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Show 88 TlTF. !.ILY A;'(D THE TOT£M. " :Meanwhile," said l3arr6, "our poor comrade must not starve!" This was said to certain of his associate~ when they met that nirrht in secret. When two or three get together to complain of n ~yranny, resistance is already begun. They echoed his senti~ mcnts, and arrangements were at once made for transmitting provisions to the exile. A canoe was procured for this purpose, and BnrrC, with one other comrade, set forth secretly nt midnight on their generous and perilous mission. The night was calm and beautiful-the sc(L1 unruffled by a breeze, lay smooth as a mirror between the lonely i~lnnd and tho main. Though barren, nnJ without shrub or tree, the isbnd ]ookcd lovely also-a. very realm of faery, in the silver smiling of the moon. With activo and sinewy limbs, cheered by the sight, our adventurous comrades pulled towards it, reaching it with little effort, the current ftl\•oring their course. What, however, was tl1cir surprise and consternation, when, on reaching the islet, there was no answer to their summons. Drawing their boat upon the s'hore1 they soon compassed tho little empire with }1asty footsteps ; but they found nothing of ...,the exile. The islet lay bare and bright in the unshadowed moonlight, so that, whether asleep or dead, his prostrate form must still have been perceptible. What bewildering imaginations seized upon tho seekers ? \Vhat had become of their comrade ? Had he been carried off by tho s:wngcs, by a foreign vessel, or, in his desperation, had he cast himself into the dc,·ouring sen ? What more probable? Yet, as there was no answer to their questionin,. there was no solution of their doubts. IIorclcss of his fate, af;~r a frequent and a weary search, and dreading the worst, tl1c! re-entered their canoe, and re-crossed the bay in safety-thoU' L.ACII.A~E 1 TltE DELIVERER. 89 lJCarts more than ever filled with disgu11t and indignation at tho cr~,;elty and malice of their commander. But their quest was not wholly hopeless. When tlrey had rcnch~d the main, ar:d while approaching t!JC garrison, they wcro greatly surprised by the sudden appearance of a human form b~twcen the fortress and the river. They remembered the poor Cuornae1H.!1 and, fvr n. moment, a. fearful super1:1tition fastened upon their henrt.s. At first, the fugitive seemed to be llpproachiug them; but, in an inst11nt, wheeling about, as if in p:mic, he darted into the woods, nnd sougllt conePalment in the thicket. Tbis rc·inspired them. They gave chase instantly. The efforts of the pursued were feebly made, and they soon overtook llim. To their great relief and surprise, they found him tube the person they had been seeking-the banished and half-starved La.clmne! His story was soon told. He was nearly perished of hunger. Beyond the crude berries and bitter roots which he had gathered irl the woods, he had not eaten for three days. The food which had been furnhlhcd him from tho garrison had been partly carri~d from him by bir·ds or Lensts-he knelf not which-w\,ile he slept ; and,iu tho failure of his promised supplies,he had become desperate. "For tlrat matter," s11id the wretched exile, "1 had become dc~peratc before. Food \V!l.S not my only or my clrief want. I wanted shade from tire desolating sun. I wanted rescue from tlJC heavy hand of fire upon my brain; and, by day, I could scnrcely keep from quenching the furnace that seemed boiling in my blood, by p!ungin~ deep down into the bowels of the sen. By night,, when the fiery feclin~ passed away, tl1cn I yearned, nbo,·e nll1 for the face and voice of man. Jt was this craving which |
