The Crater eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 635 pages of information about The Crater.

The Crater eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 635 pages of information about The Crater.

Such is an outline of the condition of the colony at the period which we have now reached.  Everything appeared to be going on well.  The Henlopen arrived, discharged, loaded, and went out again, carrying with her the last barrel of oil in the Bight.  The whalers had a jubilee, for their adventures made large returns; and the business was carried on with renewed spirit.  In a word, the colony had reached a point where every interest was said to be prosperous—­a state of things with communities, as with individuals, when they are, perhaps, in the greatest danger of meeting with reverses, by means of their own abuses.

Chapter XXVI.

    “Cruel of heart, and strong of arm,
     Proud in his sport, and keen for spoil,
    He little reck’d of good or harm,
     Fierce both in mirth and toil;
    Yet like a dog could fawn, if need there were;
    Speak mildly when he would, or look in fear.”

    Dana—­The Buccaneer.

After the visitation, the governor passed a week at the Peak, with Bridget and his children.  It was the habit of the wife to divide her time between the two dwellings; though Mark was so necessary to her as a companion, intellectually, and she was so necessary to Mark, for the same reason, that they were never very long separated.  Bridget was all heart, and she had the sweetest temper imaginable; two qualities that endeared her to her husband, far more than her beauty.  Her wishes were centred in her little family, though her kindness and benevolence could extend themselves to all around her.  Anne she loved as a sister and as a friend; but it would not have been impossible for Bridget to be happy, had her fortune been cast on the Reef, with no one else but Mark and her two little ones.

The Peak, proper, had got to be a sort of public promenade for all who dwelt near it.  Here the governor, in particular, was much accustomed to walk, early in the day, before the sun got to be too warm, and to look out upon the ocean as he pondered on his several duties.  The spot had always been pleasant, on account of the beauty and extent of the view; but a new interest was given to it since the commencement of the whaling operations in the neighbourhood.  Often had Bridget and Anne gone there to see a whale taken; it being no uncommon thing for one of the boys to come shouting down from the Peak, with the cry of “a fish—­a fish!” It was by no means a rare occurrence for the shore-boats to take whales immediately beneath the cliffs, and the vessels could frequently be seen to windward, working up to their game.  All this movement gave life and variety to the scene, and contributed largely to the spot’s becoming a favourite place of resort.  The very morning of the day that he intended to cross over to the Reef, on his return from the “progress,” the governor and his wife ascended to the Peak just as the sun was rising.  The morning was perfectly

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The Crater from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.