One day, in his rambles, Derval came upon a little spot of remarkable beauty near the sea-shore. Many caverns, the roofs of which sparkle with brilliant spars, and having fantastic stalactites formed of the dripping water—genuine coral caverns, beautiful as the transformation scene in a pantomime, with their reflected lights, colours, shadows and uncertainties—are to be found in many parts of these isles, having in them pools of cool water delicious to bathe in.
Through one of these from the sea-shore—one in which it is said the poet Waller wrote a portion of his poetical description of Bermuda, when in exile there he penned his insipid "Battle of the Summer Isles,"—Derval wandered to where its inner end opened on a beautiful little dell, an amphitheatre of coral cliffs and verdure, at the bottom of which lay a salt pool filled always by the sea at each flood tide, and therein he was certain that more than once he saw a stealthy shark gliding.
Bordering it were the palmetto palms, with luscious fruit like plums in colour, and those enormous leaves, each of which are of such amazing length that they are used to roof houses; the oak, the ash, bananas, orange, lemon, mahogany and caoutchouc trees all growing in luxuriance together, and the coffee plant flourishing wild under the lofty cedars.
Delighted with the beauty of the cool and shady place, Derval stretched himself at length upon the velvet sward, and proceeded to enjoy a cigar, while watching, high above his head, the struggles of a small bird which was caught in the web of a spider—one of those spiders there so remarkable for their size and a peculiar kind of beauty, and the webs of which are, in colour and substance, a veritable raw silk.
His attention was next attracted by the appearance of a lady and a young girl walking slowly on the summit of a coral rock, or cliff, that overhung the salt pool. The lady, who carried a large white sunshade, was proceeding leisurely, reading a book, while the girl went hither and thither gathering flowers.
"Take care, Clara darling," he heard the lady say; "keep back from the edge of the rocks."
"Do let me gather these flowers," was the entreating reply, "and I shall make you such a lovely bouquet."
"Stay, I insist upon it," said the lady.
"Oh, I shall be so very careful," replied the sweet little English voice, which sounded so pleasantly to the ears of the listener,—but a shriek closed the sentence.
When venturing to the verge to gather the coveted trifle, the girl had fallen over, and vanished from the eyes of her horrified companion—her governess, as she eventually proved to be—who fled, uttering wild and breathless cries for assistance, for she knew that the little one had fallen from a height of nearly a hundred feet.