EDGAR HUNTLY. CHAPTER X.
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With these determinations, I
proceeded. The entrance was low, and
compelled me to resort to hands as well
as feet. At a few yards from the mouth
the light disappeared, and I found myself
immersed in the dunnest obscurity.
Had I not been persuaded that another
had gone before me, I should have relinquished
the attempt. I proceeded
with the utmost caution, always ascertaining,
by out-stretched arms, the height
and breadth of the cavity before me. In
a short time the dimensions expanded on
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all sides, and permitted me to resume
my feet.
I walked upon a smooth and gentle
declivity. Presently the wall, on one
side, and the ceiling receded beyond my
reach. I began to fear that I should be
involved in a maze, and should be disabled
from returning. To obviate this
danger it was requisite to adhere to
the nearest wall, and conform to the
direction which it should take, without
straying through the palpable obscurity.
Whether the ceiling was lofty or low,
whether the opposite wall of the passage
was distant or near, this, I deemed no
proper opportunity to investigate.
In a short time, my progress was
stopped by an abrupt descent. I set
down the advancing foot with caution,
being aware that I might at the next step
encounter a bottomless pit. To the brink
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of such an one I seemed now to have arrived.
I stooped, and stretched my hand
forward and downward, but all was
vacuity.
Here it was needful to pause. I
had reached the brink of a cavity whose
depth it was impossible to ascertain. It
might be a few inches beyond my
reach, or hundreds of feet. By leaping
down I might incur no injury, or might
plunge into a lake or dash myself to
pieces on the points of rocks.
I now saw with new force the propriety
of being furnished with a light. The
first suggestion was to return upon my
foot-steps, and resume my undertaking
on the morrow. Yet, having advanced
thus far, I felt reluctance to recede without
accomplishing my purposes. I reflected
likewise that Clithero had boldy
entered this recess, and had certainly
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came forth at a different avenue from
that at which he entered.
At length it occurred to me, that
though I could not go forward, yet
I might proceed along the edge of this
cavity. This edge would be as safe a
guidance, and would serve as well for
a clue by which I might return, as the
wall which it was now necessary to forsake.
Intense dark is always the parent of
fears. Impending injuries cannot in this
state be descried, nor shunned, nor repelled.
I began to feel some faltering of
my courage and seated myself, for a few
minutes, on a stoney mass which arose
before me. My situation was new. The
caverns I had hitherto met with, in this
desert, were chiefly formed of low-browed
rocks. They were chambers, more or
less spacious, into which twi-light was
at least admitted; but here it seemed as
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if I was surrounded by barriers that
would forever cut off my return to air
and to light.
Presently I resumed my courage and
proceeded. My road appeared now to
ascend. On one side I seemed still upon
the verge of a precipice, and, on the
other, all was empty and waste. I had
gone no inconsiderable distance, and
persuaded myself that my career would
speedily terminate. In a short time, the
space on the left hand, was again occupied,
and I cautiously proceeded between
the edge of the gulf and a rugged wall.
As the space between them widened I
adhered to the wall.
I was not insensible that my path
became more intricate and more difficult
to retread in proportion as I advanced.
I endeavoured to preserve a vivid conception
of the way which I had already
passed, and to keep the images of the
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left, and right-hand wall, and the gulf, in
due succession in my memory.
The path which had hitherto been
considerably smooth, now became rugged
and steep. Chilling damps, the
secret trepidation which attended me,
the length and difficulties of my way,
enhanced by the ceaseless caution and
the numerous expedients which the utter
darkness obliged me to employ, began
to overpower my strength. I was frequently
compelled to stop and recruit
myself by rest. These respites from
toil were of use, but they could not enable
me to prosecute an endless journey,
and to return was scarcely a less arduous
task than to proceed.
I looked anxiously forward in the
hope of being comforted by some dim
ray, which might assure me that my
labours were approaching an end. At
last this propitious token appeared, and
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I issued forth into a kind of chamber,
one side of which was open to the air
and allowed me to catch a portion of
the checquered sky. This spectacle
never before excited such exquisite sensations
in my bosom. The air, likewise,
breathed into the cavern, was unspeakably
delicious.
I now found myself on the projecture
of a rock. Above and below the
hill-side was nearly perpendicular. Opposite,
and at the distance of fifteen or
twenty yards, was a similar ascent. At
the bottom was a glen, cold, narrow and
obscure. The projecture, which served
as a kind of vestibule to the cave, was
connected with a ledge, by which, though
not without peril and toil, I was conducted
to the summit.
This summit was higher than any
of those which were interposed between
itself and the river. A large part of
this chaos of rocks and precipices was
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sujected, at one view, to the eye. The
fertile lawns and vales which lay beyond
this, the winding course of the river,
and the slopes which rose on its farther
side, were parts of this extensive scene.
These objects were at any time fitted to
inspire rapture. Now my delight was
enhanced by the contrast which this
lightsome and serene element bore to
the glooms from which I had lately
emerged. My station, also, was higher,
and the limits of my view, consequently
more ample than any which I had
hitherto enjoyed.
I advanced to the outer verge of the
hill, which I found to overlook a steep,
no less inaccessible, and a glen equally
profound. I changed frequently my
station in order to diversify the scenery.
At length it became necessary to inquire
by what means I should return. I traversed
the edge of the hill, but on every
side it was equally steep and always too
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lofty to permit me to leap from it. As
I kept along the verge, I perceived that
it tended in a circular direction, and
brought me back, at last, to the spot
from which I had set out. From this
inspection, it seemed as if return was
impossible by any other way than that
through the cavern.
I now turned my attention to the
interior space. If you imagine a cylindrical
mass, with a cavity dug in the
centre, whose edge conforms to the exterior
edge; and, if you place in this
cavity another cylinder, higher than that
which surrounds it, but so small as to
leave between its sides and those of the
cavity, an hollow space, you will gain as
distinct an image of this hill as words
can convey. The summit of the inner
rock was rugged and covered with trees
of unequal growth. To reach this summit
would not render my return easier;
but its greater elevation would extend
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my view, and perhaps furnish a spot
from which the whole horizon was conspicuous.
As I had traversed the outer, I now
explored the inner edge of this hill. At
length I reached a spot where the chasm,
separating the two rocks, was narrower
than at any other part. At first view, it
seemed as if it were possible to leap over
it, but a nearer examination shewed me
that the passage was impracticable. So
far as my eye could estimate it, the
breadth was thirty or forty feet. I could
scarcely venture to look beneath. The
height was dizzy, and the walls, which
approached each other at top, receded
at the bottom, so as to form the resemblance
of an immense hall, lighted from
a rift, which some convulsion of nature
had made in the roof. Where I stood
there ascended a perpetual mist,
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occasioned by a torrent that dashed along the
rugged pavement below.
From these objects I willingly turned
my eye upon those before and above
me, on the opposite ascent. A stream,
rushing from above, fell into a cavity,
which its own force seemed gradually to
have made. The noise and the motion
equally attracted my attention. There
was a desolate and solitary grandeur in
the scene, enhanced by the circumstances
in which it was beheld, and by the perils
through which I had recently passed, that
had never before been witnessed by me.
A sort of sanctity and awe environed
it, owing to the consciousness of absolute
and utter loneliness. It was probable
that human feet had never before
gained this recess, that human eyes had
never been fixed upon these gushing
waters. The aboriginal inhabitants had
no motives to lead them into caves like
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this, and ponder on the verge of such a
precipice. Their successors were still
less likely to have wandered hither. Since
the birth of this continent, I was probably
the first who had deviated thus remotely
from the customary paths of men.
While musing upon these ideas, my
eye was fixed upon the foaming current.
At length, I looked upon the rocks which
confined and embarrassed its course. I
admired their phantastic shapes, and endless
irregularities. Passing from one to
the other of these, my attention lighted,
at length, as if by some magical transition,
on.....an human countenance!
My surprise was so abrupt, and my
sensations so tumultuous that I forgot
for a moment the perilous nature of my
situation. I loosened my hold of a pine
branch, which had been hitherto one of
my supports, and almost started from my
seat. Had my station been, in a slight
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degree nearer the brink than it was, I
should have fallen headlong into the
abyss.
To meet an human creature, even on
that side of the chasm which I occupied,
would have been wholly adverse to my
expectation. My station was accessible
by no other road than that through which
I had passed, and no motives were imaginable
by which others could be prompted
to explore this road. But he whom
I now beheld, was seated where it
seemed impossible for human efforts to
have placed him....
But this affected me but little in
comparison with other incidents. Not
only the countenance was human, but
in spite of shaggy and tangled locks,
and an air of melancholy wildness, I
speedily recognized the features of the
fugitive Clithero?
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One glance was not sufficient to
make me acquainted with this scene. I
had come hither partly in pursuit of this
man, but some casual appendage of his
person, something which should indicate
his past rather than his present existence,
was all that I hoped to find. That he
should be found alive in this desert; that
he should have gained this summit, access
to which was apparently impossible, were
scarcely within the boundaries of belief.
His scanty and coarse garb, had been
nearly rent away by brambles and thorns,
his arms, bosom and cheek were overgrown
and half-concealed by hair. There
was somewhat in his attitude and looks
denoting more than anarchy of thoughts
and passions. His rueful, ghastly, and
immoveable eyes, testified not only that
his mind was ravaged by despair, but
that he was pinched with famine.
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These proofs of his misery thrilled
to my inmost heart. Horror and shuddering
invaded me as I stood gazing
upon him, and, for a time, I was without
the power of deliberating on the measures
which it was my duty to adopt
for his relief. The first suggestion was,
by calling, to inform him of my presence.
I knew not what counsel or comfort to
offer. By what words to bespeak his
attention, or by what topics to molify his
direful passions I knew not. Though
so near, the gulf by which we were separated
was impassable. All that I could
do was to speak.
My surprise and my horror were still
strong enough to give a shrill and
piercing tone to my voice. The chasm
and the rocks loudened and reverberated
my accents while I exclaimed.....
Man! Clithero!
My summons was effectual. He
shook off his trance in a moment. He
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had been stretched upon his back, with
his eyes fixed upon a craggy projecture
above, as if he were in momentary expectation
of its fall, and crushing him to
atoms. Now he started on his feet. He
was conscious of the voice, but not of
the quarter whence it came. He was
looking anxiously around when I again
spoke.....Look hither: It is I who called
He looked. Astonishment was now
mingled with every other dreadful meaning
in his visage. He clasped his hands
together and bent forward, as if to satisfy
himself that his summoner was real. At
the next moment he drew back, placed
his hands upon his breast, and fixed his
eyes on the ground
This pause was not likely to be broken
but by me. I was preparing again
to speak. To be more distinctly heard,
I advanced closer to the brink. During
this action, my eye was necessarily
withdrawn from him. Having gained a
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somewhat nearer station, I looked again,
but....he was gone!
The seat which he so lately occupied
was empty. I was not forewarned of
his disappearance, or directed to the
course of his flight by any rustling
among leaves. These indeed would
have been overpowered by the noise of
the cataract. The place where he sat was
the bottom of a cavity, one side of which
terminated in the verge of the abyss, but
the other sides were perpendicular or
overhanging. Surely he had not leaped
into this gulf, and yet that he had so
speedily scaled the steep was impossible.
I looked into the gulf, but the depth
and the gloom allowed me to see nothing
with distinctness. His cries or groans
could not be overhead amidst the uproar
of the waters. His fall must have instantly
destroyed him, and that he had
fallen was the only conclusion I could
draw.
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My sensations on this incident cannot
be easily described. The image of
this man's despair, and of the sudden
catastrophe to which my inauspicious
interference had led, filled me with compunction
and terror. Some of my fears
were relieved by the new conjecture,
that, behind the rock on which he had
lain, there might be some aperture or
pit into which he had descended, or in
which he might be concealed.
I derived consolation from this conjecture.
Not only the evil which I
dreaded might not have happened, but
some alleviation of his misery was possible.
Could I arrest his foot-steps and
win his attention, I might be able to
insinuate the lessons of fortitude; but if
words were impotent, and arguments
were nugatory, yet to set by him in
silence, to moisten his hand with tears,
to sigh in unison, to offer him the spectacle
of sympathy, the solace of
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believing that his demerits were not estimated
by so rigid a standard by others as by
himself, that one at least among his fellow
men regarded him with love and
pity, could not fail to be of benign
influence.
These thoughts inspired me with
new zeal. To effect my purpose it was
requisite to reach the opposite steep. I
was now convinced that this was not an
impracticable undertaking, since Clithero
had already performed it. I once more
made the circuit of the hill. Every side
was steep and of enormous height, and
the gulf was no where so narrow as at
this spot. I therefore returned hither,
and once more pondered on the means of
passing this tremendous chasm in safety.
Casting my eyes upward, I noted the
tree at the root of which I was standing.
I compared the breadth of the gulf with
the length of the trunk of this tree, and
it appeared very suitable for a bridge.
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Happily it grew obliquely, and, if felled
by an axe, would probably fall of itself,
in such a manner as to be suspended
across the chasm. The stock was thick
enough to afford me footing, and would
enable me to reach the opposite declivity
without danger or delay.
A more careful examination of the
spot, the scite of the tree, its dimensions
and the direction of its growth convinced
me fully of the practicability of this expedient,
and I determined to carry it
into immediate execution. For this end
I must hasten home, procure an axe, and
return with all expedition hither. I took
my former way, once more entered the
subterranean avenue, and slowly re-emerged
into day. Before I reached
home, the evening was at hand, and my
tired limbs and jaded spirits obliged me
to defer my undertaking till the morrow.
Though my limbs were at rest, my
thoughts were active through the night.
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I carefully reviewed the situation of this
hill, and was unable to conjecture by
what means Clithero could place himself
upon it. Unless he occasionally
returned to the habitable grounds, it was
impossible for him to escape perishing by
famine. He might intend to destroy himself
by this means, and my first efforts
were to be employed to overcome this
fatal resolution. To persuade him to
leave his desolate haunts might be a laborious
and tedious task, meanwhile all
my benevolent intentions would be frustrated
by his want of sustenance. It was
proper, therefore, to carry bread with
me, and to place it before him. The
sight of food, the urgencies of hunger,
and my vehement intreaties might prevail
on him to eat, though no expostulation
might suffice to make him seek food
at a distance.
END OF VOL. I.
