Year: 1864

Or elemental strife, upon which | lave
not looked with an eye of dotting. l
have stood in the front of battle, when
swords were cleaning and circling
around me like fiery serpents Of the
air-I have set on the mountain pima
Gle, when the whirlwind was rending its
oaks from their rocky clefts and scat
tering piece to the clouds have
seen these things with swelling soul,
that knew not, that rocked not of dan
ger-but there is something in the
thunder's voice that makes me tremble
like child. have tried to overcome
this unmanly weakness; l have called
pride to my aid; have sought Cor
moral courage in the lessons of philoso-
phy-but all in vain; at the first low
moaning of the distant cloud, my heart
shrinks, qmyers, and dies within me.


Many involuntary dread of thunder
had orr gin in an incident that occurred
when was a child Of ten years. Ihad
little cousin, girl of the same age
with myself, who was the constant com
panion of my childhood. Strange,
that the countenance should be so ia
miliar to me. can still see that
bright young creature, her large eyes
flashing like beautiful gems her free
locks streaming as in joy upon the SUM-
rise gale; and her cheek glowing like a
ruby through wreath of transparent
snow. Her voice had the melody and
joyousness of birds; and, when she
bounded over the wooded hill or the
fresh green valley, shouting a glad an
swer to every voice of nature, and
clapping her little hands in the very
ecstasy of young existence, she looked
as if breaking away like freed night
ingale from the earth, and going off
where all things were beautiful and
happy like her.


1t was morning in the middle of
August. The little girl had been pass
ing some days at my fathers house, and
she was now to return home. Her
path lay across the fields, and | gladly
became the companion of her walk. |
never knew Summer morning more
beautiful and still. Only one little
cloud was visible, and that seemed as
pure, and white, and peaceful, as if it
had been the incense smoke of some
censor of the skies. The leaves hung
silent in the woods, the waters of the
bay had forgotten their undulations, the
flowers were bending their heads as if
dreaming of the rainbow and the dew,
and the whole atmosphere was of such a
soft and luxurious sweetness, that seem
ed "a cloud of roses scattered down by
the hand of PERI from the far-ofF gar
dens of paradise. The green earth
and the blue sea lay abroad in their
ooundlessness, and the peaceful sky
bent over and blessed them. Little
creature at my side was in delirium
of happiness, and her sweet voice came
ringing upon the air as often as she
heard the tones of some favorite bird
or found some strange and lovely flower
IN her frolic wanderings. The unbrok-
en- and almost supernatural tranquility
continued until nearly noon. Then for
the first time the indication of an ap-
preaching tempest was manifest. Over
the summit of a mountain, at the dis
tance of about q mile, the folds Of a
dark cloud became suddenly visible,
and at the same instant, hollow roar
came down upon the winds, as if it had
been the sound of waves in a rocky
cavern. The cloud rolled out like
banner fold upon the air, but still the
atmosphere was as calm and the leaves
as motionless as before, and there was
not even a quiver upon the sleeping wa
ters to tell tie coming hurricane.


To escape the tempest was impossi-
ble.. As the only resort, We fed to an
oak that stood at the foot of tall and
ragged precipice. There we remained
and gazed almost breathlessly upon the
clouds, marshaling themselves like
bloody giants in the sky. The thunder
was not frequent, but every burst was
so fearful that the young creature who
stood by me shut her eyes convulsively,
elung with desperate strength to my
arm, and shrieked as if her heart
would break. A few minutes and the
storm was upon us. During the hight
of its fury, the little girl silently raised
her finger to the precipice that lowered
above us. As | looked up, an amethy-
stne fame was quivering upon its grey
peaks. and the next moment the clouds
opened, the rocks tottered to their
foundations, roar like the groan of
the universe filed the air, and | felt
myself blinded and thrown, knew not
whittier. How long remained insensi-
bic | cannot tell, but, when conscious
ness returned, the violence cf the temp
est was abating, the roar of the winds
was dying in the distant tree-tops, and