The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1877-08-22

/ conceived possible. But seated on my
isolated rock, it was still, after all, out Of
| the music of the waters" that / got my
chief mental enjoyment.
AT last there was sudden change of
wind. Heavy clouds swept over the
| landscape, burying in mist or occasional
| showers all forms save those close at
hand.
Regular Welsh weather, siri" said a
| fresh colored elderly gentlemanlike man
in a tourists suit whom | found the next
morning in the coffee-room. My party
will be house bound for a couple OF days
at least, if l know anything of this
| country; shocking place for weather.
Been here long, sr?"
told him how long, and that I had
not had drop of rain the whole time.
disadvantage in that, too" he went
on; mountainous scenery wants mist
and rain 20 drift round the peaks, fill up
the torrents, and bring out the water
| falls. This one here will present fine
sight after four-and twenty hours of such
when we arrived.
l was consoled by this gentleman's
words, for having to spend the best part
of the day indoors; there was new SEN
sation then yet in store for me; and l
was little disappointed to find, when
early the following afternoon lull of the
weather enabled me to go down to my fa-
vorite rocky haunt, that there was very
little perceptible difference in the volume
Of water coming over the fall
So here l sat, suppose, for more than
an hour in my accustomed state of placid
indolent enjoyment With my eyes half
| shut | was saying over to myself the
first few lines of Southey's "Lodore," and
trying to make ''the music of the waters"
| fit into them as an accompaniment, when
there suddenly sounded in my ears a
roar so loud, and increasing SO rapidly in
volume, that / started, and looking up
perceived that now indeed the fall had
become grandly augmented. 1t was
swollen at least to twice the size 1T had
been ten minutes before; it looked mag
nifcent. [ stood up quite excited, but
not even then for one moment dreaming
of danger. Town bred idiot that | was,
quite unacquainted with the terrific force
of the elements when once unloosed, |
never imagined for second that | could
be placed in peril by fact so beautiful
|
ton which ignorance gave to my esti-
mate of these natural wonders, thought
| was gazing at a harmless Niagara;
had never seen anything half SO beauti-
full; whilst the almost deafening, thunder
Gus roar which accompanied it was such
new phase of my favorite music that
stood spell bound with a sort of wild de-
light. Not for many minutes however;
a heavy rain cloud that had suddenly
oversweIt the sky warned me to retreat.
L turned with this purpose towards the
stepping stones by which l always re-
gained the precipitous bank of the river.
To my horror they had all disappeared,
and in their place boiling, bubbling fer
ment of brown water and trothy foam was
sweeping along at a tremendous pace.
Then in an instant knew that the river
was rising rapidly. Anyone but a foo
would have foreseen this as a natural
consequence of the increase of the water
fall. Right and left and ali around, the
river had now become boiling cauldron
of broken water; | was cut off from all
hope of retreat, and | should be washed
away like a fly, knew.
Helpless and scared, L stood irresolute
yet moment longer.
I recoIlect in this dire emergency sud
denly observing a still further increase
in the volume of the fall, and almost
simultaneously with it, feeling my legs
slip from under me as the brown water
gurgled in my ears and glistened in my
eyes Then there was a choking, help
less, tumbling pressure forward, severa
sharp blows upon my legs and arms, an
| n. - I'll Inv IT1cr IN
contact with more rocks, and then 8
whir and twirl and spinning round as il
, | had been a cork.
The swimmers instinct, however, wa:
of some use after all, for, in the frs
place it enabled me to retain little pres
ence of mind, and, In the second, tt
bring my head up to the surface after
the first plunge. [ saw l was already {
long way from the upper fall, and al
: additional pang was given to my sensa-
sations by the recollection that was be
ing hurried on towards the lower, over
which, if were carried, l must inevitably
be drowned Fortunately, just now
was carried by a current close IN under
one of these sheer-down sides, and fol
the fftieth time sent spinning round il
: the eddy like cork.
l made a hopeless grab at the smooth
t and slippery surface, much as drown
ing man catches at the proverbial straw
for l was by this time getting exhausted
: and suffocated by the constant rolling
over which the torrent gave me. | die
; just manage to get a fnger-hold in q
/ crack, and to steady myself somewhat;
, but the water was very deep just here
t and / could not lift much more than my
| chin above it, whilst foothold of an
, sort was out of the question.
Yet to remain where | was much long
, er was impossible. Could / but have
3 raised myself some two feet should hav'
been able to reach an overhanging bougt
3 of one of the thickly-growing young ash
} saplings, the roots of which projected
r from the earthly top of the rock a yard oil
two above.
o, how l longed for a giants arm
that might touch that Dough! Twice
made futile effort to spring out of tn
water at it, but only exhausted myself
j and had the greatest difficulty in re
: tanning my support.
: Was sinking and losing conscious
e ness? and is this to be the end, thought
t with that music still in my ears? And 10
e what vision is that which behold? Surel
3 an angels face looking down from amids
: the leafy roof above me! Yes; my lif
e must be passing away in dream of beau
I tiful sights and sound. For a memen
l. or two more such was the vague conclu
i sion floating through my dazed mind, no
y was it at once dispelled by perfectly au
dible and silvery voice saying:
Is 'sTry to reach it now; think you can
l. quick, try p This can be no illusion
n this is no phantom born OF a drownin
|, mans fancy; this is sweet reality and i
: that bending branch, now steadily de