Foxholme Hall, and Other Tales
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rock, they jumped on to thesand.
"Ah, here is a secure place indeed, where we may remain concealed thoughall the people of the island were hunting for us, till an opportunityoccurs for punishing our traitor Captain," said Almagro, who was nowchief of the band, and was afraid, should Alonzo return, of losing hisauthority.
"It's secure enough; but if the sea were to get up we should be caught,like mice in a trap," observed Sancho, one of the lieutenants. "Why,where's the boat?" As he spoke the boat drifted away from the cavernout of their reach.
"What clumsy fellow pretended to secure the boat? Ah, see, the sea isalready rising," ejaculated Almagro, in a tone of horror.
The pirates were now compelled to retire higher up the cavern. What wastheir astonishment when, as they reached the further end, they sawbefore them the very man they had been seeking, as they supposed fastasleep. Immediately they held consultation what should be done.Sancho, and some of the more merciful, were for binding him and carryinghim off to their ship, but Almagro, who saw that thus his object wouldprobably be defeated, was for destroying him while he slept. Several ofthe worst sided with him, and before Sancho could interfere, they sprangforward and plunged their daggers into Alonzo's form. Scarcely had theydone so, when loud peals of thunder echoed along the rocks, vividlightning flashed from the skies, and the foaming waves rushed up intothe cavern.
In vain the guilty and affrighted pirates fled into the interior of thecave. The angry waters foamed up on every side. Shrieking they fledfrom rock to rock; still the waves rose higher and higher, and sweptthem far off into the boiling sea, while the dead body of Alonzo wascarried away into the depths of the ocean.
STORY SIX, CHAPTER EIGHT.
The sun had risen twice upon the world, and again set, and now the moonwas casting her silvery beams upon the dancing waves, when the PrincessSerena went forth, on the sea-shore, to search for the brave Alonzo, forhe returned not as he promised. Long she wandered up and down, and withanxious gaze watched the shining ocean, but still he came not.
She listened for his voice, but no sound was heard, only the low murmurof the rippling water upon the yellow sand. Her heart sank with fear,and grief, hitherto a stranger to her, took possession of her bosom. Atlength she climbed to the summit of a high rock which overhung the sea.There she stood, with straining eyes and arms stretched over the ocean,calling in a tone of anguish on Alonzo to return to her. As she utteredhis name, a form, vast, shadowy, and majestic, appeared beneath themoonlight, and a voice, so soft it seemed a note of sweet music,pronounced her name. The Princess listened with eagerness andastonishment. Again, from afar, came that low and sweetly solemn voice."Serena, Serena, Serena!" it said. Well did the Princess know thevoice. It was Alonzo's. Though he was not seen, she felt that he wasnear her; nor did the vast form on the ocean bring any terror to herbosom.
"Serena, Serena!" repeated the voice.
"Serena, dearest, haste to me, And I will bear thee o'er the sea, To halls so rich, so bright, so fair, Sparkling with every jewel rare, Where you, beloved, in peace shall reign, The gentle guardian of the main. Then, sweet Serena, come to me, And I will bear thee o'er the sea."
"Yes, beloved one, I will go to thee," she exclaimed, and fearlessly shesprang towards the bright ocean which slumbered below.
The waters sparkled as she fell, a joyous voice again uttered her name,and a form, though it was Borasco's, no longer hideous in her sight,received her in his arms.
The maidens of the Princess, when they saw the vast form of Borascofloating on the water, were horrified; but when they observed her throwherself off the rock, and watched her carried away in the arms of theseeming monster, they fled terrified to the palace, and reported whathad occurred. At first there was some doubt thrown on the matter, andwhen the stranger Alonzo did not return, people went so far as to saythat the unhappy Princess had, in a fit of madness, thrown herself intothe sea for love of him. The enemies of Alonzo, who had heard thepirates claim as a friend, said that he was a pirate himself, and thathe had carried off the Princess. At all events, the poor King wasoverwhelmed with grief at the loss of his daughter, and called hischiefs together, to consult as to what could have become of her, or ifmeans could be taken to recover her.
The sages differed for some time in their opinions. One said, "If shehad jumped into the sea and was drowned, they could not expect her toreturn." Another observed that, if she had been carried away by apirate, it was to be hoped that the pirate would bring her back again;while a third sagaciously remarked that, in order to recover her, notknowing where she was, it would be necessary to look for her.
At length one of the very oldest of the sages remembered the prophecyabout which the King had dreamed on the night of the storm, when Alonzocame to the island. "There can be no doubt," he observed, "that thefirst part referred to the stranger who had rendered such signal serviceto the state, for which service he received, as guerdon great, the handof the Princess.
"`But a sea-monster shall prey On his reward that day,'
"Means, evidently, that a sea-monster will carry off and prey upon thePrincess, who was his reward."
The King and all his councillors acknowledged, with deep grief, thatthey saw the true interpretation of the prophecy, and from that timeforth no one in the Island of Gracia doubted that the Princess had beencarried off by a sea-monster.
STORY SIX, CHAPTER NINE.
The mighty Spirit of the Storm bore in his arms the gentle Serenarapidly across the ocean, till at length they arrived in front of apalace of crystal, which stood so completely at the very edge of thesea, that the walls which were reflected on its tranquil surface seemedto rise directly out of it. No words can describe the beauty andelegance of its architecture, the gracefulness of its delicate pillars,and the light tracery-work of its innumerable arches, all of the samepure, glistening substance, extending on either side, in a succession ofairy colonnades, as far as the eye could reach, and, arch above arch,rising almost, it seemed, to the skies. No mortal workmen could haveraised that wonderful edifice.
The portals flew wide open as Borasco and the Princess approached, andplacing her on the crystal steps which led down beneath the water, heconducted her forward through a hall, which surpassed in beauty andmagnificence even the exterior of the building, so light and airy, sorichly adorned at the same time was it with polished coral and delicatetinted shells, and emeralds, and precious stones of every description.
It far surpassed in beauty anything which Serena ever in her mostromantic imaginings had conceived to exist in the world. Wonderful andstrange as all appeared, no fear or misgivings of any descriptionentered her bosom; for, although she saw that the shape beside her waswild and hideous, yet well she knew that the spirit which animated itwas that which dwelt in the form of Alonzo, to which she had given herheart, her best, her deepest affections. A soft light radiated throughthe hall, and gentle music floated in the air, while forms of everygraceful shape and hue appeared before them, and made obeisance as theypassed. They advanced slowly among lines of aerial beings towards asuperb throne at the further end of the hall, the canopy over whichappeared as if formed of a fountain of glittering water thrown upwards,and petrified before it could again reach the earth. Serena remainedmute with astonishment, till by degrees she found words to expressherself. "Is what I see around me the work of enchantment, and do Itread on fairy ground?" she exclaimed. "And you, my Alonzo, why haveyou led me hither, and why are you so strangely disguised?"
"You tread, my Serena, the halls of my crystal palace, the home I haveprepared for you," answered Borasco. "Those bright gems are the samefor which men toil and deem themselves happy if they gain a few, yet allyou see and many more are yours."
"Oh, I care not for those sparkling gems. It is your love, Alonzo, Iprize above all," said Serena, turning on him a look full of deepaffection. "But why hide from me those features on which I fondly usedto gaze?--Why envelop thus strangely your noble form?"
Borasco did not answer till he had placed her on the throne; thenthrowing himself before her on his knees, he told her of his plot to winher, and of all that had occurred, and implored her forgiveness. As heknelt, the thousands of Spirits who filled the hall followed hisexample. She answered in a gentle voice, that she had nothing toforgive; as she could scarcely find fault with him for falling in lovewith her.
"But who are the bright beings who fill these halls, and pay me so muchrespect?" she asked, as the graceful Spirits continued kneeling roundher.
"They are," replied Borasco, "the Spirits of the summer air, theguardians of the moon-lit waves, the utterers of murmuring sounds, whenthe calm sea is hushed to rest. Each light and easy duty is confided totheir care. They are the Spirits which obey my will, and you, mybeloved one, shall from henceforth ride over