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APPENDIX.
high seas.
For thirteen days the lovers were driven about on a tempestu足
ous ocean, at the mercy of wind and wave.
T h e fugitive bride was filled
with terror and remorse, and looked upon this uproar of the elements as the anger of heaven directed against her.
A l l the efforts of her lover
could not remove from her mind a dismal presage of some approaching catastrophe. A t length the tempest subsided.
O n the fourteenth day at dawn, the
mariners perceived what appeared to be a tuft of wood rising out of the sea.
T h e y joyfully steered for it, supposing it to be an island.
not mistaken.
T h e y were
A s they drew near, the rising sun shone upon noble forests,
the trees of which were of a kind unknown to them.
Flights of birds also
came hovering about the ship, and perched upon the yards and without any signs of fear.
rigging
T h e boat was sent on shore to reconnoitre,
and soon returned with such accounts of the beauty of the country, that Macham determined to take his drooping companion to the land, in hopes her health and spirits might be restored by refreshment and repose.
They
were accompanied on shore by the faithful friends who had assisted in their flight.
T h e mariners remained on board to guard the ship.
T h e country was indeed delightful.
T h e forests were stately and
magnificent ; there were trees laden with excellent fruits, others with aro足 matic flowers ; the waters were cool and limpid, the sky was serene, and there was a balmy sweetness in the air.
T h e animals they met with
showed no signs of alarm or ferocity, from which they concluded that the island was uninhabited.
O n penetrating a little distance they found a
sheltered meadow, the green bosom of which was bordered by laurels and refreshed by a mountain brook which ran sparkling over pebbles.
In
the centre was a majestic tree, the wide branches of which afforded shade from the rays of the sun.
Here Macham had bowers constructed and de足
termined to pass a few days, hoping that the sweetness of the country, and the serene tranquillity of this delightful solitude, would recruit the drooping health and spirits of his companion.
Three days, however, had
scarcely passed, when a violent storm arose from the northeast, and raged all night over the island.
O n the succeeding morning Macham repaired
to the sea-side, but nothing of his ship was to be seen, and he concluded that it had foundered in the tempest. Consternation fell upon the little band, thus left in an uninhabited island in the midst of the ocean. and repentant bride.
T h e blow fell most severely on the timid
She reproached herself with being the cause of all
their misfortunes, and, from the first, had been haunted by dismal forebo-