishment. Every one of them was a blonde. I waspresented to one, whom I instantly took to be the Lady Superior of theCollege, for I had now settled it in my mind that I was in a femaleseminary, albeit one of unheard of luxury in its appointments.
The lady had a remarkable majesty of demeanor, and a noble countenance.Her hair was white with age, but over her features, the rosy bloom ofyouth still lingered, as if loth to depart. She looked at me kindly andcritically, but not with as much surprise as the others had evinced. Imay here remark that I am a brunette. My guide, having apparentlyreceived some instruction in regard to me, led me upstairs into aprivate apartment. She placed before me a complete outfit of femalewearing apparel, and informed me by signs that I was to put it on. Shethen retired. The apartment was sumptuously furnished in twocolors--amber and lazulite. A bath-room adjoining had a beautifulporcelain tank with scented water, that produced a delightful feeling ofexhilaration.
Having donned my new attire, I descended the stairs and met my guide,who conducted me into a spacious dining-room. The walls were adornedwith paintings, principally of fruit and flowers. A large and superbpicture of a sylvan dell in the side of a rock, was one exception. Itsdeep, cool shadows, and the pellucid water, which a wandering sunbeamaccidentally revealed, were strikingly realistic. Nearly all of thepictures were upon panels of crystal that were set in the wall. Thelight shining through them gave them an exceedingly natural effect. Onepicture that I especially admired, was of a grape vine twining aroundthe body and trunk of an old tree. It was inside of the crystal panel,and looked so natural that I imagined I could see its leaves andtendrils sway in the wind. The occupants of the dining-room were allladies, and again I noted the fact that they were all blondes:beautiful, graceful, courteous, and with voices softer and sweeter thanthe strains of an eolian harp.
The table, in its arrangement and decoration, was the most beautifulone I had ever seen. The white linen cloth resembled brocaded satin. Theknives and forks were gold, with handles of solid amber. The dishes wereof the finest porcelain. Some of them, particularly the fruit stands,looked as though composed of hoar frost. Many of the fruit stands wereof gold filigree work. They attracted my notice at once, not so much onaccount of the exquisite workmanship and unique design of the dishes, asthe wonderful fruit they contained. One stand, that resembled a hugeAfrican lily in design, contained several varieties of plums, as largeas hen's eggs, and transparent. They were yellow, blue and red. Thecentre of the table was occupied by a fruit stand of larger size thanthe others. It looked like a boat of sea foam fringed with gold moss.Over its outer edge hung clusters of grapes of a rich wine color, andclear as amethysts. The second row looked like globes of honey, the nextwere of a pale, rose color, and the top of the pyramid was composed ofwhite ones, the color and transparency of dew.
The fruit looked so beautiful. I thought it would be a sacrilege todestroy the charm it had for the eye; but when I saw it removed by pinktipped fingers, whose beauty no art could represent, and saw itdisappear within such tempting lips. I thought the feaster worthy of thefeast. Fruit appeared to be the principal part of their diet, and wasserved in its natural state. I was, however, supplied with somethingthat resembled beefsteak of a very fine quality. I afterward learnedthat it was chemically prepared meat. At the close of the meal, a cupwas handed me that looked like the half of a soap bubble with all itsiridescent beauty sparkling and glancing in the light. It contained abeverage that resembled chocolate, but whose flavor could not have beensurpassed by the fabled nectar of the gods.