them from the expence of supporting me. They returned indistinct and repulsive answers to all the questions I asked, and appeared anxious to avoid having the least communication with me. During the greater part of the forenoon, they employed themselves in trimming the lamps, and cleaning the reflectors, but never conversed any. I easily perceived that a mutual animosity existed between them, but was unable to discover the cause of it. Morvalden seemed to fear Angerstoff, and, at the same time, to feel a deep resentment towards him, which he did not dare to express. Angerstoff apparent ly was aware of this, for he behaved to his companion with the undisguised fierceness of determined hate, and openly thwarted him in every thing. Marietta, the female on board, was the wife of Morvalden. She remained chiefly below decks, and attended to the domestic concerns of the vessel. She was rather good-looking, but so reserved and forbidding in her manners, that she formed no desirable acquisition to our party, already so heartless and unsociable in its character. When night approached, after the lapse of a wearisome and monotonous day, I went on deck to see the beacon lighted, and continued walking backwards and forwards till a late hour. I watched the lantern, as it swung from side to side, and flashed upon different portions of the sea alternately, and sometimes fancied I saw men struggling among the billows that tumbled around, and at other times imagined I could discern the white sail of an approaching vessel. Human voices seemed to mingle with the noise of the bursting waves, and I often listened intently, almost in the expectation of hearing articulate sounds. My mind grew sombre as the scene itself, and strange and fearful ideas obtruded themselves in rapid succession. It was dreadful to be chained in the middle of the deepto be the continual sport of the quietless billows-to be shunned as a fatal thing by those who traversed the solitary ocean. Though within sight of the shore, our situan was more dreary than if we had been sailing a thousand miles from it. We felt not the pleasure of moving forwards, nor the hope of reaching port, nor the delights arising from favourable breezes and genial weather. When a billow drove us to one side, we were tossed back again by another; our imprisonment had no variety or definite termination; and the calm and the tempest were alike uninteresting to us. I felt as if my fate had already become linked with that of those who were on board the vessel. My hopes of being again permitted to mingle with mankind died away, and I anticipated long years of gloom and despair in the company of these repulsive persons into whose hands fate had unexpectedly consigned me. Angerstoff and Morvalden tended the beacon alternately during the night. The latter had the watch while I remained upon deck. His appearance and manner indicated much perturbation of mind, and he paced hurriedly from side to side, sometimes muttering to himself, and sometimes stopping suddenly to look through the sky-light, as if anxious to discover what was going on below. He would then gaze intently upon the heavens, and next moment take out his watch, and contemplate the motions of its hands. I did not offer to disturb these reveries, and thought myself altogether unobserved by him, till he suddenly advanced to the spot where I stood, and said, in a loud whisper,-" There's a villain below-a desperate villain-this is true-he is capable of any thing--and the woman is as bad as him."--I asked what proof he had of all this."Oh, I know it," returned he; "that wretch Angerstoff, whom I once thought my friend, has gained my wife's affections. She has been faithless to me-yes, she has. They both wish I were cut of the way. Perhaps they are now planning my destruction. What can I do? It is very terrible to be shut up in such narrow limits with those who hate me, and have no means of escaping, or defending myself from their infernal machinations."- "Why do you not leave the beacon," inquired I," and abandon your companion and guilty wife? "Ah, that is impossible," answe Morvalden; "if I went on shore would forfeit my liberty. I live b that I may escape the vengeance of the law, which I once outraged for the sake of her who has now withdrawn her love from me. What ingratitude! Mine is indeed a terrible fate, but I must bear it. And shall I never again wander through the green fields, and climb the rocks that encircle my native place? Are the weary dashings of the sea, and the moanings of the wind, to fill my ears continually, all the while telling me that I am an exile?—a hopeless despairing exile. But it won't last long," cried he, catching hold of my arm; "they will murder me!-I am sure of it-I never go to sleep without dreaming that Angerstoff has pushed me overboard." "Your lonely situation, and inactive life, dispose you to give way to these chimeras," said I; "you must endeavour to resist them. Perhaps things aren't so bad as you suppose."—" This is not a lonely situation," replied Morvalden, in a solemn tone. "Perhaps you will have proof of what I say before you leave us. Many vessels used to be lost here, and a few are wrecked still; and the skeletons and corpses of those who have perished lie all over the sand-bank. Sometimes, at midnight, I have seen crowds of human figures moving backwards and forwards upon the surface of the ocean, almost as far as the eye could reach. I neither knew who they were, nor what they did there. When watching the lantern alone, I of ten hear a number of voices talking together, as it were, under the waves; and I twice caught the very words they uttered, but I cannot repeat them-they dwell incessantly in my memory, but my tongue refuses to pronounce them, or to explain to others what they meant." "Do not let your senses be imposed upon by a distempered imagination," said I; "there is no reality in the things you have told me.' "Perhaps my mind occasionally wanders a little, for it has a heavy burden upon it," returned Morvalden. "I have been guilty of a dreadful crime. Many that now lie in the deep be ow us, might start up, and accuse me of what I am just going to reveal to you. One stormy night, shortly after I began to take charge of 2P ATHENEUM VOL. 10. this beacon, while watching on deck, I fell into a profouud sleep; I know not how long it continued, but I was awakened by horrible shouts and cries I started up, and instantly perceived that all the lamps in the lantern were extinguished. It was very dark, and the sea raged furiously; but notwithstanding all this, I observed a ship a-ground on the bank, a little way from me, her sails fluttering in the wind, and the waves breaking over her with violence. Half frantic with horror, I ran down to the cabin for a taper, and lighted the lamps as fast as possible. The lantern, when hoisted to the top of the mast, threw a vivid glare on the surrounding ocean, and shewed me the vessel disappearing among the billows. Hundreds of people lay gasping in the water near her. Men, women, and children, writhed together in agonizing struggles, and uttered soul-harrowing cries; and their countenances, as they gradually stiffened under the hand of death, were all turned towards me with glassy stare, while the lurid expression of their glistening eyes upbraided me with having been the cause of their untimely end. Never shall I forget these looks. They haunt me wherever I amasleep and awake-night and day. I have kept this tale of horror secret till now, and do not know if I shall have ever courage to relate it again. The masts of the vessel projected above the surface of the sea for several months after she was lost, as if to keep me in recollection of the night on which so many human creatures perished, in consequence of my neglect and carelessness. Would to God I had no memory! I sometimes think I am getting mad. The past and present are equally dreadful to me; and I dare not anticipate the future." I felt a sort of superstitious dread steal over me, while Morvalden related his story, and we continued walking the deck in silence, till the period of his watch expired. I then went below, and took refuge in my birth, though I I was but little inclined for sleep. The gloomy ideas, and dark forebodings, expressed by Morvalden, weighed heavily upon my mind, without my know ing why; and my situation, which had at first seemed only dreary and depressing, began to have something indefinitely terrible in its aspect. Next day, when Morvalden proceeded as usual to put the beacon in order, he called upon Angerstoff to come and assist him, which the latter peremptorily refused. Morvalden then went down to the cabin, where his companion was, and requested to know why his orders were not obeyed. "Because I hate trouble," replied Angerstoff."I am master here," said Morvalden, ❝and have been entrusted with the direction of every thing. Do not at tempt to trifle with me." "Trifle with you!" exclaimed Angerstoff, looking contemptuously. "No, no; I am no trifler; and I advise you to walk up stairs again, lest I prove this to your cost.""Why, husband," cried Marietta, "I believe there are no bounds to your laziness. You make this young man toil from morning to night, and take advantage of his good-nature in the most shameful manner."-" Peace, infamous woman!" said Morvalden; "I know very well why you stand up in his defence; but I'll put a stop to the intimacy that exists between you. Go to your room instantly! You are my wife, and shall obey me."-"Is this usage to borne ?" exclaimed Marietta. "Will no one step forward to protect me from his violence?"-"Insolent fellow!" cried Angerstoff," don't presume to insult my mistress.""Mistress!?? repeated Morvalden. "This to my face!" and struck him a severe blow!" Angerstoff sprung forward, with the intention of returning it, but I got between, and prevented him. Marietta then began to shed tears, and applauded the generosity her paramour had evinced in sparing her husband, who immediately went upon deck, without speaking a word, and hurriedly resumed the work that had engaged his attention previous to the quarrel. Neither of the two men seemed at all disposed for reconciliation, and they had no intercourse during the whole day, except angry and revengeful looks. I frequently observed Marietta in deep consultation with Angerstoff, and easily perceived that the subject of debate had some relation to her injured husband, whose manner evinced much alarm and anxiety, although he endeavoured to look calm and cheerful. He did not make his appearance at meals, but spent all his time upon deck. Whenever Angerstoff accidentally passed him, he shrunk back with an expression of dread, and intuitively, as it were, caught hold of a rope, or any other object to which he could cling. The day proved a wretched and fearful one to me, for I momentarily expected that some terrible affray would occur on board, and that I would be implicated in it. I gazed upon the surrounding sea almost without intermission, ardently hoping that some boat might approach near enough to afford me an opportunity of quitting the horrid and dangerous abode. to which I was imprisoned. It was Angerstoff's watch on deck till midnight; and as I did not wish to have any communications with him, 1 remained below. At twelve o'clock, Morvalden got up and relieved him, and he came down to the cabin, and soon after retired to his birth. Believing, from this arrangement, that they had no hostile intentions, I lay down in bed with composure, and fell asleep. It was not long before a noise overhead awakened me. I started up, and listened intently. The sound appeared to be that of two persons scuffling together, for a succession of irregular footsteps beat the deck, and I could hear violent blows given at intervals. I got out of my birth, and entered the cabin, where I found Marietta standing alone, with a lamp in her hand. "Do you hear that ?" cried L.-" Hear what?" returned she; "I have had a dreadful dream-I am all trembling.”—“ Is Angerstoff below?" demanded I-" No Yes, I mean," said Marietta, "Why do you ask that? He went up stairs." "Your husband and he are fighting. We must part them instantly."-"How can that be?" answered Marietta "Angerstoff is asleep."-" Asleep Didn't you say he went up stairs?""I don't know," returned she; “I am hardly awake yet-Let us listen a moment." Every thing was still for a few seconds; then a voice shrieked out, "Ah! that knife! You are murdering me! Draw it out! No help! Are you done? Now-now-now!"-A heavy body fell suddenly along the deck, and some words were spoken in a faint tone, but the roaring of the sea prevented me from hearing what they were. murderer. The sea, the beacon, and the sky, appeared of a sanguine hue; and I thought I heard the dying exclamations of Morvalden sounding a hundred fathom below me, and echoing through the caverns of the deep. I advanced to the cabin door, intending to descend the stairs, but found that some one had fastened it firmly on the inside. I felt convinced that I was intentionally shut out, and a cold shuddering pervaded my frame. I covered my face with my hands, not daring to look around; for it seemed as if I was excluded from the company of the living, and doomed to be the associate of the spirits of drowned and murdered men. After a little time I began to walk hastily backwards and forwards; but the light of the lantern happened to flash on a stream of blood that ran along the deck, and I could not summon up resolution to pass the spot where it was a second time. The sky looked black and threatening I rushed up the cabin stairs, and tried to push open the folding doors at the head of them, but they resisted my utmost efforts. I knocked violently and repeatedly, to no purpose. "Some one is killed," cried I. "The person who barred these doors on the outside is guilty."—"I know nothing of that," returned Marietta. "We can't be of any use now. Come here again!— How dreadfully quiet it is.-My God! -A drop of blood has fallen through the sky-light. What faces are yon looking down upon us ?-But this lamp is going out. We must be going through the water at a terrible rate. How it rushes past us!-I am getting dizzy. Do you hear these bells ring--the sea had a fierceness in its sound ing? and strange voices————" The cabin doors were suddenly burst open, and Angerstoff next moment appeared before us, crying out, "Morvalden has fallen overboard. Throw a rope to him!-He will be drowned." His hands and dress were marked with blood, and he had a frightful look of horror and confusion! "You are a murderer!" exclaimed I, almost involuntarily." How do you know that? said he, staggering back; "I'm sure you never saw- "Hush, hush," cried Marietta to him; "are you mad? -Speak again!-What frightens you? -Why don't you run and help Morvalden?"-"Has any thing happened to him?" inquired Angerstoff, with a gaze of consternation." You told us he had fallen overboard," returned Marietta. "Mus my husband perish ?"—"Give me some water to wash my hands," said Angerstoff, grow ing deadly pale, and catching hold of the table for support. I now hastened upon deck, but Morvalden was not there. I then went to the side of the vessel, and put my hands on the gunwale, while I leaned over, and looked downwards. On taking them off, I found them marked with blood. I grew sick at heart, and began to identify myself with Angerstoff the and motions and the wind swept over its bosom with melancholy sighs. Egery thing was sombre and ominous; and I looked in vain for some object that would, by its soothing aspect, remove the dark impressions which crowded upon my mind. While standing near the bows of the vessel, I saw a hand and arm rise slowly behind the stern, and wave from side to side. I started back as far as I could go in horrible affright, and looked again, expecting to behold the entire spectral figure of which I supposed they formed a part. But nothing more was visible. I struck my eyes till the light flashed from them, in hopes that my senses had been imposed upon by distempered vision-however it was in vain, for the hand still motioned me to advance, and I rushed forwards with wild desperation, and caught hold of it. I was pulled along a little way notwithstanding the resistance I made, and soon discovered a man stretched along the stern-cable, and clinging to it in a convulsive manner. It was Morvalden. He raised his head feebly, and said something, but I could only distinguish the words murdered-overboard-reached this rope—terrible death.'-I stretched out my arms to support him, but at that moment the vessel plunged violently, and he was shaken off the cable, and dropped among the waves. He floated for an instant, and then disappeared under the keel. it, that she might efface all vestige of the transactions of the preceding night. Angerstoff did not make his appearance till noon, and his looks were ghastly and agonized. He seemed stupified with horror, and sometimes entirely lost all perception of the things around him for a considerable time. He suddenly came close up to me, and demanded, with a bold air, but quivering voice, what I had meant by calling him a murderer? Why, that you are one,' replied I, after a pause. fiercely, you cannot escape my power now-I tell you, sir, Morvalden fell overboard. Whence, then,came that blood that covered the deck?' inquired I.-He grew pale, and then cried, You lie-you lie infernally-there was none I saw it,' said I-' I saw Morvalden himself-long after midnight. He was clinging to the stern-cable, and said' Ha, ha, ha— devils !-curses !'-exclaimed Angerstoff- Did you hear me dreaming? -I was mad last night-Come, come, come !-We shall tend the beacon together-Let us make friends, and don't be afraid, for you'll find me a good fellow in the end.' He now forcibly shook hands with me, and then hurried down to the cabin. I seized the first rope I could find, and threw one end of it over the stern, and likewise flung some planks into the sea, thinking that the unfortunate Morvalden might still retain strength enough to catch hold of them if they came within his reach. I continued on the watch for a considerable time, but at last abandoned all hopes of sav-Beware what you say,' returned he ing him, and made another attempt to get down to the cabin-the doors were now unfastened, and I opened them without any difficulty. The first thing I saw on going below, was Angerstoff stretched along the floor, and fast asleep. His torpid look, flushed countenance, and uneasy respiration, convinced me that he had taken a large quantity of ardent spirits. Marietta was in her own apartment. Even the presence of a murderer appeared less terrible than the frightful solitariness of the deck, and I lay down upon a bench, determining to spend the remainder of the night there. The lamp that hung from the roof soon went out, and left me in total darkness. Imagination began to conjure up a thousand appalling forms, and the voice of Angerstoff, speaking in his sleep, filled my ears at intervals Hoist up the beacon! the lamps won't burn--horrible!-they contain blood instead of oil.-Is that a boat coming?—Yes, yes, I hear the oars.-Damnation !-why is that corpse so long of sinking? If it does'nt go down soon they'll find me out-How terribly the wind blows !We are driving ashore-See! see! Morvalden is swimming after us-How he writhes in the water!'-Marietta now rushed from her room, with a light in her hand, and seizing Angerstoff by the arm, tried to awake him. He soon rose up with chattering teeth and shivering limbs, and was on the point of speaking, but she prevented him, and he staggered away to his birth, and lay down in it. Next morning, when I went upon deck, after a short and perturbed sleep, I found Marietta dashing water over In the afternoon, while sitting on deck, I discerned a boat far off, but I determined to conceal this from Angerstoff and Marietta, lest they should use some means to prevent its approach. I walked carelessly about, casting a glance upon the sea occasionally, and meditating how I could best take advantage of the means of deliverance which I had in prospect. After the lapse of an hour, the boat was not more than half a mile distant from us, but she suddenly changed her course, and bore away towards the shore. I immediately shouted, and waved a handkerchief over my head, as signals for her to return. Angerstoff rushed from the cabin, and seized my arm, threatening at the same time to pash me overboard if I attempted to hail her again. I disengaged myself from his grasp, and dashed him violently from me. The noise brought Marietta upon deck, who immediately perceived |