ドイツ冬物語 — ハインリヒ・ハイネ
The Voyage of the Steadfast, by W.H.G. Kingston You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org . If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title : The Voyage of the "Steadfast": The Young Missionaries in the Pacific Author : William Henry Giles Kingston Release date : October 17, 2007 [eBook #23072] Language : English Other information and formats : www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23072 Credits : Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England *** START OF H.G. Kingston "The Voyage of the Steadfast" Chapter One. Captain Graybrook’s Home. A heavy gale was blowing, which shook the windows of the little drawing-room in which Mrs Graybrook and her daughter Hannah were seated at their work. Their cottage was situated close to the sea on the north coast of Wales, so that from it, on a clear day, many a tall ship bound for Liverpool, or sailing from that port, could be seen through the telescope which stood ever ready pointed across the water. A lamp burning on the table, for it was night, shed its light on the comely features and matronly figure of the elder lady, as she busily plied her needle, while it showed that those of Hannah, a fair and interesting-looking girl just growing into womanhood, were unusually pale. Every now and then she unconsciously let her work drop on her lap while, with her eyes turned towards the window and lips apart, she seemed to be listening for some sound which her mother’s ear had not noticed. A glance into the little room might have shown why both mother and daughter should feel anxious when tempests were raging and the sea was tossing with angry waves. The mantel-piece was ornamented with some beautiful branches of coral, several large and rare shells, and two horns of the narwhal, or sea-unicorn, fixed against the wall, and above it was the picture of a ship under all sail, with boats hoisted up along her sides, and flags flying at her mastheads and peak. On the top of a bookcase stood the perfect model of a vessel; another part of the wall was adorned with Indian bows and spears and clubs, arranged in symmetrical order; while one side of the room was hung with pictures, in which boats in chase of the mighty monsters of the deep formed the chief subjects, or which represented scenes on the coasts of far-distant lands. Hannah had more than once risen and gone to the window, across which—for the weather was still warm—the curtain had only partially been drawn. Another fierce blast shook the whole house. “Oh, mother, what a dreadful night it is!” she exclaimed, at length. “I fancied I heard the sound of a distant gun; it must come from some ship in distress. What can she do if embayed off our shore in this terrific gale?” Mrs Graybrook looked up from her work. “I was thinking, my child, how thankful we should be that the Steadfast has long ago been far away from this. Your father and Harry are enjoying, I hope, smooth seas and gentle breezes, and may such, I pray, follow them wherever they go.” “I trust that they are, mother; but still I cannot help feeling anxious on such a night as this, with the wind howling and raging round us, when I think in what condition a ship must be placed, exposed on the wild sea to its fury.” “Your father has often said that he cares little for the heaviest gale, provided he has plenty of sea-room; and a better-found ship and stauncher crew than his, he declares, does not sail out of the port of Liverpool.” “I know that he has great faith in the Steadfast’s good qualities; but even the finest ship may meet with accidents; and oh, how many are the dangers she must have to run before she returns home!” said Hannah, with a sigh. “Your father is a careful navigator, my dear, and he has vigilant officers. His first mate is a tried hand, and he considers Leonard Champion, his second mate, young as he is, an excellent seaman and fully capable of taking charge of a ship; he hopes, indeed, to get him the command of one when he returns, though he would be sorry to lose him.” “I know that, mother; and I am wrong to express my fears,” answered Hannah. “Still I cannot help feeling for the poor seamen who may be battling with the tempest to-night; and that makes me more anxious, perhaps, about those who are far away, and of the dangers to which they may be exposed. Surely there was another gun!” She again went to the window, and, throwing it open, looked out into the darkness. The fierce wind coming in made the curtains flutter, and almost blew out the lamp. “I saw the flash of a gun, mother. It is in the direction of those dark rocks which lift their heads above the water!” exclaimed Hannah. “Ah! I heard the sound also. There is another flash! They must have come from some unfortunate ship. Perhaps she is already on the rocks. Can any boat venture out to her assistance in a storm like this? I will shut the window directly, mother,” she added, looking round, and trying to catch the fluttering curtains. Again she looked out. “I cannot be mistaken!” she exclaimed, the tone of her voice showing her anxiety. “There is another gun. The ship must be in fearful peril! Can nothing be done to help the poor people?” Mrs Graybrook, convinced that Hannah was right in her conjecture, came to the window, and mother and daughter stood gazing out for some minutes, and trying to penetrate the thick gloom which hung over the wild, tempestuous sea raging below them. A fiercer blast than before, which drove the rain and spray against their faces, compelled them to close the window; yet Hannah could not withdraw herself from it, for she still caught an occasional flash, and could distinguish the roar of the guns even amidst the howling of the wind. “What help can we render to them?” she again asked. “We may give them aid—all the aid which we have the power to give,” said Mrs Graybrook,