Page:The Lady's Book Vol. V.pdf/96

 THE DARK DAY.

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easily be answered: but in replying, I shall only give occasion for new enquiries. If you have any wish to hear my tale of misery, you shall be gratified. "

I signified my desire“Be seated then, “said he, “and whatever you feel, do not betray your emotions; my own sensations will be, I fear, too much for me.

“Many years since, how many it matters not, but then, these locks that are now gray as the sea gull that is floating in yonder channel, were black as the plumes of the dark bird that hovers upon yonder crag. I was on a visit with a portion of my father's family, in Plymouth; it was one of those brilliant days in February, which from their being almost sure precursors of a storm, are called by the people of the shores by the unpropitious name of ' weather breeders.'It was indeed a beautiful day; but men, instead of being cheated by its fair promises, appeared busy in guarding against the fulfilment of its portents; boats that were beyond the Gurnet and the Beach returned; and the vessels that were at the wharves were carefully secured. I remember with a distinctness, sometimes astonishing to myself, the look of anxiety that rested upon the countenance of almost every individual I passed; the young were securing and sheltering all that might be injured by a storm; the old and decrepit ascended the ' burying hill, “to watch the changes of the atmosphere, and observe whether every boat had returned from the offing, which had departed the morning previous. One by one they all came in; for the indications of the day were too evident; and the sun slowly retired from a cloudless sky, leaving the observers of times and seasons, “upon the hill, to calculate the quarter in which the storm would commence; at length the cold caused them to descend, and the people of Plymouth, and perhaps those upon the coast, from Race Point to Cape Ann, were never more fervent in their evening prayers, for the care of the Almighty upon them ' who go down upon the sea in ships. '

“About midnight I was awakened, and on going to the window, I found that the storm was indeed up. The wind was blowing a tremendous gale, and the whole air, notwithstanding the light of a full moon, was thickened to obscurity, by the driving snow. I was but a short distance from the wharves, and the wild whistling of the wind among the rigging of the vessels, and the rattling of the ropes against the masts and other spars, were appalling once or twice, I thought I discovered a flash of lightning. I waited in vain the thunder; at length a part of the family entered my room, for the purpose of looking out upon the bay; they might as well have attempted to see through the solid walls of the house, as to discover distant objects, among the falling snow; but more accustomed to the events of such a night, and less distracted by the din of the tempest, the men assured me that the light which we occasionally observed, was the flash of a cannon, the sound of which did not reach us through the other clamour and disturbance above and around us. A momentary pause in the wind rendered it no longer doubtful; ' some vessel, “said my relation, has put into the “Cow Yard, ““* and is dragging her anchors towards the Beach, may the Lord have mercy on the poor souls which it contains; the vessel will go to pieces upon the flats, and there can, in that case, be no hope of saving a single life. '

“But I knew that they of Plymouth never relinquished exertion or hopes, in behalf of the suffering, till possibility itself ceased. When it was fully ascertained that the light and noise noticed were signals of distress, it was determined to attempt every possible means of aid to those whose situation it was known were most perilous. A knocking at the outer door gave notice that others had observed the signals; and in half an hour, more than a dozen persons were ready to go down upon the shores of the Beach. Against the warm protestations of my friends, I determined to be of the party, though sensible that my strength would enable me to do but little good to others, if, indeed, I could stand the force of the wind and snow myself. Before we reached the beach, however, the snow had nearly ceased, but every moment increased the intensity of the cold; and we felt, added to every other fear of distress, the almost certainty that any being who might be thrown ashore alive, would be frozen before we could reach him. We had guarded ourselves with the utmost precautions against the frost, by putting on as many of the warmest garments as we could support the weight of.

On ascending a high point of land, an eminence that the storms and tempests have long since swept level with the tide, we paused, to look down the bay for the vessel that had given the signal; we could see none: thick as was the atmosphere, it was evident that an object of that magnitude might be discerned even at a greater distance. She must have gone to pieces upon Brown's Island, “said Robbins, or have been thrown upon the lowest point of the beach, before the wind hauled in in either case there is little hope of the lives of the crew. ' We paused to make a disposition of our party, that by taking different directions, they might the sooner discover any objects of distress, and thus minister earlier to their wants; as every moment at such a time was of the utmost importance. As we were about separating, the moon broke through a cloud, and we discovered one or two dark objects upon the water, driving almost with the rapidity of thought upon a strong current and before a violent gale up the ' back channel.'Deliberation was no longer necessary every one directed his course to the shore. My companions who were more accustomed to the weight of their heavy garments than I, far outstripped me. I reached the shore more than a quarter of a mile to the leeward of them, and directly where the channel sets in upon the beach, making at a full tide a bold shore and


 * An anchorage within the capes of Plymouth Bay.