“Yours in faith,
Calabrella.”
This letter partially revived my drooping spirits, for it breathed hope and elasticity of mind. My husband’s was gloomy, but that was attributable to his unhappy situation. I had expected an explanation,—I received only general assurances of brighter times, which to me seemed far distant,—dubious,—if not impossible.
I resigned myself to the course of circumstances, and patiently abided my time. Beautiful sunny days, and moonlight nights, fell upon Baie at that time,—the warm, bright glow of the sun, and the calm sweet light of the moon was soothing as its rays. I often walked, beneath its light, up and down the road on which the house faced.
One evening I started before sunset and walked in the direction of some curious ruins, situated on a cliff on the shores; the road diverged in a fork leading down to the beach. I preferred this walk and followed it; when I had walked some distance I reached the beach, the waters now quietly swelling and falling beneath the brilliant rays of the sun; the road was thickly strewn with shells, some of which I picked up and examined; then, my mind naturally running back to philosophy, I compared human life, human joys, human expectations, to those shells at my feet, and those ruins on the cliff before me. As the light played upon the broken archway, the desolate court-yard, the ruined chambers, the falling turrets, I felt my old feelings of gloom and morbid thought come wandering back.
I ascended the hill by a beaten pathway, and wandered in and around the little temple; myself and my thoughts were the only inhabitants of the place. I gathered a bouquet of flowers and was preparing to return, the moon having now arisen: when, glancing up at the sky, I saw that which had been a few moments before so serene, dark and lowering; the horizon obscured by immense black clouds, which were rapidly spreading over the sky; heavy gusts were borne bellowing along, and the glaring foam of the waves was visible faraway.
It was impossible to take the beach road under such circumstances, the tide having arisen, I was in danger of drowning; it was impossible to go through the woods the other side of the ruins, I was in danger of being lost in their density. I knew not what to do: meanwhile the sky continued to darken; the moon was completely overcast; the wind continued to howl around me; the only thing to do was to remain in the temple, and claim the precarious benefit of its shelter. I could scarcely see to re-enter the ruins, and seated myself on a broken column in their midst; everything was buried in stones and darkness; the gloom was so intense I felt it.
The storm increased rapidly; the waves lashed to fury, broke against the rocks with a roaring noise; the waves in the distance shone with phosphoric light; the clouds swept hither and thither over the face of the sky; now in tremendous masses, now scattered, white, dim and ghostlike; such a scene as this, was calculated to inspire any one with horror, and the blood ran cold in my veins, as I sat and listened.
Thus it raged for I know not how long: I could not reckon time in such a place. I thought it must be two hours. Then another sound was mingled with the gale: a strange crashing, a wild unearthly yell rang out on the storm; then all was absorbed in the rushing gale. Presently another interval of calm succeeded to the hellish sounds, when the waves and winds apparently paused to take breath, and gather their strength for another onset. The uproar of echoes, reverberating around me, was frightful; I almost thought demons from a lower world were playing their fantastic tricks within the old ruins. The weather during the day had been delightful, but the storm had rendered the air severe; and, as I sat shivering on the column, my hair standing on end, and teeth chattering with fear, the moon momentarily broke through the clouds, and disclosed the lurid landscape, strange and unearthly looking by the mysterious light. I could not express on paper the agony I suffered, till by the faint streaks of morning light in the east, I perceived day would soon dawn. The roar of the gale gradually subsided, the clouds became less strongly dark, the ocean’s waves less tumultuous; and an hour afterward, when I could fully perceive objects, I saw the light of day; and it shone upon a strange scene! When assured that the danger was over, I summoned strength to rise; my trembling limbs almost refused to support me. I wished to return to the house, anxious about my child. Walking down the hill towards the beach, my attention was attracted by pieces of spars, rigging, and a small boat stranded by the waves; this explained to me the horrid sound I had heard during the storm. A ship had been wrecked off the coast, which in that part abounded in breakers; numerous other objects now caught my astonished eyes: a little farther on a number of bales and some personal property lay scattered about; an object clothed in white, was stretched across my way; going towards it I knelt down and sought to distinguish what it was; it was a corpse, a female form; the drapery concealed the face. I raised the robe from the countenance, and beheld! yes,—no,—yes—it was Blanche!