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FROM 31./texwoon's stAcAztNE-
THE FLOA'I‘lN(z B1LA(-0N-
One. dark and stormy nlgllt, We W¢l'° 0“ 3 "°Y"
‘age from Bergen to Christiansand, ina small
sloop. Our captain suspected that he had ap-
‘proached too near the Norwegian coast,‘ though
he could not discern any lanth alld ill“ “'_“‘d blew
with such violence that we were in momdntary!
Bread of being driven upon a lee-shore. W 8 ha
‘endeavoured, for more than an hour: l° l"°°_l’_°“"
vessel away-but our efforts proved unavailmg‘..
and ive soon found that we could scarcelll l1°l‘l
, our own. A clouded sky, a hazy atmospheres
and irregular’ showers of sleety rain, combined
to deepen the obscurity of the night, and nothing
ltvhatever was visible, except the sparkling of the
‘distant waves, when their tops happened to break
‘into a wreath of foam. The sea ran very high,
and sometimes broke over the deck so furiously
that the men were obliged to hold by the rigging,
lest they should be carried away. Our captain
. was a person of timid and ii-resolute cliaract_er,
and the dangers that environcd us made him
gradually lose confidencegin himself._ He often
gave orders and counternianded them in the same‘
moment, all th_e while taking small quam}tI<=s_ °l
ardent spirits at intervals,-—I"ear and intoxication
soon ‘stupilied him completely, and the crew
ceased to consult him, or to pay any respect to
his authority, in so far as regarded the manage-
ment of the vessel. _
About ‘midnight otir main sail was split, and
shortly after we found that the sloop had sprung
a «leak. We had before shipped a good deal of wa-
ter through the hatches, and the quantity that
now entered from below was so great, that we
thought she would go down every moment. Our
only chance of escape lay in our boat, which was
immediately lowered. After we had all got on
board ol her, except the captain, who stood lean.-
ing against the mast, we called to him, equest-
ing that he would follow without delay. ‘ How
‘dare you quit the sloop without my permission 3’
cried he, staggering for-wards.——-‘ This is not fit
weather to go a-fishing. Come back—-back with
you all l’-t No, no,’ returned one of the crew,
* we don’t want to be sent to the bottom for your
obstinacy, Bear a hand there, or we’ll leave you
behind ’--‘ Captain you’r drunk,’ said another ;
‘you"cannot take care ,of yourself. You must 0-
bey us now.’--t-Silence I mutinous villain,’ an-
swered the captain. ‘ \_’Vhat are you all afraid
of? This is a" fine breeze--Up mainsail; and
steer her right in the wintl’s eye.’
The sea knocked the boat so violently and con-
St'......, ..gainst the side of the sloop, that we fear-
ed the former would be injured or upset, ‘if we did
not immediately row away ; but, anxious as we
were top_t'cserve our lives, we could not reconcile
ourselves to the idea of abandoning the captain,
who grew. more obstinate the more we attempted
to persuade him to accompany us. At length,
one of the crew leapt on board the sloop, and
liavinggseized hold of him, tried to drag him along
by fot'cc;_ but he struggled resolutely, and soon
freed hiiiisell from the grasp tofrtlie seaman, who
immediately resumed his plaice among us, and
urged that we should not any lotiger risk our lives
for the sake ofa clrunkard and it madman. Most
"ofthe party declared they were of the same opin-
ion, and began to push off the boat; but I entren-
ted them to make one effrrt more to induce their
infatuated commander to accompany us.—-At that
meme‘;-nt ltelilcaiiie up from the cabin, to which he
had desceiiitie'd a little bclore, and we imnii:di-ate-
‘fy perceived that he xi as more under the influ-
ence of ardent spirits than over. He abused us,
all in the grossest terms, and threatened his crew
with severe punishment, if they did not come on
board and return to their duty. His manner was
so violent, that no one seemed willing to attempt
to constrain him to come on board the boat ; and
al'ter7vai/‘fily representing the absurdity of his con-
rluctfand the danger of his situation, we bid him
{area-ell, and towed away.
'I.‘he‘.’fsea ran so high, and had such a terrific
appeariince, that I ttlmosuwished mys_elf.in the
sloop again. The crew plied the oars in silence,
and we heard nothing but the hissing of the enor-
motisfbillows as they gently rose up, and slowly
subsided again, without breaking. At intervals,
our b,oat_,was elevated far above the surface of the
ocean". and remained, for a few moments, tremb-
]i‘ng,fppon the pinnacle ofa surge, from which it
tvo'u'l'tl quietly descetid into a gulph, so deep and
and_av.'l'ul, that we plten thought the dense black
inas"s of waters which formed its sides, were on
the point of over-arching us, and btfrsting upon
our heads. We glided with regular undulations
from one billow to another ; but every time we
sunk into the trough of the sea, my heart died
withinme, for I felt as if we were going lower
..r.'..,,. than we had ever been before, and clung in-
stinctively to the board on which I sat.
Notwithstanding my terrors, I frequently look-
ed towards the sloop. The fragments of her
mainsail, which remainedattaclied to the yard,
anti fluttered in the wind, enabled us to discern
i xuctly where she lay, antl shewed, by their mo-
tmn, that she pitched about in a terrible manner.
‘.‘~'e occasionally heard the voice of her unfortu-
n.-. l.‘ commander, calling to us in tones of frantic
‘.f'.'l‘l':‘Il)n, and by toms vociferating curses and
I ....,.lien:ons oaths, and singing sea-songs with a
-.. .Z»:l and frightlul energy. I sometimes almost
v.i .h't:tl that the crew would make another effort
l-'.- are hint, but, next moment, the principle of
..~« .. pl oservalinn repressed allifeelings of human-
1. -. ,.__i-itl I endeavored, by closing my ears, to ban-
i .. the idea of his sufferings from my mind. _
After a little time the shivering canvass disap-
ltared, and we heard a tumultuous roaring and
bursting of pillows, and saw an unusual spark-
ling of the sea about a quttrtei’ of a mile from us.
One of the sailors cried out that the sloop was
ninv on her beam ends, and that the noise, to
which we listened, was that of the waves break-
ing Qvelf her. could sometimes pcl'C»':ll’¢: a
,~_-. . .
:53.-, -‘~ ' ._ I ‘ ~ ~_ -‘W
large black mass heaving itself up irregularly a-
mong the llashing surges, and then disappearing
for a few moments, and kffew but too well that it
was the hull of the vessel. At intervals, a shrill
anti agonized voice uttered some exclamations,
but we could not distinguish what they were, and
then along drawn shriek came across the ocean,
which suddenly grew more furiously agitated
near the spot where the sloop lay, and, in a few
moments, she sunk down, and a black wave form-
ed itself out of the waters that had engulfed her,
and swelled gloomily into a magnitude greater
than that of the surrounding billows.
The seamen dropped their oars, as if by one
impulse, and looked expressively at each other.
without speaking a word. Awful forebodings of
a fate similar to that of the captain, appeared to
chill every heart, and to repress the energy that
had hitherto excited us to make unremitting ex-
ertions for our common safety. \Vhile' we were
in this state of hopeless inaction, the man at the
helm called out that he saw a light a-head. Vl/e
all strained our eyes to discern it, but, at the
moment, the boat was sinking down between two
immense waves, one of which closed the pros-
pect. and we -remained in breathless anxiety till
a rising surge elevated us above the level of the
surrounding ocean. A light like a dazzling star
then suddenly flashed upon our view, and joyful
exclamations burst from every month. ‘That,’
cried one of the crew, ‘ must be the floating bea-
con, which our captain was looking out for this
afternoon. If we can but gain it, we'll be safe e-
nough yet.’ This intelligence cheeredus all, and
the men began to ply the cars with rerloubled vi-
gour, while I employed myself in bailing out the
water that sometimes rushed over the gunpel of
the boat when a sea happened to strike her.
An hour-’s hard rowing brought us so near the
light-house’ that we almost ceased to apprehend
any further danger ; but it was suddenly obscur-
ed from our view, and, at the same time, a con-
fused roaring and dashing commenced at a little
distance, and rapidly increased in loudness. \-Ve
soot? perceived a tremendous billow rolling to-
wards us. Its top, part of which had already
broke, overhung the base, as if unwilling to burst
until we were nithin the reach of its violence.
The man who steered the boat, brought her head
to the sea, but all to no purpose, for the water
ruslied furiously over us, andwe were complete-
ly immersed. I felt the boat swept from under
me, and was left strugling and groping about in
hopeless desperation, for something to‘catch hold
of. When nearly exhausted, I received asevere
blow on the side, from a small cask of water,
which the sea had forced against me. I immedi-
ately twined my arms around it, and after recov-
ering myself a little, began to look for the boat,
discover any vestige of them. or of their vessel.
However, I still had a faint hope that they were
in existence, andtliat the intervention ofthe bil-
lows concealed them frgm my view. I continu-
ed to shoot as loud as possible, for the sound of
my own voice in some measure relieved me from
the feeling of awful and heart-chilling loneliness
which my situation inspired; but not even an
echo responded to‘ my cries, and, convinced that
my comrades had all perished, I ceased looking
for them, and. pushed towards-tlie beacon in the
best manner I could. A long series of fatiguing
exertions brought me close to -.26 side of the ves-
sel which contained it, and I called out loudly, in
hopes that those on board might hear me and
come to my assistance, but no one appearing, I
walled patiently till a wave raised me on a level
with the chains, and then caught hold 01 them,
and succeeded in getting oti board.
As I did not see any person on deck, I went
forward to the sky-liglit, and looked down. Two
men were seated below at a table, and a lamp,
which was suspended above them, being swung
backwards and forwards by the rolling ofthe ves-
Scls threw its light upon their faces alternately.
One seemed agitated with passion, and the other
surveyed him with a scorn'ful look. They both
talked very loudly, and used threatening gestures
but the sea made so much noise that I could not
distinguish what was said. After a little time,
they started up, and seemed to he on the point
of closing and wrestling together, when a woman
rushed ttrrougli a small door and prevented them.
I beat upon deck with my feet at the same time,
and the attention of the whole party was soon
transferred to the noise. One ofthe men imme-
diately came up the cabin stairs, but stopped short
on seeing me, as ifirresollite;-wlietlier to advance
or hasten below again. I approached him, and
told my story in a few words, but instead ofmak-
lug any reply, he went down to the cabin, and
began to relate to the others what he had seen.
I soon followed him, and easily found my way
into the apartment were they all were. They
appeared to feel mingled sensations of fear and
astonishment at my presence, and it was some
time before any of tlfein entered into conversa-
tion wlth me, or affortled those comforts whichl
stood so‘ much in need of.
After I had refreshed myself with food, and
been provided with a change of clothing, I went
upon deck, and surveyed the singular asylum in
which Providence had enabled me to take refuge
from the fury of the storm. It did not exceed
thirty feet long, and was very strongly built, and
completely decked over, except at the entrance to
the cabin. It had a thick mast at mid-ships, with
a large lantern, containing sever al burners and re-
fl.~ctoi-s, on the top of it ; and this could be low-
ered and hoisted up again as often as requirt.-d,by‘
cans of ropes and pullies. The vessel was firm-
ly moored upon an extensive sand bank, the bea-
con being intended to warn seamen to avoid a part
of the ocean where many lives and vessels had
been lost in consequence of the latter running a-
ground. The accommodations below decks were
narrow, and of an inferior description ; however,
by my entertainers, and fatigue, and the rocking
biIln'.vs,coml)ined to lull me into a quiet and
dreamless sleep.
Next morning, -one of the men, whose name
was Angerstofl‘, came to my bed-side, and called
and to call to my companions; but I could not ’
I gladly retired to the birth that was altotted me‘
ffiwjfi 2.3; 1822.
-—,—_
me to breakfast in a slit-ly and imperious" man-
ner. The other looked coldly and distrustfully
when Ijoineil them, and I saw that they regarded
me as an unwelcorne guest. The meal passed
without conversation, and I went on deck as soon
as it was over.-The tempest of the preceding
night had in a great me-astire abated, but the sea
still ran very high, and a black mist hovered over
it. through which the Norwegian coast, lying at
eleven miles distance, ‘could be dimly seen. I
looked in vain for some remains of the sloop or
boat. Not a bird enlivened the heaving expanse
of waters, and I turned shuddering from the
dreary scene, and asked Morvalden, the youngest
ofthe men, when he thought I had any chance
of getting ashore. ‘ Not very soon, I am al'raid,.’
returned he.—‘ VVe are visited once a month by
people from yonder land, who are appointed to
being our supply of provisions and other necessa-
ries. They were here only six days ago, so you
may count how long it will be before they return.
Fishing boats sometimes pass us during fine
weather, butwe woii’t have much of that this
‘moon at least.’
. No intelligence could have been more depres-
sing to me than this. The idea of spending per-
haps three weeks in such a place was almost in-
supportable, and the more so, as I could not has-
ten my deliverance by any exertions of my own,
but would be obliged to remain, in a stateol inac-
tive suspense, till good fortune, or the regular
course of events, afforded me the means of get-
ting ashore. Neither Angerstoff nor Morvalden
seemed to sympathize with my distress, or even
to care that I should have it in my power to leave
the vessel, except in so far as my departure would
free them from the expense of supporting me.
They returned indistinct and repulsive answers
to all the questions I asked, and appeared anxious
to avoid having the least communication with me.
During the "greater part of the forenoon, they
employed themselves in trimming the lamps,
and cleaning the reflectors, but never conveirsed
any. I easily perceived that a mutual animosity
existed between them, but was unable to discover
the cause of it. Morvalden seemed to fear An-
gerstolf, and, at the same time, to feel a deep re-
sentment towards him, which he did not dare to
express. Angerstolf apparently was aware of
this. for he behaved to his companion with the
undisguised fierceness of determined hate, and o-
penly thwarted him in every thing. ‘
Marietta, the female on board, was the wife of
Morvalden. She remained chiefly below decks,
and attended to the domestic concerns of the ves-
sel. She was rather good-looking, btit so reserv-
ed and forbidding in her manners, that she form-
ed no desirable acquisition to our party, already
so heartless and unsociable in its character.
VVhen night approached, after the lapse of a
wearisome and nionotonous day, I went on deck
to see the beacon lighted, and continued walking
backwards and forwards till a late‘liotir. I watch-
ed the lantern, as it swung from side to side, and
flashed upon different portions of the sea alter-
nately, and sometimes fancied I saw men strug-
gling among the biilows that tumbled around,and
at other times imagined that I could discern the
white sail of an approaching vessel. Human
voices seemed to mingle with the noise of the
bursting waves, and I often listened intently al-
most in the expectation of hearing articulate
sounds. My mind grew sombre as the scene it-
self, and strange and fearfulideas obtruded them-
selves in rapid sttcccssion. It was dreadful to be
chained in the middle of the tleep—to be the con-
tinual sport of the quietless billows-to be shun-
ned as a fatal thing by those who traversed the
solitary ocean. Though within sight of the shore,
our sittratioii was more dreary than if we had been
sailing at thousand miles f. om it. We felt not
the plcastire of moving forward nor the hope of
reaching port, noi- the delights arising from fa-
vourable-breezes and genial weather.-L-When a
billow drove us to one side we were tossed back
again by another—-our imprisonment had no vari-
ety of definite termination--and the calm and the
tempest were alike uninteresting to us. I felt
as if my fate had already become linked with that
of those who were on board the vessel. My hopes
of being again permitted to mingle with mankind
died away, and I anticipated long years ofgloom
and despair in the company of these repulsive
persons into whose hands fate had unexpectedly
consigned me. '
Angeratoll‘ and Morvalden tended the beaco
alternately during the night. The latter had the‘
watch while I remained upondeck. His appear-‘
ance and manner indicated much perturbation of
mind, and he paced hurriedly from side to side,
sometimes muttering to himself, and sometimes
stopping suddenly to look through the sky-light,
as if anxiotis to discover what was going on be-‘
low. He would then gaze intently upon the
heavens, and next moment take out his watch,
and contemplate the motions of its hands. I did
not offer to disturb these reveries, and thought
myself altogether unobserved by him, till he sud-
denly advanced to the spot where I stood, and
said, in a loud whisper," Thet-e’s at villain below,
a desperate villain—he is capable of any thing-
and the woman is as bad as him.’ I asked what
proofhe had of this. ‘ Qli,I know it; that wretch
whom Ioncc thought my friend, has gained my
wife's affections. She has been faithless to me,
yes, she has._ They both wish I were out of the
way. Perhaps they are now planning'my de-
struclion. \'V‘~hat can Ido? It is very terrible
to be shut up insuch narrow" limits with those
who hate me, and to have nomeans of escaping,
or defending myself against their machinations.’
‘ Why doyou not leave the beacon,’ inquired I,
‘ and abandon your companion and guilty wife 3'
,‘ Ah, that is impossible,’ answered he ; *ifI went
on shore I would forfeit my liberty. I live here
that I may escape the vengeance of the law,
which I once outraged for the sake of her who has
now withdrawn her love from me. What ingrat-’
itude 1! Mine is indeeda terrible fate, ‘out I must
bear it. And shall I never again wander through
the green fields, and climb the rocks that encir-
cle my native place 2 Are the weary dashings of-
the sea, and the moaning: ofthe wind, to" fill my
" ea-'s<=ominua_1Iy. all the while telling ineuthlit I
am an exile ?--a hopeless, despairing exile. But
ll “’°“’l last long: cried he"; -Fihey will murder
me I I am sure of it--,I_neve‘r go to sleep without
dreaming. Angerstoff has‘ pushed me overbohrd.’
‘ Your lonely situation, and inactive life dis-
‘pose you to give way to these chimeras,’ said I ‘;
‘ Y_°ll mllst cndeavoriifto resist them.» Perhaps
things are not so bad asyoul suppose.’ , 'I'his is
not a lonesome situation,’ replied Mopvaldeii, iii a‘
solemn tone. ‘ Perhaps you will have proof of
what I say before you leave us‘. _ Many vessels
used to be lost here, and few are "tvi'ecIted. still ;
and; the skeletons and corpses oI’thos_e who have
perished lie all over the sand-bank. V Soiifetitiies,
at midnight, I have seen crowds of human 'fig«’ures
moving backwards and forwards upon th'e-"surface
of the ocean, almost as far as the eye could, reach.
Ineither knew who they were, nor what they did
there. VVhen_watching the lantern alone‘, I of-
ten‘ hear a number of voices talking together, as
it were, under the waves: and I twice cauglit the
very words they 'titter'ed, but I cannot repeat
them—tli‘ey dwellgincessantly upon my memory,
but my tongue ‘refuses to prondunce them, or to
explain to_o_thers what they meant.’
_ ‘ Do not let your senses be imposed upon by a
distempered imagination,’ said I ; ‘ there is .no
reality in the things youliave told me.’ ‘ Per-
liapsmy mind occasionally wanders a little, for
it has a heavy burden _upon it,’ returned Montai-
den. I have been guilty of a dreadful crime.--«
to reveal to you. -One stormy ‘night, shortly af-
ter I began to take charge of this beacon, while
‘watching on deck, I fell into a profound sleepj ; -I‘
know not how long it continued, but I was awak-
ened by horrible shoots and cries-—I started up,
and instantly perceived that all the lamps in the
lantern were extinguished. It was very dark,
and the sea raged furiously;-but notwithstand-
the wind, and the waves breaking over her with
violence. Half frantic with horror, I ran down
to the cabin for a taper, and lighted the lamps as
fast as possible. The lantern, when hoisted to
the top of the mast, threw a vivid glare on the
surrounding ocean, and showed me the vessel
disappearing among the billows. Hundreds of
people lay gasping in the water near her. Men,
women and children, writhed together in agoniz-
ing struggles, and uttering soul-harrowing cries;
and their countenances,as they gradually stiffen-
ed under the hands of death, were all turned to-
wards me with glassy stare, while the lurid ex-
pression of their glittering eyes upbraided me with
having been the cause of their untimely end_.—~
Never shall I forget those looks. They haunt
me wherever I am—asleep and awake-snight
and day. I have kept this tale of horror -secret
till now, and I do not know if I shall ever have
courage to relate it again. The masts of the
vessel projected above the surface of the sea for
several months after she was lost, as if to keep
me in recollection of the night on which so many
human creatures perished, in consequence of my
neglect and carelessness. VVould to God I had
no memory! I sometimes think I am. getting
mad. The past, the present, are equally dreadful
to me ; and I dare not anticipate the future.’
I felt a sort of superstitions dread Steal 0V¢\‘
me, while Morvalden related his story, and we
rind of his watch expired. I then went below,
-and took refuge in my birth, though I was but lit:
tle inclined for sleep. The gloomy ideas, ant!’
dark forebodings, expressed by Morvalden, weigh-
ed heavily upon my mind, without my knowing
why: and my situation, which had at first seem-
ed only dreary and depressing, began to have
something indefinitely terrible in its aspect.
Next day, when Morvalden proceeded as usual
to put the beacon in order, he called upon Anger-
stolf to come and assist him, which the latter pe-
remptorily refused. Morvalden then went down
to the cabin, where his companion was, and re-
quested to know why his orders were not obeyed.-
‘ Because I hate trouble,’ replied Ange-rstoff. ‘ I
entrusted with the direction of every thing. Do
not attempt to trifle with me.’ ‘ Trifle with you I.’
exclaimed Angerstofi‘, looking contempmously.
‘No, no; I am no trifler; and_I advise you to
walk up stairs again, lest I prove this to your
fcost.’ ‘ Why, husband,’ cried Marietta, I believe
‘their is no bounds to your laziness ; you, make
_.this young man toil from morning to night, and
%take advantage of his good-nature in the most
jshameful manner.’ ‘Peace, infamous woman I’
‘said Morvalden ; I know very well why you stand
‘up in his defence; but I'll put a stop to the inti-
macy that subsists between you.
room instantly ! You are my wife: and Shall obey
me.’ ‘ Is this usage to be borne ?’ exclaimed
Marietta. ‘ Will-no one step forward toprotect
me from his violence.’ _
Angerstofl”, ¢don’t presume to insult my mistress.-’
‘Mistress l’ repeated Morvalden. ‘ This to my
face I and struck him a severe blow. Anger-stolf
but I got between them and prevente<3-l1im- M8-_
rietta then began to shed tears. and applauded
the generosity her paramour had evinced in spar-
ing her husband, who immediately went _upon
deck, without speaking a word, and._hut'ricdly»
resumed the work that had engaged his attention
previous to the quarrel. .
Neither of the two men seemed at all disposed
-for a reconciliation, and they had no intercourse
during the whole day, except angry and revenge-
ful looks. ‘I frequently observed Marietta in deep
consultationwith Angerstoff, and easily perceiv-
ed that the subject of debate had some relation
to her injut-ed husband, whose manner evinced
much alarm 'a'nd’anxiety, although he endeavour-
ed to look calm and cheerful. He did notymake
upon deck. Whenever Angerstolf accidepta
passed him-,.'he shrunkback with an expres
dread, and intuitively, as it were, caugh ’
s
a rope,_.or any other-‘object tostvllittll‘
Many that now lie in the deep below us, might j .
start up, and accuse me of what I am just going“
ing all this, I observed a ship a ground on the '
bank» a little way from me, her sails fluttering in .
continued walking the deck in silence, till the .pe'- ” '
am master here,’ said Morvalden, ‘ andihave been.
Go to your‘
‘ Insole nt fellow I’ cried
sprung forward. with the intention of returning-‘it, '
his appearanct at meals, but spent all his time I
Norwalk Chronicler