The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 3Poe, Edgar Allan
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The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 3
Poe, Edgar Allan
American fiction -- 19th century; Fantasy fiction; Horror tales, American
It was more than an hour after being taken on board the Penguin
before he could give any account of himself, or be made to
comprehend the nature of the accident which had befallen our
boat. At length he became thoroughly aroused, and spoke much of
his sensations while in the water. Upon his first attaining any
degree of consciousness, he found himself beneath the surface,
whirling round and round with inconceivable rapidity, and with a
rope wrapped in three or four folds tightly about his neck. In an
instant afterward he felt himself going rapidly upward, when, his
head striking violently against a hard substance, he again
relapsed into insensibility. Upon once more reviving he was in
fuller possession of his reason—this was still, however, in the
greatest degree clouded and confused. He now knew that some
accident had occurred, and that he was in the water, although his
mouth was above the surface, and he could breathe with some
freedom. Possibly, at this period the deck was drifting rapidly
before the wind, and drawing him after it, as he floated upon his
back. Of course, as long as he could have retained this position,
it would have been nearly impossible that he should be drowned.
Presently a surge threw him directly athwart the deck, and this
post he endeavored to maintain, screaming at intervals for help.
Just before he was discovered by Mr. Henderson, he had been
obliged to relax his hold through exhaustion, and, falling into
the sea, had given himself up for lost. During the whole period
of his struggles he had not the faintest recollection of the
Ariel, nor of the matters in connexion with the source of his
disaster. A vague feeling of terror and despair had taken entire
possession of his faculties. When he was finally picked up, every
power of his mind had failed him; and, as before said, it was
nearly an hour after getting on board the Penguin before he
became fully aware of his condition. In regard to myself—I was
resuscitated from a state bordering very nearly upon death (and
after every other means had been tried in vain for three hours
and a half) by vigorous friction with flannels bathed in hot
oil—a proceeding suggested by Augustus. The wound in my neck,
although of an ugly appearance, proved of little real
consequence, and I soon recovered from its effects.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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