The Lock and Key Library: The most interesting stories of all nations: American
General
The Lock and Key Library: The most interesting stories of all nations: American
Detective and mystery stories; Short stories, American
“It left me also in the dark,” replied Legrand, “for a few days;
during which I made diligent inquiry in the neighborhood of
Sullivan’s Island, for any building which went by name of the
‘Bishop’s Hotel’; for, of course, I dropped the obsolete word
‘hostel.’ Gaining no information on the subject, I was on the
point of extending my sphere of search, and proceeding in a more
systematic manner, when, one morning, it entered into my head,
quite suddenly, that this ‘Bishop’s Hostel’ might have some
reference to an old family, of the name of Bessop, which, time out
of mind, had held possession of an ancient manor house, about four
miles to the northward of the island. I accordingly went over to
the plantation, and reinstituted my inquiries among the older
negroes of the place. At length one of the most aged of the women
said that she had heard of such a place as Bessop’s Castle, and
thought that she could guide me to it, but that it was not a
castle, nor a tavern, but a high rock.
“I offered to pay her well for her trouble, and, after some demur,
she consented to accompany me to the spot. We found it without
much difficulty, when, dismissing her, I proceeded to examine the
place. The ‘castle’ consisted of an irregular assemblage of cliffs
and rocks—one of the latter being quite remarkable for its height
as well as for its insulated and artificial appearance. I
clambered to its apex, and then felt much at a loss as to what
should be next done.
“While I was busied in reflection, my eyes fell upon a narrow ledge
in the eastern face of the rock, perhaps a yard below the summit
upon which I stood. This ledge projected about eighteen inches,
and was not more than a foot wide, while a niche in the cliff just
above it gave it a rude resemblance to one of the hollow-backed
chairs used by our ancestors. I made no doubt that here was the
‘devil’s seat’ alluded to in the MS., and now I seemed to grasp the
full secret of the riddle.
“The ‘good glass,’ I knew, could have reference to nothing but a
telescope; for the word ‘glass’ is rarely employed in any other
sense by seamen. Now here, I at once saw, was a telescope to be
used, and a definite point of view, ADMITTING NO VARIATION, from
which to use it. Nor did I hesitate to believe that the phrases,
‘forty-one degrees and thirteen minutes,’ and ‘northeast and by
north,’ were intended as directions for the leveling of the glass.
Greatly excited by these discoveries, I hurried home, procured a
telescope, and returned to the rock.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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