The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins, Volume 1 (of 2)Paltock, Robert
Science
The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins, Volume 1 (of 2)
Paltock, Robert
Adventure stories; Fantasy fiction
I passed the summer (though I had never yet seen the sun's body) very
much to my satisfaction: partly in the work I have been describing (for
I had taken two more of the beast-fish, and had a great quantity of oil
from them); partly in building me a chimney in my ante-chamber of mud
and earth burnt on my own hearth into a sort of brick; in making a
window at one end of the abovesaid chamber, to let in what little light
would come through the trees when I did not choose to open my door;
in moulding an earthen lamp for my oil; and, finally, in providing and
laying in stores, fresh and salt (for I had now cured and dried many
more fish), against winter. These, I say, were my summer employments
at home, intermixed with many agreeable excursions. But now the winter
coming on, and the days growing very short, or indeed there being no
day properly speaking, but a kind of twilight, I kept mostly in my
habitation, though not so much as I had done the winter before, when I
had no light within doors, and slept, or at least lay still, great
part of my time; for now my lamp was never out. I also turned two of
my beast-fish skins into a rug to cover my bed, and the third into a
cushion, which I always sat upon, and a very soft and warm cushion
it made. All this together rendered my life very easy, yea, even
comfortable.
An indifferent person would now be apt to ask, What would this man
desire more than he had? To this I answer, that I was contented while my
condition was such as I have been describing; but a little while after
the darkness or twilight came on, I frequently heard the voices again;
sometimes a few only at a time, as it seemed, and then again in great
numbers. This threw me into new fears, and I became as uneasy as ever,
even to the degree of growing quite melancholy; though, otherwise, I
never received the least injury from anything. I foolishly attempted
several times, by looking out of my window, to discover what these odd
sounds proceeded from, though I knew it was too dark to see anything
there.
I was now fully convinced, by a more deliberate attention to them, that
they could not be uttered by the beast-fish, as I had afore conjectured,
but only by beings capable of articulate speech; but then, what or where
they were, it galled me to be ignorant of.
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