Part 12 (1/2)
CHAPTER XII
_The Waking of David--A glorious Scene--A Temptation--David embarks upon the ide Sea--Youth at the Prow and Pleasure at the Helator--Lost! Lost! Lost!--Despair of David--At the Mercy of Wind and Sea--The Isle of the Brigands--The Brigand Chief_
On therefreshed with his slu them The others were all asleep, and the house was silent As he lay he could hear the gentle ripple of the water upon the beach, and feel the sweet, bal as it tanned his cheeks
For so his situation, and then jumped out of bed and went to the
Immediately in front of him lay the Bay of Naples, a dark blue expanse, with its border of green shores and white cities, overhung by a sky whose hue rivalled that of the sea beneath The beauty of the scene was so exquisite that it called hier to remain within doors, he dressed himself and walked out On his way out he met no one, for all were still asleep He had to unlock the door to let himself out, and when outside he saw that the street was as deserted as the interior of the hotel
Standing at the door, he saw the eastern sky all ruddy and glowing
The sun was not yet up, but these hues indicated its approach, and announced that it was at hand The fertile plains, all covered with vineyards, spread afar, extending from the outskirts of the town to the slopes of the randly, their sides covered with groves, and resting in dark shadows There, too, was Vesuvius, as ever,over its suainst the blue sky
David left the hotel, and, after walking a few paces, turned his steps towards the sea-shore Here the attractions were greater than on the land, for the blue expanse of water spread itself out before hiated glories of the Bay of Naples were there in one view before his eyes There was a beach here of fine pebbles, which sloped gently into the water, and upon this beach a nu the beach for a little distance, David entered one of these boats, and sat down It was a small boat, with: a mast and sail, the latter of which was loosely furled Here David sat and looked out upon the water
The glorious scene filled his whole soul with enthusiastic delight
Upon that deep blue surface his eye was attracted by several white sails far away, that moved to and fro At that moment it seemed to him that to ht in the blue of heaven; and as he watched the boats he longed to be in theht of the boat in which he was Could he not have a little sail up and down along the shore? True, he did not kno to sail a boat, but he could learn; and this seeood a time to learn as any other He did not know the owner, but on his return he could pay hiht be worth He could float over this glorious water, and move up and doithin easy reach of the shore, so as to land whenever itboy, or an adventurous one
He was essentially quiet, methodical, and conservative It was not because this sail was a risky thing that he tried it, but rather because it seemed so perfectly safe There was a breeze,--he felt it,--and the progress of the boats, afar off on the water, tantalized hi much time to think about it, David yielded to the inclination of thethe boat from the land into the water, he let loose the sail; and then seating hilide over the water
About sailing David knew absolutely nothing He was not even acquainted with the theory of sailing; nor did he kno, or on what principle, a sail-boat norant, nor did he kno a boat obeys its rudder But he knew that the one who sails a boat sits in the stern, and holds the tiller; so David did the saht hand, and the sheets in his left
The as not very strong, and it happened to be blowing in such a way that, as he unfurled the sail, it filled at once, and the boatThe ht He saw hientle rate, and felt that thesheet and tiller, he resigned himself to the joy of the occasion
The aswhatever in the htest uneasiness The wavelets dashed pleasantly against the bows, and the course of the boat reht to keep her sail filled David saw that whatever the secret of navigationthat the boat was doing so adht, and not to move it to either side So he leaned back, and luxuriated in the pleasant motion, and looked up at the deep blue sky that bent above hireen verdurous hills, the vine-clad meadows, and the purple mountains
From time to ti the shore, parallel to it, as it appeared
He noticed, however, that he was now farther away from it than when he started; but as yet the distance did not seem excessive; in fact, it seeave him a finer view Before him the shore ran on until it terht that this would be a good place to fix as the li more utterly out of place than David in this sail-boat, and never was any hu more serenely unconscious of his unfitness David's frame of mind was one of calm, beatific enjoyment He was quite unconscious of the increase of the distance between his boat and the shore, which grew greater every moment, and equally unobservant of the lapse of tireat enjoyh exaltation of feeling the tith, even in the ht obtruded itself of ti had he been out? How one? He looked at his watch To his utter amazement and consternation, he found that it was seven o'clock--the ti for two hours at least As to distance, he could not grapple with that thought, but turned hastily, and looked back
That look gave him but little satisfaction He could see a line of white at the skirts of the sea; but whether it was Castellauess
It was a wide, sharp; and painful awakening froht, and it was an effectual one NoTwo hours! Seven o'clock!
Already they were at breakfast, and waiting for hi about his absence And when could he join theain? Two hours! If it had taken two hours to coo back Go back?
And where should he go, or how could he get back?
Thus far, David's idea about his course, if he can be said to have had an idea, was, that it lay along the shore, and that soo back as easily as he had co back was upon hinorance, for he had not the faintest idea how to turn the boat
There was no ti had to be done, and that immediately David knew this much at least, that a boat could be turned by an to experiment upon this part of the vessel He palled the rudder towards hian to flap, and toss, and snap, in such a way that he grew exceedingly nervous Suddenly a puff of wind came, and the sheets where whipped out of his nerveless hand, while the sail thus loosened bleard