To-day the air was beautifully clear, and the sea no longer dark and
stormy, though the waves still broke with foam along the beach, but
sparkling and full of life. Already that morning I had seen the day
break over the sea as if it came out of its bosom:—
“The saffron-robed Dawn rose in haste from the streams
Of Ocean, that she might bring light to immortals and to mortals.”
The sun rose visibly at such a distance over the sea that the
cloud-bank in the horizon, which at first concealed him, was not
perceptible until he had risen high behind it, and plainly broke and
dispersed it, like an arrow. But as yet I looked at him as rising over
land, and could not, without an effort, realize that he was rising over
the sea. Already I saw some vessels on the horizon, which had rounded
the Cape in the night, and were now well on their watery way to other
lands.
We struck the beach again in the south part of Truro. In the early part
of the day, while it was flood tide and the beach was narrow and soft,
we walked on the bank, which was very high here, but not so level as
the day before, being more interrupted by slight hollows. The author of
the Description of the Eastern Coast says of this part, that “the bank
is very high and steep. From the edge of it west, there is a strip of
sand a hundred yards in breadth. Then succeeds low brushwood, a quarter
of a mile wide, and almost impassable. After which comes a thick,
perplexing forest, in which not a house is to be discovered. Seamen,
therefore, though the distance between these two hollows (Newcomb’s and
Brush Hollows) is great, must not attempt to enter the wood, as in a
snowstorm they must undoubtedly perish.” This is still a true
description of the country, except that there is not much high wood
left.
[Illustration: Truro—Starting on a voyage]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account