The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1866-09-05

.s .
vera not .distnrbedS by waves There
was a cord and metal jar attached to
it, for lowering into the pit; but Pau
lett, as he, Looked at the attitudes Of
the neutrality-suspicious., and observed
how they seemed distorted III death,
fancied that they must have brought
up. either poisoned water, or waters
so Intensely salt as to drive them mad
with the additional thirst; and that
some had died ON the instant, some
had fingered, some had sought to
succor others, and yielded, sooner or
later, to the same influence. Ellen
and he would not dwell ON the sight
after the first contemplation of it;
they passed on, shuddering, and
made toward the great wall Of rock
which they saw rising to the South,
and which must be on their way to
the land of France. But before they
reached it, the sun began to decline;
and without light it was in vain to
attempt to seek path. There was q
wind, keener than they had felt of
late, which came from the West, and
the little Alice pressed on her fathers
bosom to shield her from it. He
wrapped her closer in q cloak, and
they resolved to put themselves under
the shelter of the first rock they
reached, and pass the night in the
channel of the sea. They pressed on.
and found, at last, the place they
sought cliff which must once have
raised its head above the waves, and
Which now stood like some vast pa
lace walls, bare and huge, upon the
ocean sand. Screened from the wind,
they collected an abundance of the
dried vegetation of the sea, partly for
warmth and to roast their corn, partly
for Paulett to dissolve some of the
diamonds into water; and here they
rested, here they slept, many fathoms
below that level over which navies
used to sail. At times during the
night Paulett fancied, when the wind
abated, that he heard q sound like
thunder, or like what used to be the
rushing of a distant torrent; and oc-
casionally he thought he felt vibra-
ton in the earth, as if it were shaken
by some moving body. The region
he was in was so strange that he
knew not what might be here or
what about to happen; the sounds so
imperfect that he tormented himself
to be sure of them, or to be sure
they were not; and when the time for
action came, he was beginning to
disbelieve them altogether, but Alice
brought all back again by saying:
"My rock" (for her cradle was n
-ock, "shook my head, father"
The child could explain herself no
further; but the vibration he had
fancied seemed to be what she had
felt. And now they climbed again,
and again descended, weary, rock
after rock; it was strange chaos,
which the tides had swept and mould
ed, and which had, in places, risen to
the surface and caused the wreck of
many vessel. Fragments of these
lay under the rock they had split
upon, but the wandering family had
no thoughts for them; wonder and
pity had been exhausted among ex-
citing and terrific scenes. They
thought only of forcing their way
over the rocks; and feared to think
how much of this they had to ira
verse before they should come to
what had been the shore and to
towns.
Suddenly, as they toiled forward,
Paulett said in low voice to Ellen,
Don't you hear it?"
II have heard it long time" said
Ellen, in the same tone; and Charles.
as well as they, said, Father. what
is that?"
II can't tell, my boy" said Paulett,
listening.
"Water?" asked Ellen.
Paulett shook his head, yet they all
pressed forward, and there grew
laundering, sullen sound. There
was valley and a ridge of rock
before them, and they had to clam
Der first down the rugged precipice
they were upon, then to cross the
valley, and then to struggle up the
opposite side-a trembling motion
growing perceptible MS they ad-
vanced-before they stood on sort
of a broad ledge, which they per-
ceived at the angles that jutted out
went down straight into depth, and
opposite which was another broad
table land of rock, between which
and that they were upon was q rent,
wider and narrower in the various