Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1895-06-19

into it. The surface glistened just like
skin-it might have been empty space
underneath for all could tell to the
contrary. Very slowly, for 1 rode slant
ing into it, the water crept up to my
eyes. Then l went under and the skin
seemed to break and heal again about
my eyes. The moon gave jump up in
the sky and grew green and dim, and
fish, family glowing came darting round
me, and things that seemed made of
luminous glass, and I passed through
tangle of seaweeds that shone with an
oily luster. And so 1 drove down into
the sea, and the stars went ont one by
one and the moon grew greener and
darker and the seaweed became a lulnin-
GUS purple red. 1t was all very faint and
mysterious and everything seemed to
quiver. And all the while could hear
the wheels Of the bathchair creaking and
the footsteps of people going by and
man with a bell crying GOALS
"Ikept sinking down deeper and deep
er into the water. 1t became inky black
about me, not a ray from above came
down into that darkness, and the phos-
phorescent things grew brighter and
brighter. The snaky branches of the
deeper weeds flickered like the flames OF
spirit lamps, but after time there were
no more weeds. The fishes came staring
and gaping toward me and into me and
through me. 1 never imagined such
fishes before. They had lines of fire along
the sides of them, as though they had
been outlined with a luminous pencil
And there was a ghastly thing swim
ming backward with a lot of twining
arms.
''And then I saw, coming very slowly
toward me through the gloom, hazy
mass of light that resolved itself as it
drew nearer into multitudes of fishes,
struggling and darting round something
that drifted. 1 drove on straight toward
it, and presently saw in the midst of
the tumult, and by the light of the fish,
a bit of splintered spar looming over me
and dark hull fitting over and some
glowing phosphorescent forms that were
shaken and writhed as the fish bit at
them. Then it was began to try to at
tract Widgery's attention. A horror
came upon me. Ugh l should have
driven right into those half eaten
things. If your sister had not comel
They had great holes in them, Bellows,
and-Lever mind. But it was CHASTITY! %
For three weeks Davidson remained
in this singular state, seeing what at
the time we imagined was an altogether
phantasmal world, and stone blind to
the world around him. Then, one Tues
day, when called, 1 met old Davidson
in the passage. ''He can see his thumb!'
the old gentleman said, in a perfect
transport. He was struggling into his
overcoat. "He can see his thumb, Bel
lowsr' he said, with the tears in his
eyes, "The lad will be all right yet"
rushed in to Davidson. He was hold
ing up little book before his face and
looking at it and laughing in a weak
kind of way.
''It's amazing" said he "There's
kind Of patch come there He pointed
with his finger I'm on the rocks. as
usual, and the penguins are staggering
and tapping about as usual, and there's
been whale showing every now and
then, but it s got too dark now to make
him out. But put something there, and
see it-I do see it. It's very dim and
broken in places, but I see it all the
same, like a faint specter of itself. l
found it out this morning while they
were dressing me. It's like a hole in
this Internal phantom world. Just put
your hand by mine. No-not there. All,
yes! see it. The base Of your thumb
and a bit of cuff 1t looks like the ghost
of bit of your hand sticking out of the
darkling sky Just by it there's a group
of stars like a cross coming out.
At first he was unfeignedly glad and
seemed only too anxious to complete his
cure by taking exercise and tonics. But
as that odd island of his began to fade
away from him he became queerly in
terested in it. He wanted particularly
to go down into the deep sea again, and
would spend half his time wandering
about the lower town, trying to find the
water logged wreck he had seen drifting.
The glare of real daylight very soon i'm
pressed him so wildly as to blot out ev-
erything Of his shadowy world, but in the
nighttime in ii darkened room, he could
still see the white splashed rocks Of the
island and the clumsy penguins stagger-
ing to and fro But even these grew
fainter and fainter. and at last, soon aft
er he married my sister, he saw them
for the last time.
And now. to tell of the queerest thing
- II aftar. hIS p11rn |
dined with the Davidsons, and after
dinner man named Atkins called in.
He is a lieutenant in the royal navy, and
b pleasant, talkative man. He was on
friendly terms with my brother -in-law,
md was soon on friendly terms with
me. 1t came out that he was engaged to
Davidson's cousin and incidentally he
look out a kind of pocket photograph
case to show US new rendering of his
fancee. "And, by the way" said he,
there's the old Fulmar. :"
Davidson looked at it casually. Then
suddenly his face lit up. "Good heav-
ens!'' said he "Icould almost swear"-
"What?" said Atkins.
''That had seen that ship before: "
''Don't see how you can have. She
hasn been out of the South seas for six
years, and before them
But, began Davidson, and then;
"Yes That's the ship I dreamed of.
I'm sure that's the ship I dreamed of.
She was standing off an island that
swarmed with penguins and she fired a
gun."s
"Good Lord!" said Atkins. "How
the deuce could you dream that?''
And then, bit by bit, it came out that
on the very day Davidson was seized H.
M. S. Fulmar had actually been off
little rock to the south Of Antipodes is
land A boat had landed overnight to
get penguins' eggs, had been delayed,
and thunderstorm drifting up the
boats crew had waited until the morn
ing before rejoining the ship. Atkins
had been one of them, and he corrobor-
ated, word for word, the descriptions
Davidson had given of the island and
the boat. There is not the slightest
doubt in any of our minds that David
son had really seen the place. In some
unaccountable way, while he moved
hither and thither in London, his sight
moved hither and thither i'll a manner
that correSnOnded abOut this distant is