Elizabeth-Town gazette. [volume] (Elizabeth-Town, N.J.) 1818-1821, 1819-08-31

hVe years, spent IN uDlDtefmlttlng toll IN
a foreign land, TO which bad been driven
by singular fatality. Our voyage had
been most cheerful aud prosperous, and
on Christmas day we were within fifty
leagues ofport. Passengers and crew were
all in the highest spirits, and the ship was
alive with mirth and joIIiiy. For my own
part | was the very happiest man in ex-
istence. / had been unexpectedly raised
from poverty TO affluence-my parents
we're longing once more to behold their err
ing but beloved son, and knew that there
was one dearer even than any parent, who
had remained faithful 10 me through alt
my misfortunes, and would soon become
mine for life.
About eight o'clock in the evening,
went on deck. The ship was sailing upon
a Wild, at the rate of seven knots an hour,
and there was wild grandeur in the
night. A strong snow storm blew steadily
and without danger; and now and then.
when the struggling moonlight overcame
the sleepy and misty. darkness, we saw,
for some distance abound US, the agitated
sea all tumbIing VIII loan. There were
90 shoals to fear, - le ship kept boldly
on her course, close feefed, and mistress
of the storm. Ieant over the gunwale
admiring the water rushing past like a
ioaming cataract, when. by some unac-
coun,ahle accident | lost my balance, and
in an instant fell overheard imo the sea.
/ remember convulsive shuddering all
ever my body, and hurried leaping Of
NY heart, as felt myself about to lose
hold of the vessel, and afterwards sen.
sation Of the most icy chiIlness from the
immersion in the waves-but nothing re-
semblipg fall or precipitation. When
below the water think that momentary
belief rushed across my mind that the ship
had suddenly sunk, and that was one Of
a perishing crew. | imagined | felt a
hand with long fingers clutching at my
legs, aud made violent efforts 10 escape,
dragging after me, as thought, the body
of some drowning wretch. 90 rising to
the surface | recolIected in moment
what had befallen me, and uttered cry
OF horror which is IN my ears to this very.
day, and often makes me shudder as if il
were the mad shrek of another person IN
the extremity Of perilous agony. Often
aaye dreamed over again that dire me-
ment, and the cry that | uttered in my
sleep-is said te he something moro horrible
than human voice. No ship was to be
seen. She was gone for ever. The little
happy world to which moment before
had belonged, had swept by, and I fell
that God had flung me at once from the
heart Of joy, delight and happiness, into
the uttermost abyss of mortal misery and
despair. Yes, l felt that the Almighty
God had done this, that there was an act,
a fearful act of Providence; and misera-
Bile worm that was thought the act was
cruel, and sort of wild indefinite OBJ
jectless rage and wrath assailed me, and
took for a while the place of that first
terror / CRASHED my teeth,
and cursed myself, and with bitter tears
and yells blasphemed the name of God.
God forgave thai wickedness. The being
whom I then cursed was in his tender
mercy not unmindful of me, of me poor
blind miserable mistaken worm-but the
waves dashed on ME, and struck me on
the face, aud howled at me and the
winds yelled, and the snow beat like
drifting sand into my eyes-and the ship,
the ship was gone, and there was left TO
struggle, and buffet, and gasp and sink,
and perish, alone, unseen aud unpitied by
man, and as | thought too, by the ever
lasting God. | tried to penetrate the sur
rounding darkness with my glariug eyes
that felt leaping from their sockets, and
saw as if by miraculous power to a great
distance through the night-but no ship
nothing but white crested waves and the
dismal noise Of thupder. shouted, shrek
ed aud yelled, that might be heard by
the crew, till my voice was gone, and that
too when / knew there was none to hear
me. AT last became utterly speechless.
and when | tried to call aloud there was
nothing but silent gasp and CONFUSION
while the waves came upon me like
stunning blows, reiterated and reiteratiug,
aud drove me along like log OF wood or
dead animal.
Once l muttered to myself, " this is a
dream, aud shall awake" had often
before dreamed Of being drowned, and this
idea Of its being dream SO pressed upon
me, that vainly stroye TO shrek out that
the noise might awaken me. But oh the
n 4
hope of its being dreadful dream, into
the conviction of its reality! That indeed
il was something more hideous than fan
a,ic's thought of hell. All at once felt
my Utmost soul throttled, strangIed, and
stiGed, by an insupportable fear Of death.
That death, which to my imagination had
ever appeared the most hideous, and Of
which l had often dreamed till the drops
fell down my forehead like rain, had now