The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1846-05-07
Fl TEMPEST:
OR THE
COTTAGE OF THE CA
BY c. p. ILsLEY.

Tut tnat large lamp III 'ho
wife--it is a dismal night, and hard Will II
be for the poor sailor if he has no beacon
10 guide him through its darkness"
"Hard, indeed, James, unless the AL"
mighty should watch over him and guide
his vessel. Terrible-,errible storm i
may God have the poor seamen in his
keeping !" solemnIy calculated the wo-
man, as she hung a large, brilliant lamp
ia the window of the cottage facing the
sea.
':Amen amen p was the hearty re-
Spouse of her husband.
AT the time Of which we are writing,
light houses were not so plenty as at pres
ent. Beacon light It's are now cleaning all
along our coasts so that the mariner pro-
ceeds on his course in the night-season
with as much safety, nearly as he does in
the day time. Then, rarely was the sal.
lor blessed with the sight Of a " Eight"
and il was the custom of those who lived
by the sea side, when the night was un-
usually dark, or stormy, TO put a bright
light il their window facing the sea, in
case any vessel should be passing -
Where now the revolving-the colored,
and the double flights" are seen, d..
recting the mariner which way lies his
course, and warning him of dangerous
points and sunken ledge., then a few scat
tered house lamps gave forth their feeble
rays, which were rarely seen in the dis.
tance in nights when the atmosphere was
thick.
James Richards lived on Cape ******'.
His house, a neat one story building, was
situated on the furthermost part ofthe cape
towards the sea. He was an old sailor,
and had followed the sea until he was
three score years of age, when he bought
this spot and built him a house. II was
a dangerous part Of her coast, and there
was one great reason, he said, why he
settled there. "For he meant to keep a
bright light burning in a dark night to
light his brother ,ars' on their way
And so he did while he lived, insomuch,
that Richards light" was proverbial
for being the brightest and the most con-
slant Of any along the shore. Another
reason why be liked the place was, he had
so long, he said, been used to the roar OF
the sea, that he was like a child who could
not sleep unless its accustomed lullaby
was sounded in its ears-and here the sea
kept up a perpetua! roar. 1t was never
so calm that the surf did not give on, its
sullen echo. But when the storm had
stirred up the deep, and the wind came
from seward, hen did the lashing of the
waves against the rocks come like full
thunder 10 your ears. And then would
the look Of anxiety be visible upon the
features Of the old sailor, as he sa, in his
chair listening TO the dash Of the spray,
forced by The high winds hard against the
side Of his dwelling ; and then, too, would
the we'll trimmed-lamp send from his win.
dow its brightest rays, which, il they b"n>
Gifted no one, showed the benevolen. and
good heart OF the old man.
Richards family consisted Of himself,
wife and two sons. the eldest thirty, and
the youngest twenty-five years of age
"And smart. active boys they arc, too,''
the old man would say, "as any about
these parts. Show inc one stronger at the
oar than John. or quick ar at the line than
Samuel For catching fish, I'll put them
two boys agin any the Cape can produce;
aud for cleaning 'em, Sam S'cSbins is no
touch to lheml
In truth, this was not all a parents
boast; for John and Sam Richards were
noted, from ***' Island to Cape **+****,
for being the smartest hands at an oar or
line of any in that nelghborhood and this
was no mean praise in those days.
Frh- oG.nocn 81 ,ho Ia, ~, ,nL:ob
our story opens had been Iowery aud ap.
pearances belokcned d tempest. The Two
young men had been absent about a week
on a fishing cruise. They were therefore
anxiously looked for all the afternoon by
their parents more especially ashley had
then outstaid their usual lime of absence.
As the day wore away, and the appear
ances OF a storm increased, the mothers
fears arose proportionally; although the
father was TOO much of a sailor 10 be
frig htened, as he expressed himself at a
black cloud. However, as the day drew
near its close, and the wind began TO in
crease, the old man became uneasy, and
his eye was directed ofiener than usual
seaward. The sun went down luridly in
The west, and the large waves began 10
heave in with their feathery tops. The
old man left the house and proceeded to
the shore. There was a smooth sandy
cove which made a snug lite harbor but
save this, the Cape was lined with high
rugged and shelving rocks. Mr.. Rich.
ards seated himself on the highest emin-
%ence--" Broadslone,' it is called, directs
ly on the pitch Of the C'pe, from whence
he could overlook the sen at all points.
Here as he sat gazing off, he would
mutter to himself
al don't like that white streak in the
east ; it is a weather liter and BODIES no
good and the scud there in the South
looks badly skinming over the water al
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