Page:Tales of a Voyager to the Arctic Ocean, vol. 3 (1826).djvu/329

 hunger at the cottages of his acquaintances, near which he passed, lest the boarwolf should escape, or have time to renew his strength by rest. However, he recollected that his mistress, when she heard that he intended to renew the chase early in the morning, had given him a small cake, which she had prepared during his stay, for she said that she was certain his eagerness would not allow him to think of refreshment, and that her gift would quell his appetite, and support his strength, till he had slain the monster. Upon this he drew the loaf from his pocket, and ate it, with many mental thanks for the kind attention of the giver, and he felt his desire to slaughter the boarwolf increase with his wish to obtain the hand of so amiable a girl. As she had said, so the cake, though small, satisfied his hunger, and renewed his spirits, or, rather, made them more buoyant than before. Indeed, so much did he feel elated, that he spurred on his horse as if just set off in the pursuit, and the monster was obliged to fly more quickly than it had ever done. But the weather, which had hitherto been brilliant and enlivening, now suddenly altered; large masses of dark clouds rolled up from behind the distant moun-