The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1858-05-27

They dared not, on such a night as this, how
ever, take the shortest way, which lay across
the Down, and had been much delayed, 80 that
| the light in the little room was quenched, and
| the hut itself far out to sea, when they arrived;
but they were in time TO assist in bringing
Phoebe up the cliff. We heard nothing of then
uatil the party were in the little hall, and at
the parlor dcor-all safe.
will tell you one thing more of Charley, to
prove to You how brave boy he was.
One of his chief pleasures was to Din the
fisher lads in their perilous expeditions, after
the nests Of the eider-ducs, and for the eggs of
other sea fowl. With the aid Of an iron bar
and rope, he would swing himself over the
face of the steepest cliffs, and into caverns
which one would have thought no creature
could have entered save with wings.
Upon one occasion, he went Out with another
youth, with only one strong rope between them,
and, instead of one remairng above the preci
pice while the other went below, they thought
it would be excellent fun to GO down together
They chose, too for this am uss,nent, one OF the
Hottest and less frequented cliffs of sll, midway
in which, however, they had seen from their
boat, once, a great cave, much haunted by the
sea fowl.
Trey fixed their bar 6rmer than usual, and
| took to tterope together, the fisher LAD being
|
with the sea four hundred feet beneath them,
IS town bred lads would laugh and chatter in q
swing but they found it by no means easy to
reach the cavern with their double Load being
afraid to make pendulum Of the rope, for fear
| it should wear away from the increased friction
at the summit
At last, the boy beneath obtained footing,
and held the rope fast while Charles slid off
into the hole. But attracted by the cry which
the latter raised at sight of the myrisds of nests
which lay within, and confused, perhaps, be
sides, with the swinging, the fisher lad let the
rope slip through his fngers; once only it
swung within distance, bat in his agitation he
made a futile grasp at it,, and after one or two
vibrations, succeeding one another more rapid
| ly than / can write of them, the two boys were
left in their living tomb, with the means of es-
cape indeed within sight, but only to tgntalize
them with it's proximity seven or eight feet of
fathomless space lay between them and it-a
situation to them, who well understood it, more
awfully perilous even than it seems. No yea
| sci ever came near enough, on account of the
breakers, to see any signal such as they could
mako from the sea they had left no word at
home of whereabouts they were going and,
even should they be found, it was very lmprob.
able that means could be devised for their
rescue, while they had still the strength and
spirit to take advantage Of them. The boys
looked at one another in blank dismay, as they
thought of all these things.
My poor, dear mother" sold the fisher lad,
with groan, for he was her only hope.
Surprising one dropped" asked Charles,
lthoughtfully, after few moments, would this
| tide carry one for certain on to shore in the
| fshirg bay ?"
"Yes," said the other, q and within the next
hour, to q certainty, but it would be only as a
dead corpse Master Charles"
Sod alone knows that quoth Charley; "we
must trust in him."
| He wrote down upon a slip of paper (which
| now po sess, With the writing just little,
very little shaken, poor fellow, when it gets to
the last messagel some such words as thess;
"Robert Hs:.is is ia the CULTS Fo!e upon
Walden Cliff; he has lost held of the rope,
and must have hel at ence. My dearest love
to all CT home. CHARLEY"
He put this up in his case bottle, taking the
| cup off at the bottom, so that the writing might
be seen at once through the glass, and button
ed it up in his coat pocket.
| any people are richer than yours, Bob, and
can better spare me-" said he. Il am goirg
to leap at the rope, old fellow; let US shake
hands,"
The lad tried to persuade him not to risk it.
desperate. But
Don't unnervs me, Bob" was the simple
heroic answer once, twice, thrice, and here
goes"
| The other hid his facelwhile the spring was
taken. listeping for the farof splash, perhaps,
that should tell him his friend was dead, who
had spoken to him the instant before. But
when n. looked up, our Charley was holding
well OF to the rope, only be YVES deadly pale.
He rot to the cave again in safety, ard the
two rescued lsds came up to life again, with
their pockets stuffed with ider down.
Charles was brave boy-his widowed moth
er's darling and NINE in whose care she left
4 him, and beloved By all lie did not know her
long, but loved her dearly, IND had the stranqes;
thoughts about her Away. He thought that
she was near to him, and, 5pou the eve Of any
| special peril, lac seemed Il grow conscious Of
her presence. The night 5efore be left ne, as
we wandered in and out tie rocks by the sea
shore, and around the lesfI paths that thread
the copse, and up and dotn the level sands, all
grown 80 doubly dear to b N at parting, he was
full of this. Perhaps it wa but natural, having
dwelt so long upon the happy pact, and stroke by
stroke together retorche6 many picture hang
| ing dim enough in the Ion : gallery of memory,
that we should come at ~ to her. WIKI our
| eyes upon that boundless lsorld OF waters, dark
ening as the night drew on, with that whisper
of eternity breaking softlt on our care, alone
and in that beautiful spot j, was natural, | say
| that we should speak of tie beloved dead.
another HE called ne "mother," even
then" she is listening te US low" he said ~
shall see her in my drtlms tonight; she is
quite close to u.s." ..
begged him not to ia thus, aud reminded
him that it was time to sswi,hin.
"Nay" said ne, "hst let US once more
climb the Down."
! SO we toiled up the steep behind us in 81
lence, under the innumersble glars.
g See you" said be, wren we had reached
the summit, "yon steadf,st lights on ocean
There rides mighty fee, the guardian angels
OF our land, and all night long they keep strict
) watch and ward becausee of US. There were
they still, though hid frop view, until we gain
ed the headland, and the'ii will they be when
, we descend again. SO is, as / think, with
some of Us few souls '=t have some spirit
, watching over them, a. sough unseen, save,
} happy, when more sn common danger
threatens, when heavenlyStoops to earthly. and
the feet sails round to US"
|, do not mention this because think such a
belief was to Charless crefit-for believe il to
be false and weak one-s.but to prove that he
was no mere sapphire ga herer aud pillager of
gulls' nests, youth Of nSSves aud sinews only.
! Had he been so, would Jasuet, the enthusiastic.
the poetess, have ever LOVED him 60 dearly ss
she did Would gentle Ajice, for whom have
heard him weave full msr,s fairy tale? Would
Herby, whose young heae he filled with visions
of tilt and tourney?
1t was terrible, the PAIRING from q lad like
this but he thought the = usabad appointment
was too good to let slip, fYf our sakes, although,