Story 6--Chapter IV.
The seas were, in those days, infested by a band of pirates, who were possessed of several large ships, with which they defied all efforts to destroy them. The chief of the pirates was called Don Alonzo. Though very blood-thirsty and wicked, for he robbed all he met, and spared no one who made any resistance, he was very brave, and young, and handsome; indeed, on looking at him, few would believe that he could commit the crimes of which he was guilty. It happened that his ship, having separated from her consorts, was sailing across the Pacific.
Now, as Borasco was returning from Neptune’s conclave to his own palace, he espied her in the far distance floating calmly on the waves. He soon knew her to be the ship of the pirate Alonzo, and instantly summoning all his wildest spirits to his aid, a violent tempest began to rage, and thus the Spirit of the Storm sang, as, riding on his foam-crested steed, he followed the doomed bark:—
“’Tis now that the billows are covered with foam—
’Tis now my wild spirit rejoices to roam,
When waves tossing high with dark clouds are at play,
To dim the pale moon with their bright frothy spray;
When loud-rolling thunder resounds thro’ the skies,
And fast through the night air the northern mist flies;
Oh! now is the time when my spirit is free,
And wildly I ride o’er the fathomless sea.
“Yon tempest-toss’d vessel before me now flies,
And loudly I echo the mariners’ cries,
As sadly they gaze on the breakers before,
Which madly leap over the iron-bound shore,
When hope has deserted, and, pallid with fear,
The stoutest heart trembles at death drawing near.
Oh! now is the time I shout loudest with glee,
And gaily ride over the foam-covered sea.”
Onward sailed the sea-robbers, thoughtless of coming danger, when suddenly the gentle breeze, which had hitherto been wafting them on their course, rose to a furious gale. Over the ship heeled to its rage. The tall masts bent and cracked, and one by one, with crash upon crash, they were carried away, till the ship drove before the tempest a helpless wreck on the waste of waters. The wild cries of the seamen, as they saw their doom approach, rose above the shrieks of the sea-bird, or the mocking laughter of the Spirits of the Storm. Their chief alone stood undaunted, youth in his eye, and manly vigour in every limb; though the lightning flashed around his head—though the foaming billows washed over the frail planks on which his feet were planted, and death with all its horrors frowned upon him.
On, on drove the ship—dark clouds above, the yawning waves below—till the land (it was the Island of Gracia), at that part fringed with sharp, threatening rocks, appeared ahead. On she went. The eager waves leaped round her; they lifted her to their summit, and then down she came, crashing upon the rocks. Her timbers were riven asunder and scattered far and wide, and of the human beings who lately trod her deck but one alone was washed on shore, and from his body life had departed, though it was uninjured, either by the rocks or shattered planks and spars. It was that of Alonzo, the captain of the pirate crew. No sooner did Borasco behold the work which his powers had accomplished, than he hastened to the beach, and there he found, stretched on the sand, the body of the pirate. He looked at it delighted, for the form was very handsome; and though life was gone, it yet retained its warmth. High rocks surrounded the spot, so that no human being could observe what was happening. A voice (it seemed to come from the air) then uttered, in an awful tone, the following spell:—
“Dark form! my mystic words obey,
To thin air vanish, haste away!
Go, wander o’er the boundless main,
Nor dare this shape resume again,
Till by dark spells of potent might,
I summon thee to re-unite.”
As he spoke the hideous form began gradually to expand into vast proportions, growing each moment more mist-like and indistinct. Signs of animation now returned to the body of Alonzo, who speedily arose, and while he waved his arm, the shape Borasco had lately worn mingled with the surrounding atmosphere, till it finally disappeared like a mist blown off from the sea.
Alonzo, or rather Alonzo’s form animated by Borasco’s spirit, walked slowly on, for he felt weary, as a person does who has long buffeted with the waves, for with the form so he partook in a measure of the human feelings of the pirate. His nature, however, in other respects was not altered; his love for Serena was rather increased than lost, and he was still the same bold Spirit he had before been, with the same power, only softened and refined by the magic influence of love.
He looked into a mirror-like pool of water among the rocks, and there, seeing his new figure reflected, he drew himself up, and stretching out his arms proudly, he exclaimed, “Ah, I now look like a man indeed; I feel the life-blood rush fleetly through my veins, my pulses beat steadily; methinks when the maiden sees me she will not fly from me as she did before. Ah, now in truth I have a chance of winning her. Thanks, thanks, mighty Neptune! for the aid you have afforded me. The dawn approaches; she will soon be here! and then once more, lovely Princess! I shall again behold thy matchless beauty.” As he spoke a few faint streaks, the harbingers of the rising sun, appeared, in the eastern sky, the wind went down, and the sea grew perfectly smooth.