September had passed. The sorrowing wife took scarcely anynourishment, and could no longer sleep. She remained at home now,crouching low with her hands between her knees, her head thrown backand resting against the wall behind. What was the good of getting up orgoing to bed now? When she was thoroughly exhausted she threw herself,dressed, upon her bed. Otherwise she remained in the same position,chilled and benumbed; in her quiescent state, only her teeth chattered withthe cold; she had that continual impression of a band of iron round herbrows; her cheeks looked wasted; her mouth was dry, with a feverish taste,and at times a painful hoarse cry rose from her throat, and was repeated in spasms, while her head beat backward against the granite wall. Or else shecalled Yann by his name in a low, tender voice, as if he were quiet close toher, whispering words of love to her.
Sometimes she occupied her brain with thoughts of quite insignificantthings; for instance, she amused herself by watching the shadow of thechina Virgin lengthen slowly over the high woodwork of the bed, as thesun went down. And then the agonized thoughts returned more horrible,and her wailing cry broke out again as she beat her head against the wall.
All the hours of the day passed, and all the hours of evening, and ofnight, and then the hours of the morning. When she reckoned the time heought to have been back, she was seized with a still greater terror; shewished to forget all dates and the very names of the days.
Usually there is some information concerning the wrecks off Iceland;those who return have seen the tragedy from afar, or else have found somewreckage or bodies, or have an indication to guess the rest. But of the/Leopoldine/ nothing had been seen, and nothing was known. The /Marie-Jeanne/ men, the last to have seen her, on the 2d of August, said that shewas to have gone on fishing farther towards the north, and, beyond that,the secret was unfathomable.
Waiting, always waiting, and knowing nothing! When would the timecome when she need wait no longer? She did not even know that; and,now, she almost wished that it might be soon.
Oh! if he were dead; let them at least have pity enough to tell her so!
Oh! to see her darling, as he was at this very moment, that is, what wasleft him! If only the much-implored Virgin, or some other power, woulddo her the blessing to show her, by second-sight, her beloved! either livingand working hard to return a rich man, or else as a corpse, surrendered bythe sea, so that she might at least know a certainty.
Sometimes she was seized with the thought of a ship appearingsuddenly upon the horizon; the /Leopoldine/ hastening home. Then shewould suddenly make an irreflected movement to rise, and rush to lookout at the ocean, to see whether it were true.
But she would fall back. Alas! where was this /Leopoldine now?
Where could she be? Out afar, at that awful distance of Iceland, forsaken, crushed, and lost.
All ended by a never-fading vision appearing to her--an empty, sea-tossed wreck, slowly and gently rocked by the silent gray and rose-streaked sea; almost with soft mockery, in the midst of the vast calm ofdeadened waters.
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