Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1897-04-22


ate effort The anchor held firm. sat
down exhausted
Meanwhile the river had gradually
become covered by very thick white
mist which hung very low over the wa
ter, so that, standing, could 10 longer
see the river, or my feet, or the boat.
but only the tops Of the reeds, and in
the distance the lowland, white in the
moonlight, and from it great black
spots, formed by clumps of Lombardy
poplars, arose in the sky. / was wrap
ped to my waist as if in a muslin sheet
of singular whiteness, and fantastic vi
sions came to me.
fancied that some one whom / could
not distinguish was trying to climb in
to my boat, and that tho river, hidden
in this opaque mist, must be filled with
these strange beings who swan around
me. l felt horrible disquietude; my
temples were tightly bound; the beat
ing of my heart almost choked me, and.
losing control Of myself, thought OF
saving myself by swimming, but imme-
diately this idea made me shudder with
fear. couid see myself lost, wandering
at random in that thick fog, in the
midst of the grasses and reeds from
which cold not free myself, quivering
with fear, unable to see the shore or to
find my boat, and I imagined l could
feel myself drawn by my feet to the
very bottom of this black water
Indeed, as I should have been COM
PEELED to struggle against the current
for at least 500 yards before reaching a
point free from grass and rushes where
I might gain foothold, there were
nine chances out of ten that l should
not be able to find my way in this OBJ
scurity, and that I should be drowned.
good swimmer as / was.
I tried to reason with myself. Ideter-
mined not to be afraid, but there was
something in me besides my will, and
this other thing was afraid. I asked
myself what there was to fear. My
brave l jeered at my poltroon /, and
never so we'll as on that day have I un-
derstood the conflict of the two beings
that exist in us-the one willing, the
other resisting, and each in turn pre-
vaihng.
This foolish and inexplicable fear
continually increased till it became ter
ror. I remained immovable, with wide
open eyes and expectant ear. Of what?
l knew not in the least, but of some
thing terrible. believe that if a fish
had thought of springing out of water,
as often happens, no more would have
been needed to make me fall stiff and
insensible.
Nevertheless, by violent effort, I
succeeded in gradually recovering my
lost reason. I took again my bottle of
rum and drank deep draughts. Then
the idea occurred to me, and began to
shout with all my strength, turning sue
| cessively to the four points of the hori-
zon. When my throat was absolutely
paralyzed. heard dog barking in the
distance.
drank again and stretched myself at
full length on the bottom Of the boat
I remained thus for perhaps an hour,
perhaps two, without sleeping, with
eyes wide open, and with terrors around
me. l dared not rise, yet l wished in
tensely to do so. put it off from min
ute to minute. I said to myself, Come,
stand up" and was afraid to make q
movement. At last l raised myself with
infinite precautions, as if my life de-
pended On the slightest sound l might
make, and looked over the side of the
boat
Twas dazzled by the most marvellous,
the most astonishing sight that could
possibly be seen. 1t was one Of those
phantasmagoria of fairyland, one of
those visions related by voyagers who
return from afar, and which we hear
without believing.
The mist, which for two hours before
was floating on the river, had gradual
ly receded and gathered on the river
banks Leaving the stream entirely
clear, it had formed on each shore an
unbroken bank six or seven yards il
height, which cleaned beneath the
moon with the superb brilliancy Of
snow. Thus, not thing was visible
save the river flashing with. fiery lights.
Between those two white hills of mist,
and high overhead hung full and large
a majestic, luminous moon in the midst
of black sky dotted with stars.
All the creatures Of the water were
awake. The frogs were croaking furi.
ously, while at intervals, now at the
right. now at the left, heard the short,
monotonous, melancholy note which the
ringing voices Of the toads uttered tc
the stars Strangely was no longer
afraid. was surrounded by scene sc
extraordinary that the most striking
singularities had no power to astonisI
me.
How long this lasted I know not, fo1
had ended by falling asleep. When ]
opened my eyes. the moon had set, the
sky was covered with clouds, the wa.
ter rippled mournfully, the wind was
blowing, it was cold, and the darkness
was profound.
drank what remained of my rum,
then I listened, shivering with cold, te
the rustling Of the reeds and the SIMS.