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21st, 1825. The Mexican treaty having been negotiated by the plenipotentiaries, Mr. Morier and Mr. Ward, I set off for the new republic of Guatemala, for the purpose of reporting on the state of affairs in that country. The Mexican government, which had hitherto shewn so much jealousy towards Guatemala, had now come to an amicable understanding with her, which had been brought about chiefly


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 Saturday 8th.—The captain arrived early in the morning, and, it being a showery day, remained at the marquee all day.

Sunday 9th.—At nine o'clock the captain, self, Harry, and a seaman set off with an intention to cross the island. We went along the shore to the stream of water we were at on the 2nd inst. Went to the lagoon we had been at before; we came to it at another place than we had previously been at. It appeared much larger, and fuller of tufty grass, the brush being very thick round it, and the water only knee deep. We ventured through it. It was nearly the same depth all the way over, which we supposed to be about two miles. It is full of tufty grass and bull-rushes, of a circular form. We afterwards kept an easterly course through a level country, sometimes dry, at others swampy. Trees small and very high, except some very large gum trees. It rained most of the day, which made it very disagreeable travelling. Marched till sunset, and it was with difficulty we could make a fire.

Monday 10th.—Started at four o'clock in the morning. Met with some fine land, the soil more strong and of a loamy nature. Went over some miles of it—some of a reddish, other of a grey cast. The trees are very high. I measured a gum tree that appeared lately fallen; 100 yards clear stem, and between five and six feet diameter. As near as I could judge there are about 20 per acre. The others small and straight. The poles are only two or three feet apart, very high and straight, from six to eighteen inches in diameter, of various sorts; high fern and sword-grass; a fine deep black soil. Passed a spot of moory ground, where we saw some badgers and kangaroos.

Tuesday 11th.—Started at six; continued our course. The country nearly as on the preceding day. At about two or three o'clock came to a swamp, with some very high fern trees. A little further came to a small stream of water. Traced it a little way, but finding it did not run directly in our course, the captain left for about a mile, when we fell in with it again. It was considerably larger, and I supposed it to be the head of the Great River, which runs into Elephant Bay. We traced it by crossing several times, there being many trees fallen across it. At about two or three miles from the place we first discovered it the water became salt, where the river is wider and fit for a boat to pass, between which and the beach are several small islands; on each side a tract of clear marsh, one side green, the other dead rushes; the side of the marsh next the sea hilly, the other level forest land. Saw many swans and ducks, and at six o'clock arrived at the mouth of the river in Elephant Bay. I suppose it may be about five miles from the place we first fell in with it to the bay. The same night we went to Cooper's, and stopped the night, being very tired and hungry.

I was informed that the French commodore took on board four of the prisoners which he landed on our arrival and one Lyons, an Irishman.

Wednesday 12th.—Set out at six o'clock, along the shore. Walked till four o'clock, when we shot a kangaroo. Sat down to broil it, but, the brush taking fire around us, was obliged to move a little further, where we made another fire; and it was our intention to have stopped the night, but, the wind being high and the smoke troublesome, about

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text: Author:Edwin Emerson

title: Author:Edwin Emerson


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 eleven o'clock the captain set fire to the bush, and we marched on towards the marquee, where we arrived at four o'clock in the morning.

Thursday 13th.—Remained at head-quarters all the day. A party went out foraging, and returned with live emus, two young live do., and a kangaroo.

Friday 14th.—The boat came on shore in the morning, and Dr. McCallum went on board, and I went into the country with two men to get specimens of wood.

Saturday 15th.—Looking over specimens and seeds; the captain taking observations.

Sunday 16th.—The boat came on shore in the morning, but, the wind being high and much surf, we did not go on board.

Monday, 17th.—In the morning two men went after some game; the boat went to the vessel with part of the luggage, and in the afternoon returned with the George's long boat, when we all went on board.

As far as I went round the island the hills are high and sandy for 2 or 3 three miles in, the brush very thick, and little grass. The interior is level, and in many cases swampy, with large lagoons. There is some good land in the middle of the island, but the timber is so thick and lofty that I could form no idea of its extent. The timber in general is gum-tree, mimosas of sorts, some ash, cotton bark, Banksia and Rhamnus; saw no cedar. The best place for a settlement is either in Elephant Bay or opposite New Year's Island; but as we saw but little of the interior there are perhaps better places. The shore is in every place difficult of access for vessels. Elephant oil and spars are the only articles of commerce the island produces; on the adjacent islands there are plenty of seals.

Tuesday, 18th.—All hands up at daylight; the Captain went sounding whilst the others were weighing anchor. At half-past nine o'clock sailed from New Year's Island, and at two saw land; supposed it to be Cape Albany (Albany Otway). Our company consisted of eighteen, the captain having taken on board Smith and Jones, who had been with us since our arrival on the island. This day had my provision served out by myself.

Wednesday, 19th.— Out of sight of land; a calm. At five p.m. saw land; at nine came to anchor.

Thursday, 20th.—In the morning off high land; the hills high and verdant. The trees inward appeared large. There appeared an opening like a small river to the eastward; at noon a valley with gentle rising ground, behind which the timber appeared large. At eight o'clock anchored in ; hot winds most of the day.

Friday, 2lst.—Weighed anchor early in the morning, and came further into the bay; dropped anchor. The Captain, Mr. Grimes, doctor, and myself went on shore, and walked across a neck of land to the sea, whilst the carpenter repaired the boat. The land is a light,


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2 through the skill and attention of my esteemed friend Don Juan de Dios Mayorga, minister from the Central Republic at Mexico. Accordingly, I was informed by Mr. Alaman, on asking for my passport, that an embassy was about to depart in a few weeks from his government. He suggested to me whether it would not be better for me to wait a little longer, to enable me to accompany it. Having heard that the Tartar frigate, Captain Brown, was at Acapulco, I resolved not to follow Mr. Alaman's advice. Captain Brown having been applied to with a request that he would take me to some port in Guatemala, he returned for answer that he was going up to San Blas, and should, in about the middle of April, put into Acapulco, from whence he would convey me, in case I should happen to be there, but that the nature of his instructions would not allow him to detain the vessel in that harbour. After some consultation, it was agreed that another letter


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Author:Bernhard Jülg

Works

 * Mongolische Märchensammlung
 * Über Wesen und Aufgabe der Sprachwissenschaft
 * On the Present State of Mongolian Researches
 * (Language)

title: Author:Bernhard Jülg


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12 elastic as the spring-board of an acrobat; they scarcely touched it with their feet, and their only fear was lest the height to which they were propelled would consume the time which they were saving by their short cut across the fields.

It was not long before their wild career brought them to the right bank of the Shelif. Here they were compelled to stop, for not only had the bridge completely disappeared, but the river itself no longer existed. Of the left bank there was not the slightest trace, and the right bank, which on the previous evening had bounded the yellow stream, as it murmured peacefully along the fertile plain, had now become the shore of a tumultuous ocean, its azure waters extending westwards far as the eye could reach, and annihilating the tract of country which had hitherto formed the district of Mostaganem. The shore coincided exactly with what had been the right bank of the Shelif, and in a slightly curved line ran north and south, whilst the adjacent groves and meadows all retained their previous positions. But the river-bank had become the shore of an unknown sea.

Eager to throw some light upon the mystery, Servadac hurriedly made his way through the oleander bushes that overhung the shore, took up some water in the hollow of his hand, and carried it to his lips. "Salt as brine!" he exclaimed, as soon as he had tasted it. "The sea has undoubtedly swallowed up all the western part of Algeria." "It will not last long, sir," said Ben Zoof, "It is, probably, only a severe flood."

The captain shook his head. "Worse than that, I fear, Ben Zoof," he replied with emotion. "It is a catastrophe that may have very serious consequences. What can have become of all my friends and fellow-officers?"

Ben Zoof was silent. Rarely had he seen his master so much agitated; and though himself inclined to receive these phenomena with philosophic indifference, his notions of military duty caused his countenance to reflect the captain's expression of amazement.

But there was little time for Servadac to examine the changes which a few hours had wrought. The sun had already reached the eastern horizon, and just as though it were crossing the ecliptic under the tropics, it sank like a cannon ball into the sea. Without any warning, day gave place to night, and earth, sea, and sky were immediately wrapped in profound obscurity.

was not the man to remain long unnerved by any untoward event. It was part of his character to discover the why and the wherefore of everything that came under his observation, and he would have faced a cannon ball the more unflinchingly from understanding the dynamic force by which it was propelled. Such being his temperament, it may well be imagined that he was anxious not to remain long in ignorance of the cause of the phenomena which had been so startling in their consequences.

"We must inquire into this to-morrow," he exclaimed, as darkness fell suddenly upon them. Then, after a pause, he added: "That is to say, if there is to be a to-morrow; for if I were to be put to the torture, I could not tell what has become of the sun."

"May I ask, sir, what we are to do now?" put in Ben Zoof.

"Stay where we are for the present; and when daylight appears—if it ever does appear—we will explore the coast to the west and south, and return to the gourbi. If we can find out nothing else, we must at least discover where we are."

"Meanwhile, sir, may we go to sleep?"

"Certainly, if you like, and if you can."

Nothing loath to avail himself of his master's permission, Ben Zoof crouched down in an angle of the shore, threw his arms over his eyes, and very soon slept the sleep of the ignorant, which is often sounder than the sleep of the just.

Overwhelmed by the questions that crowded upon his brain, Captain Servadac could only wander up and down the shore. Again and again he asked himself what the catastrophe could portend. Had the towns of Algiers, Oran, and Mostaganem escaped the inundation? Could he bring himself to believe that all the inhabitants, his friends, and comrades had perished; or was it not more probable that the Mediterranean had merely invaded the region of the mouth of the Shelif? But this supposition did not in the least explain the other physical disturbances. Another hypothesis that presented itself to his mind was that, the African coast might have been suddenly transported to the equatorial zone. But although this might get over the difficulty of the altered altitude of the sun and the absence of twilight, yet it would neither account for the sun setting in the east, nor for the length of the day being reduced to six hours.

"We must wait till to-morrow," he repeated; adding, for he had become distrustful of the future, "that is to say, if to-morrow ever comes."

Although not very learned in astronomy, Servadac was acquainted with the position of the principal constellations. It was therefore a considerable disappointment to him that, in consequence of the heavy clouds, not a star was visible in the firmament. To have ascertained that the pole-star had become displaced would have been an undeniable proof that the earth was revolving on a new axis; but not a rift appeared in the lowering clouds, which seemed to threaten torrents of rain.

It happened that the moon was new on that very day; naturally, therefore, it would have set at the same time as the sun. What, then, was the captain's bewilderment when, after he had been walking for about an hour and a half, he noticed on the western horizon a strong glare that penetrated even the masses of the clouds.

"The moon in the west!" he cried aloud; but suddenly bethinking himself, he added: "But no, that cannot be the moon; unless she has shifted very much nearer the earth, she could never give a light as intense as this."

As he spoke the screen of vapor was illuminated to such a degree that the whole country was, as it were, bathed in twilight. "What can this be?" soliloquized the captain. "It cannot be the sun, for the sun set in the east only an hour and a half ago. Would that those clouds would disclose what enormous luminary lies behind them! What a fool I was not to have learnt more astronomy! Perhaps,


text: Author:William Gilson Farlow

title: Author:William Gilson Farlow


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CH. I.] should be sent by express, pointing out to Captain Brown the urgency of the case, and thus, without waiting for his reply, I prepared to make all the arrangements for my immediate departure; and on Thursday the 21st of April, at five o'clock in the evening, left San Cosme.

My equipage consisted of ten baggage mules, besides two for my servants; one sumpter mule for myself, and three horses, with an escort of ten soldiers. I had made inquiries, some days previous, for any persons who might be likely to be going the same journey, and discovered, to my satisfaction, that a merchant, Don Mateo O—, who was trading alternately between Mexico, Guatemala, and Colombia, was about setting off to Acapulco. He joined me just as I was starting, and putting into my hands two papers of gold, each containing eighty doubloon pieces, requested me to lock them in my desk, as he expressed it, for greater security. There was no room for them there, and he therefore put them,


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Rh after all, I am racking my brain over something that is quite in the ordinary course of nature."

But, reason as he might, the mysteries of the heavens still remained impenetrable. For about an hour some luminous body, its disc evidently of gigantic dimensions, shed its rays upon the upper strata of the clouds; then, marvelous to relate, instead of obeying the ordinary laws of celestial mechanism, and descending upon the opposite horizon, it seemed to retreat farther off, grew dimmer, and vanished.

The darkness that returned to the face of the earth was not more profound than the gloom which fell upon the captain's soul. Everything was incomprehensible. The simplest mechanical rules seemed falsified; the planets had defied the laws of gravitation; the motions of the celestial spheres were erroneous as those of a watch with a defective mainspring, and there was reason to fear that the sun would never again shed his radiance upon the earth.

But these last fears were groundless. In three hours' time, without any intervening twilight, the morning sun made its appearance in the west, and day once more had dawned. On consulting his watch, Servadac found that night had lasted precisely six hours. Ben Zoof, who was unaccustomed to so brief a period of repose, was still slumbering soundly.

"Come, wake up!" said Servadac, shaking him by the shoulder; "it is time to start."

"Time to start?" exclaimed Ben Zoof, rubbing his eyes. "I feel as if I had only just gone to sleep."

"You have slept all night, at any rate," replied the captain; "it has only been for six hours, but you must make it enough."

"Enough it shall be, sir," was the submissive rejoinder.

"And now," continued Servadac, "we will take the shortest way back to the gourbi, and see what our horses think about it all."

"They will think that they ought to be groomed," said the orderly.

"Very good; you may groom them and saddle them as quickly as you like. I want to know what has become of the rest of Algeria: if we cannot get round by the south to Mostaganem, we must go eastwards to Tenes." And forthwith they started. Beginning to feel hungry, they had no hesitation in gathering figs, dates, and oranges from the plantations that formed a continuous rich and luxuriant orchard along their path. The district was quite deserted, and they had no reason to fear any legal penalty.

In an hour and a half they reached the gourbi. Everything was just as they had left it, and it was evident that no one had visited the place during their absence. All was desolate as the shore they had quitted.

The preparations for the expedition were brief, and simple. Ben Zoof saddled the horses and filled his pouch with biscuits and game; water, he felt certain, could be obtained in abundance from the numerous affluents of the Shelif, which, although they had now become tributaries of the Mediterranean, still meandered through the plain. Captain Servadac mounted his horse Zephyr, and Ben Zoof simultaneously got astride his mare Gelette, named after the mill of Montmartre. They galloped off in the direction of the Shelif, and were not long in discovering that the diminution in the pressure of the atmosphere had precisely the same effect upon their horses as it had had upon themselves. Their muscular strength seemed five times as great as hitherto; their hoofs scarcely touched the ground, and they seemed transformed from ordinary quadrupeds into veritable hippogriffs. Happily, Servadac and his orderly were fearless riders; they made no attempt to curb their steeds, but even urged them to still greater exertions. Twenty minutes sufficed to carry them over the four or five miles that intervened between the gourbi and the mouth of the Shelif; then, slackening their speed, they proceeded at a more leisurely pace to the southeast, along what had once been the right bank of the river, but which, although it still retained its former characteristics, was now the boundary of a sea, which extending farther than the limits of the horizon, must have swallowed up at least a large portion of the province of Oran. Captain Servadac knew the country well; he had at one time been engaged upon a trigonometrical survey of the district, and consequently had an accurate knowledge of its topography. His idea now was to draw up a report of his investigations: to whom that report should be delivered was a problem he had yet to solve.

During the four hours of daylight that still remained, the travelers rode about twenty-one miles from the river mouth. To their vast surprise, they did not meet a single human being. At nightfall they again encamped in a slight bend of the shore, at a point which on the previous evening had faced the mouth of the Mina, one of the left-hand affluents of the Shelif, but now absorbed into the newly revealed ocean. Ben Zoof made the sleeping accommodation as comfortable as the circumstances would allow; the horses were hobbled and turned out to feed upon the rich pasture that clothed the shore, and the night passed without special incident.

At sunrise on the following morning, the 2nd of January, or what, according to the ordinary calendar, would have been the night of the 1st, the captain and his orderly remounted their horses, and during the six-hours' day accomplished a distance of forty-two miles. The right bank of the river still continued to be the margin of the land, and only in one spot had its integrity been impaired. This was about twelve miles from the Mina, and on the site of the annex or suburb of Surkelmittoo. Here a large portion of the bank had been swept away, and the hamlet, with its eight hundred inhabitants, had no doubt been swallowed up by the encroaching waters. It seemed, therefore, more than probable that a similar fate had overtaken the larger towns beyond the Shelif.

In the evening the explorers encamped, as previously, in a nook of the shore which here abruptly terminated their new domain, not far from where they might have expected to find the important village of Memounturroy; but of this, too, there was now no trace. "I had quite reckoned upon a supper and a bed at Orleansville to-night," said Servadac, as, full of despondency, he surveyed the waste of water.

"Quite impossible," replied Ben Zoof, "except you had gone by a boat. But cheer up, sir, cheer up; we will soon devise some means for getting across to Mostaganem."