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Chronicles of Wolfert's Roost and Other Papers. Author's Ed
Chronicles of Wolfert's Roost and Other Papers Author's Ed Author:Washington Irving General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1855 Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million book... more »s for free. Excerpt: THE BERMUDAS. A SHAKSPERIAN RESEARCH. " Who did not think, till within these foure yeares, but that these islands had been rather a habitation for Divells, than fit for men to dwell in ? Who did not hate the name, when hee was on land, and shun the place when he was on the seas ? But behold the misprision and conceits of the world ! For true and large experience hath now told us, it is one of the sweetest paradises that be upon earth." "A Plaine Detcript. of the Barmvdas:" 1613. In the course of our voyage home from England, our ship had been struggling for two or three weeks with perverse head-winds and a stormy sea. It was in the month of May, yet the weather had at times a wintry sharpness, and it was apprehended that we were in the neighbourhood of floating islands of ice, which, at that season of the year, drift out of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and sometimes occasion the wreck of noble ships. Wearied out by the continued opposition of the elements, our captain bore away to the south, in hopes of catching the expiring breath of the trade-winds, and making what is called the southern passage. A few days wrought, as it were, a magical "sea change" in everything around us. We seemed to emerge into a different world. The late dark and angry sea, lashed up into roaring and swashing surges, became calm and sunny ; the rude winds died away ; and gradually a light breeze sprang up directly aft, filling out every sail, and wafting us smoothly along on an even keel. The air softened into a bland and delightful temperature. Dolphins began to play about us ; the nautilus came floating by, like a fairy shi...« less