The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 3Poe, Edgar Allan
General
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 3
Poe, Edgar Allan
American fiction -- 19th century; Fantasy fiction; Horror tales, American
_March 21st._-A sullen darkness now hovered above us—but from out
the milky depths of the ocean a luminous glare arose, and stole
up along the bulwarks of the boat. We were nearly overwhelmed by
the white ashy shower which settled upon us and upon the canoe,
but melted into the water as it fell. The summit of the cataract
was utterly lost in the dimness and the distance. Yet we were
evidently approaching it with a hideous velocity. At intervals
there were visible in it wide, yawning, but momentary rents, and
from out these rents, within which was a chaos of flitting and
indistinct images, there came rushing and mighty, but soundless
winds, tearing up the enkindled ocean in their course.
_March 22d._-The darkness had materially increased, relieved only
by the glare of the water thrown back from the white curtain
before us. Many gigantic and pallidly white birds flew
continuously now from beyond the veil, and their scream was the
eternal _Tekeli-li!_as they retreated from our vision. Hereupon
Nu-Nu stirred in the bottom of the boat; but upon touching him we
found his spirit departed. And now we rushed into the embraces of
the cataract, where a chasm threw itself open to receive us. But
there arose in our pathway a shrouded human figure, very far
larger in its proportions than any dweller among men. And the hue
of the skin of the figure was of the perfect whiteness of the
snow.
NOTE
THE circumstances connected with the late sudden and distressing
death of Mr. Pym are already well known to the public through the
medium of the daily press. It is feared that the few remaining
chapters which were to have completed his narrative, and which
were retained by him, while the above were in type, for the
purpose of revision, have been irrecoverably lost through the
accident by which he perished himself. This, however, may prove
not to be the case, and the papers, if ultimately found, will be
given to the public.
No means have been left untried to remedy the deficiency. The
gentleman whose name is mentioned in the preface, and who, from
the statement there made, might be supposed able to fill the
vacuum, has declined the task—this, for satisfactory reasons
connected with the general inaccuracy of the details afforded
him, and his disbelief in the entire truth of the latter portions
of the narration. Peters, from whom some information might be
expected, is still alive, and a resident of Illinois, but cannot
be met with at present. He may hereafter be found, and will, no
doubt, afford material for a conclusion of Mr. Pym’s account.
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