Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1888-04-19
ICE BOUN D.
Nv W. CLARK RUSSELL,
AxsloroS "7he Wreck of the Grosvsmor .
ioe, '.7hs Lady Maud . Kio
toorrrnuno.)
CHAPTER XIV.

toW, 4hS L0uU A0uo At0
toorrrnuso.,
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CHAPTER XIV.
TIE SCHOONER FREES HERSHEY.
All day long the weather remained sulleo
and still, and the swell powerful. I was on
deck at noon, looking at an icebsrs half .
league distant, when IL oversot. lt was Q
small berg, though large compared with most
Of the others; yet such o mighty volume Of
foam boiled up as gave mo startling idea
Of tho prodigious weight Of. the mass. The
sight made me very anxious about my own
state; and to satisfy my mind got upon the
Ice and walked round tho vessel, and to get
true view Of her posture went to the ex-
treme end Of the rocks beyond her bows; and
finally came to the conclusion chat, suppos-
ing the ice should crum3ls away from her
sides 20 as to cause the weight Of the schoousr
to render II top heavy. her buoyancy, on
touching the water, would certainly tsar her
keel out Of its frosty setting and leave her
floating Indeed, 20 sure was Of this that
saw, next to the ice splitting and fresing
her In that way, the best thing that could
uupESu WOuiu cuIEsizuAs
Iregained the ship, and had paused an In
slant to look over the side when perceived
the very block of ice on which had come
to q halt break from the bed with smart
clap Of noise, and completely roll over Only
. minute before had been standing ON IL,
and thus had sixty seconds stood between me
and death; for most certainly must I have
been drowned or killed by being beaten
tc,h hvyt thnc fo1l
knees aud lifted up my hands In gratitude to
God, feeling extraordinarily comforted by
this further mark of His care Of me. and very
strongly persuaded that he designed I should
come of with my life after all, since his
providence would not work SO many miracles
for my preservation il l was to perish by
his'adventure.
These thoughts did more for my spirits
than can well express; and the intolerabls
sense Of loneliness was mitigated by the
knowledge that was watched, and therefore
not alone.
The day passed know not how. The
shadow as Of tempest hung In the air, but
never cats-paw did see to blur the rolling
mirror Of the ocean. The hidden sun sank
out Of the breathless sky, tingeing the atmos-
phere with a faint hectic, which quickly
yielded to the deepest shade Of blackness.
that on deck weighed oppressively ON every
sense, as something false, menacing, and ma
hgnant in these seas, was qualified below by
peculiar straining noises In the schooners
hold, caused by the swinging Of the ice upon
+, the swell was very uneasy; dreaded .
gale. 1t was impossible but that the vessel
must quickly 60 to pieces in a heavy sea upon
the ice IL she did not Hberate herself. But
though this excited a depression melancholy
enough, nothing else that can recollect
contributed to it. When / reviewed the ap-
prehension the Frenchman had raised, and
reflected how insupportable a burden be
must have become, was very well satisfied
to DO alone. Time had fortified me; had
passed through experiences so surprising,
encountered wonders SO pretcrnatural, that
superstition lay asleep in my soul, and ]
found nothing to occasion in me the least
uneasiness in thinking Of the lifeless, shriv-
eled figure Of what was just now q fierce.
cowardly, untamed villain lying in the fore
castle.
made good supper, built up large fire,
and mixed myself hearty bowl Of punch,
not with the view Of drowning my anxieties
God Forbid I was too grateful for the
past, too expectant Of the future, to be capa-
BILE Of 50 british a folly-but that might
keep myself in a cheerful posture Of mind;
when ! was terrified by an extraordinary
loud explosion, that burst 80 near and rang
with such = prodigious clear note OF thunder
through the schooner that vow to God
believed tho gunpowder belov, had blown up.
And In this suspicion I honestly supposed
myself right for a moment-for on running
into the cabin was dazzled by crimson
flame that clothed the whole Interior with Q
wondrous gush Of fire; but this being In
stantly followed by such another clap a the
other, ] understood thunder storm had
broken over the schooner.
II was exactly overhead, and that ac-
counted for the violence of the crashes,
which were indeed SO extreme that they
sounded rather like the splitting Of enormous
bodies of ice close to than the fight Of elec.
trio bolts. The hatch lay open; ! ran on
deck; but scarce had passed my head through
the companion when down came storm Of
hail, every stone as big as pigeons egg;
and In all my time never heard more hell
ISL clamor. There was not breath Of air.
The hail fell In straight lines, which the
fierce near lightning flashed up into the ap-
pearancs of giant harpstrings, on which the
black hand Of the night was playing those
heavy notes of thunder. sat in the shelter
OF the companion, very anxious and alarmed,
for there was powder enough in the hold to
blow the ship into atoms; and the lightning
played so continuously and piercingly that II
was like hundred darts Of fire, violet, GRIM
SOD, and sun colored, in the grasp Of spirits
who thrust at the sea, all over its face, with
swift movement Of the arms, as though
searching for the schooner to spear her.
The hail storm ceased as suddenly as it had
burst. stepped on to the deck, and observed
that the storm was settling into the north
east, whence / concluded that what draught
that might be up there sat in the southwest
Nor was mistaken, for half an hour after
the first Of the outburst, by which time the
lightning played weak and at long intervals
low down, and the thunder had ceased, felt
crawling Of air coming out Of the south
west, which presently briskened into small
steady blowing, but not for long. 1t fresh.
ened yet and yet; the wrinkles crisped into
whiteness on the black heavings; they grew
into small surges, with sharp, cubbish snarl
ings, preludious Of the lions voice, and by lC
o'clock it was blowing in strong squalls, the
sea rising, and the clouds sailing swiftly in
smoke colored rags under the stars.
The posture Of the ice inclined the schoon.
sr's starboard bow to the pillows, and in a
very short time she was trembling in every
bone to the blows of the surges which rolled
boiling over the ice there and struck her
dinging dim clouds Of spume in the air, which
soon set the scuppers gushing My case was
that Of stranded ship with this difference
only: that vessel ashore lies solid to the
beating Of the waves, whereas the ice wa
buoyant it rose and fell, sluggishly, 1t is true
and SO somewhat mitigated the severity Of
the shocks of water. But spite Of this, wa.
perfectly sure that unless the bed broke un
der her or she slipped of 1t, she would be IL
pieces before the morning. 1t was not in any
hull put together by human hands to resis
the pounding Of those seas. The weight O
the mighty ocean, along whose breast they
raced, was in them, and though the wind wa
no more than brisk gale, each biJlow by it