Delaware inquirer. (Wilmington, Del.) 1859-18??, 1859-05-07
THE FIEND'S FISHPOND.

1885, the city of Bilboa, in northern SPAN
then held by strong garrison of the Christine
troops, was invested by the Carlist force
under the immediate command of the cele
brated Thomas Zumalacarregui. The queen'i
troops were well supplied with provisions
arms, and all the munitions of war, and en-
ioyed, besides, an uninterrupted commuIhoa
tion with the sea, which was little more thar
four miles distant, by the river Nervi0n, OF
the banks of which Bilboa is situated Will,
the appointments of the besieging army wert
so utterly wretched in every particular, that
nothing but the strongly urged personal re-
quest of Don Carlos himself induced zumala-
carregui, much against the dictates of his owl
better Judgment, to enter on the task at all.
The feeble operations of the besieging force
had proceeded for about ten days-Iumala
carregui having been removed to distance,
in consequence of wound received on the
second day of the siege. which ultimately
caused his death-when, an hour after night
fall, young man enveloped in a large cloak,
underneath which he wore the uniform of a
Carlist officer, entered the grounds adjoining
an elegant mansion situated close to the sea
shore on the opposite bank of the river to
that occupied by the forces of Don Carlos.
The officer was the only son, indeed the only
child, of Don Ricardo Silva, the proprietor Of
L0h mouse dllu HTOuIiun. Ahb thC DiCbhiib Vue
of the civil war, he had taken up arms as a
volunteer of the Carlist cause, and at an early
period had been rewarded for his gallantry
and zeal with a commission. From that time
circumstances had not permitted him to re-
visit his parental home until now, when the
regiment to which he was attached forming a
part of the force investing Bilboa, he gladly
ayailed himself of what he deemed a favora-
BILE opportunity for that purpose. Before
leaving the Carlist camp, he made inquiry OF
a soldier named Mulrito, serving in the ranks
of his own battallion-who had deserted from
the Christine garrison at the commencement
of the seige, and who might be supposed to
be tolorably well acquainted with the habits
of the queens troops in the locality-as to
the danger he was likely to incur of falling in
with any of them on that side of the river,
which was occupied by them exclusively.
The man assured him that, even previous to
the investment of the place, the troops were
not allowed to remain without the gates after
sunset on any pretext; and that he might
proceed after that Aa,aE 70 hits fathers resi-,
eience, and return in perfect safety, provided
his stay was not prolonged beyond sunrise
on the following morning. Relying on his
assurances, therefore, Lieutenant Silva had
proceeded on foot along the river on that
side occupied by the Carlists, until he had
arrived opposite his fathers mansion, when,
hailing a fisherman, he was ferried across,
and in few minutes more was sheltered
beneath the parental roof.
On the warmth of the greeting which well
coined him, after an absence of years, during
which he had been exposed to all the vicissi-
tudes of cruel and DISCRIMINATING warfare,
we need not dwell. Under such circumstan-
ces, it will be readily conceived that by the
little party, composed of the young man and
his parents, the lapse of time was unheeded !;
minutes and hours flew swiftly by. Midnight
had long been past (; but as the lieutenant
proposed starting on his return by daybreak,
beyond which time it would be imprudent for
him to remain on the Christine side of the
river none thought of retiring to rest. 1t
wanted still some hours of dawn, when during
a momentary pause in the conversation, a
distant tinkling sound, borne on the night
wind caused the youth to start from his seat
and throw open the easement, which looked
upon the lawn in front of the mansion. A
of breathless suspense followed, then
a freshening of the breeze, and with it re-
newal of the sound, which his practised ear
now readily distinguished as the ringing of
hoofs and the clank of cavalry equipments.
Such sounds heard on this side of the river
plainly told him that the enemy was at hand,
and needed not the additional evidence to
that effect which was furnished in another
minute by the sight of the lance-fags and
shakos, the shape of which, sharply defined
and relieved against the bright moonlit sky,
bespoke the appearance of a Christine squad
ron. At the same time they left the high
road, and entering the grounds of Don Ricardo,
at rapid pace towards the house
,hus rendering their intention, however mys-
Il. T.. f.. 4s-.x
100 obvious--the arrest Of the Carlist officer.
Lieutenant Silva and his parents were too
we'll acquainted with the atrocious and unre-
enting system of determination which char
lcterized the proceedings of the belligerent
parties in the Carlist war, not to know that
lrrest under such circumstances was synony-
nous with death that should a Christine
prison once close upon him, it would open
,nly to conduct him to bloody grave. Par
llyzed by the unexpected appearance of the
oe, the alarmed group stood for a few seconds
n a state of indecision. The young soldier
vas the first to recover presence of mind.
the lights which stood on the
able, he announced his intention of descend
ng into the Fiend's Fishpond, whence after
he withdrawal of the Christinos, he could be
,asily extricated, and ferried across the river.
siend's Fishpond was frightful pit in the
sarden immediately DelllW bne mansion,
imilar in form to draw-well, and about
wenty feet in diameter, produced apparently
,y some convulsion Of nature, and deriving
is singular appellation from some wild legend
having its origin in the superstition of the
ighboringpeasantry Being gsituatedwithin
few yards of the shore, a subterraneous
existed between it and the
lea, which had never indeed been explored,
,ut the existence of which was evident from
he fact that the water in the Fishpond rose
md fell with the tide. To a distance of seve-
'al fathoms below the surface Of the earth,
he sides of the pit were straight and smooth
rs wall but it had been ascertained that,
1t considerable depth, projecting lodge of
,ock, a couple of feet in BREADTH ran round
is entire circumference, which, at low water,
vas left completely bare, and on which, at
such times, one might sit or stand in safety
or some hours-it being again submerged by
he rising of the water to the depth of three
,r four fathoms, according to the state of the
,ide, whether spring or neap, When crossing
he river from the Carlist side, the young
nan had observed that the tide was rapidly
alling and knowing, from the interval that
mad elapsed, that it must be now about low
water, he prepared at once for the descent.
This was an achievement which however
'rightful to look upon, was, in reality, not at
ended with any excessive danger to one of
steady nerves, when properly assisted from
Il, al Of ia