Literary cadet, and Saturday evening bulletin. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1826-1827, 1826-10-07
ORIGINAL STORY.
FOR THE LITERARY CADET.
THE MYSTERIOUS VISITORS,
LEGENDARY TALE,
Ry RICHARD Nj. STOCKTON,

And whence is that sound that breaks on his ears
IT'S the ghnngs red glare, flashing Hell from the sky,
'Ts the ashng of thunders the groans ofthe spheres.
Dimond's Sailor Boys Dream.
The night had already far advanced, and the roll
ing of distant thunder warned the Bishop ofthe APP
proacb of tornado, aud ofthe necessity Of his cross
ing the bay, ere the warning elements should con-
yulse the bosom of the deep, and" swallow naviss-
ton up" Reluctantly he receded from the spot,
rendered doubly interesting by the melancholy
spectacle it presented, and the singular incidents
with which its former history was associated. Yes
| will retire." exclaimed the Bishop, "but ere bid
an eternal farewell to these shades and &c these
uloorands and brakes, | will, through the Provi-
dence Of God, unfahom the mystery which sur
rounds the history the once happy inmates of this
little cottage" A sigh OF dependency burst from
the bosom OF the good Bishop, as he "cast u long
ing, lingering look behind" and tear involuntari-
ly started from his full blue eye that faithful and
unerriug index Of the soul. farewell, sacred
spot" he cried, 4" dear to me- for it was once the
abiding place of all that was lovely good and vir-
tuous--the hapless Maria Angelica" lie had now
reached the strand, and the rolling blows as they
, dashed upon the rocks, were not more tunultuous
than the bosom of the Bishop. Scarcely had be en-
terod his gondoa when the wild blasts Of the tor
nado began TO spend their fury on the bay, and yet
the Bishop needed them not; for his mind was ab
sor5ed in meditation and swiftly before the gale,
he gided over the vast blue waters Of the tursid
| deep, whose billows foamed and madly roared
around him. The thunder rolled, the vivid light
nings flashed, and the wild Winds Of Heaven whis-
tied terricly, the mariner. dirge leech through the
sheets and lines Of the little barque. Now The frail
craft mounted the utmost summit Of The yesty wave,
and now il plunged again down to the intervening
abyss, as III were seeking its own destruc,ion--
The venerable prelate, who had become awakened
to partial Of his situation, sat undismayed
on the quarter of the Prov, and as the ightnipgs
threw their sulphurous flame, Of liquid light,
! upon his vision, he beheld without emotion the
death that awaited him. The whole Of the
| adjacent coast presented a most appalling as
| pec and as far as the eve could extend, nothing
was to be seen but the foam of the warning surges
that lashed the shore. The Bishop uttered an in
voluntary exclamation, the glare of Heavens red
artillery displayed the danger that surrounded him;
and for moment he trembled for his safety. But
his was not mind that could be shaken, and his
faith in the goodness of the Creator, and his conf
dence in his strength, supported him in an hour
of so much trbulaton. "War on, ye angry ele-
mepts," he cried as he barred his bosom to the tenn
pest "for ye cannot dismay me; and though ye may
hurl ruin and perdition on my head,ye cannot de-
rrive mo Of the smiles Of my Creator-the Paradise
| of Heaven-for 81 knom that my redeemer liveth."
The tornado had not yet discharged itself; its
force seemed to increase, as the Bishop neared the
strand destined to receive him, either corpse
! as a living mortal. He had already discovered by
the lightninss light, the rugged point adjacent to
his mansion and which he must needs double to
approach the shore with safety. He had reeled his
sail, and was in the act oflaying his gondoa upon
the wind, when sudden blast laid her PROSTATE up
on the bosom of the waters Of the bay. He clung
| to the bottom Of the vessel expecting each moment
to be engulphed in the bosom of the deep, when a
voice. as the wind for a moment lulled its vio-
lence was heard to excl.im, "fear not father Bsb-
op, be of good cheer; thou shalt be saved; thou
shalt not perish, though the tempest be dire, and
the storm spend upon thee all of its force."-
|
from whence the words Of consolation proceed
cd, when, on the point of linty rock, which por-
tracted itself some distance to the sea, he behed a
female figure, who ever and anon waved to him her
lily hand, and seemed beckonng him to approach
the rock on which she seated. The Bishop
| though he knew not that she was not some spirit
Internal, nympb, or water spright, would glad
ly have complied with her Wishes but it was toe
late-he could not do His shallop, already
water logged, set control at defiance, and was, by
the natural set Of the current, rapidly nearing the
neighboring cliffs, against which, ifshs struck ruin
certain, and IRENE liable awaited her. The figure
discovering that the Bishop could not reach the
point proposed, left her seat, and bounded to the
cliff, towards which the Bishops shallop was pro-
ceeding-it was the lovely, the faithful Maria
Angelica. Her form never appeared more lovely;
and there was degree of witchery about her per-
son which the Bishop had not before noticed. Her
long flowing tresses, waved loosely in the wind;
her neatly adjusted sttire,-her robes Of innocence
fitted before the tornados blasts; and her whole
appearance was that Of lovsliness, virtue and fe-