New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1860-04-02

wieiued wooden pole, and was soon upon M
Journey. How glorious it Was The Keen, pure
frosty air sent life into me life? exnltation an
rapture, How solemn were the winds tpat cam
from the restless, rolling sea, and now traVcles
over the STILL hushed, silent ice, soufhwaTd % .h'
land The track was plain and clear before me
track made by The many sledges that had crossed
from one island to the other. Inc Hlnd pew
briskly upoiilny left cheek--my leffs ven VIII re
member. And lwent On, ~ happy u e s %
Iirht III heart, easy Of mind. 0nce--l Knew POI
u how II VIVA III strange thought crossed me. You
remember your Wordswcrth's lines n,
Whist ssad aad yaywsra ,hcnshiS WIZ slide
"a {. \ Mr. Sss, ssoa aaf T. dss sf II
i Yes--fhat was the thought Why had Gretch
j ems friends seemed so constrainedy What mean
! those sudden tears that her mother had shed
/ Was it possible that, blinded by my love, hat
overlooked signs-sgns and portents of decay
which to their clearer eyes were but too terribl,
visible As these thoughts entered my mind
paused, and dumb agony of horror came upon me
drove 1t away, fercely. as best eould and spet
rapidly on over the ice. Rapidly-yes, and blindly
For. distracted with this terrible fear and suddei
apprehension-w if realized, meant, in brief
the wreck OF my whole heart and hope and life
tore on, seeking escape from thought in action ans
motion Struggle as | might. the thought can't
back. Me- death--that would be nothing strange
Ny fathers deaths Well, he was old and gettin,
fraii. But Gretchen Gretchen, who had given
new purpose and new plan to me Gretchen, st
yaungs 80 loving, and 80 pure--the thought of hel
aaHhiil WAS uOTfiDlG. fETcnhnce3 lGS very nurrQ
lent il strange force, 20 that ii assaulted agar
and again, and wcnt through me, and seized upo1
me, aud filed me. II tore on. s
When paused, 1 looked around me. Nothing
was to be seen but the Iceland in moment the
terror startled me that was lost The track was
| no longer to be seen! One plan remained to be
guided by the wind. flushed, and yet 50 excited
that could hear the hot hurried beating of my
heart took off my cap and waited for the breeze.
1T came: and 1t blew upon my yiqlH cheek The
wind had changed; but to what quarters Where
was at this very moment? One fact alone
knew, that l had wandered from the track, and
was now without ought to guide me, alone upon
the ice-perhaps nearing theouter sea!
For few moments the thought numhed and
deadened me then, by q supreme effort OF will,
resolving to push right EDWARDS and take my
chance, raised my pole, and resumed my Journey.
As did SO, saw q sight which told me that all
further effort on my part would be fruitless and
mad Slowly over the ice, curling along in thick,
white folds, came dense, dull mist, blotting out
even the Ice itself from my view. With kind of
wild despairing energy still held on my course !;
but still closer and closer and closer yet enrled
the fatal bog and ere long ! was III its sWathes.
z Gretchen, GretchenH II cried; then halted, and
trembied with fear.
Physical courage is so much an affair of the
constitution and temperament that take no credit
to myself in saying that am brave. I had faced
many dangers, and had faced them calmly. With
the workmen. in the streets Of Paris-with students
In the German t0wns-and with Garibaldi's legion
on the walls of Rome, had looked death full in
the face, and had never thought Of quailing But
now was afraid. You see there was no visible
enemy to meet--no visible friend to assist me-
only that white fog around me. For a time, /
despaired. Had been less terrified should have
Wept Verify, the silence was awful. Once
shrieked for help; but SO hoarseand changed was
my voice that hardly knew il myself as sent II
out, in cry Of agony, into the bewildering mist.
could not shrek again. And THU silence deepened
and grew more awful.
even TINT silence had been blessed. Dull, deep,
monoton0us- booming from afar, with hollow
tone that seemed the very voice Of Death Itself
what was it that heard? struggled against the
Conviction battled with it rs for dear life; but
no, MOI no. Vain was it to cheat myself any longer
vain was IT any longer to believe that safety was
yet possible; for the sound was the sound Of the
sea.
feebly. that regained anything like strength and
viii. had q fusee box with me; might, if only
for a moment, get some light. felt for the box:
It was gone! Still CROPPING in my pockets, found
one solitary fusee. / took this; took some paper
from another pocket; struck the fnsee, holding it
carefully within my cap, and set fire to the paper
Twas but u poor light yet it served to show that
NY peril was even greater than / thought. As it
filckered redly through the mist, saw that was
close to large circular hole ia the Ice then ii
went out, and the darkness, which seemed thicker
than eyer after this momentary glare, closed round
me again.
HI fhe hard frozen weather, when the boats are
laid MP, our fishermen make holes in the leo and
vet nets ia them. On the edge of one OF these j
stood. They are made not far apart: so that If,
even, making last effort, i simply fled from the
crnel, bodeful sound anywhere, SO that got free
from that terrible sonnd-the chances were that in
few moments my sledge and would near one of
the holes, and then should sink, under the thick
firm ice. never to rise again. 1t was better TO wait
Yes; would wait until the fog cleared away;
but the fog sometimes lasts for days-for DAYS
For weeks Meantime should starve--if I did not
freeze!
And yet-how was it that, having stood still so
long, did not suffer from the cold alreadys Why.
IS live, the air grew warm, warm. My father
should never live to see him again had proph-
ecied change of weather. II was coming sure
enough. And it was attain.
Shall Itell YOU that, as listened the sound of the
seq seemed 70 be nearer and nearer IT the outer
Iee was already breaking up, and the sea, which
tell you that, AZ ! tried to pray, the air seemed
growing warmer yet, and that warmth also meant
death? viii tell you only this; that. first duh
stupor and utter apathy fell upon me like pail,
and that then the tnmult and clash of memory
stirred within my soul and saw myself, little
boy. sitting near the fire in the homestead Of Ru-
gen--Rugen, which might be SO near me even now
how could tell?--and the little Joys and brief
sorrows Of childhood. for years forgotten, were
again wildly before me. And Isaw myself, little
boy, pencil in hand, sitting under an old tree. and
drawing; aud heard the bleat of the sheep in the
meadow, and the lowing of the cattle from the
stall-and from this dream awoke, to hear nearer
yet, as it seemed the fretful moaning of the sea.
~ y : 4 Il
4saoLae- sound! and hope and the love of life
rushed back, SO that nearly swooned in the pas
sion and ecstasy of my joy! Alaotbef' sound the
sound OF sledge upon the ice. 1t came-it came
close. tried TO call; for moment voice seemed
frozed; but no, tore a cry out Of the depths Of
my despair; and IN another minute, frantic and
mad with the sudden sense Of my deIiYerence, /
was laughing and crying at once on the neck Of q
fisherman who had come to his nets.
And from that moment it is but little remem.
Der. Vaguely seem to recollect that he reused
me 70 cxertlon since even yet the peril was great
that the fog cleared up; that, guided by some mys.
FERROUS instinct which these untaught men possess
he led me on, past many such holes as that on
whose edge had stood, on and on to Rueen again.
i had wandered so far and widely from the track
that half an hours journey brought me TO the spot
from which started He led me-they are tender
as women, these rough fishermen. when their hearts
are touched--led me to my fathers farm
That night the thaw, which | had felt begin
worked so rapidly and well that the ice was shat.
tered and cracked in every place. In four days
the fishing boats were again upon the waters
But not in four days-no, inor in ten--tid my
mind awake to the recollection of the dangers i
had faced, forI was down upon my bod, raying in
the delirinm OF fever; and now j would chaunt
the Marseillasc as If again stood upon barri.
cade; and anon, feebly as child, IWonld moan
for !. Gretchen, Gretchen
a light burned family in the room when aweKe
again; say rather when was conscious OF waking.
Tor waking and sleeping had been alike to me Tor