A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder James De Mille

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to reach before life was extinct; but as it was, all thought of
reaching any shore was out of the question, and there arose before us
only the prospect of death--a death, too, which must be lingering and
painful and cruel. Thus amid the darkness we floated, and the waves
dashed around us, and the athaleb never ceased to struggle in the
water, trying to force his way onward. It seemed sweet at that moment
to have Layelah with me, for what could have been more horrible than
loneliness amid those black waters? and Layelah's mind was made up
to meet death with joy, so that her mood conveyed itself to me. And
I thought that since death was inevitable it were better to meet
it thus, and in this way end my life--not amid the horrors of the
sacrifice and the Mista Kosek, but in a way which seemed natural to
a seafaring man like myself, and with which I had long familiarized my
thoughts. For I had fallen upon a world and among people which were
all alien and unintelligible to me; and to live on would only open the
way to new and worse calamities. There was peace also in the thought
that my death would snatch the prospect of death from Almah. She would
now be safe. It was only when we were together as lovers that death
threatened her; but now since I was removed she could resume her
former life, and she might remember me only as an episode in that
life. That she would remember me I felt sure, and that she would weep
for me and mourn after me was undeniable; but time as it passed would
surely alleviate that grief, and Almah would live and be happy.
Perhaps she might yet regain her native land and rejoin her loved
kindred, whom she would tell of the stranger from an unknown shore who
had loved her, and through whose death she had gained her life. Such
were the thoughts that filled my mind as I floated over the black
water with darkness all around, as I held Layelah in my arms, with my
coat wrapped around her, and murmured in her ear tender words of
consolation and sympathy.
A long, long time had passed--but how long I know not--when suddenly
Layelah gave a cry, and started up on her knees, with her head bent
forward listening intently. I too listened, and I could distinctly
hear the sound of breakers.
It was evident that we were approaching some shore; and, from what I
remembered of the shore of Magones, such a shore meant death, and
death alone. We stood up and tried to peer through the gloom. At
length we saw a whole line of breakers, and beyond all was black. We
waited anxiously in that position, and drew steadily nearer. It was