Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - Part I - VI
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
THE CONFESSION OF A FOOL 75
When I awoke I did not remember any dream, but a
fixed idea haunted me, as if it had been suggested to me
during my sleep : I must see the Baroness again, or I shall
go out of my mind !
Shivering with cold, I sprang from my bed ; the salt-
laden wind, penetrating through every chink and cranny,
had made it damp. When I stepped out of my cabin the
sky was pale grey, like iron. On deck the great waves
washed the tackling, watered the planks and splashed my
face with foam.
I looked at my watch and calculated the distance which
the steamer must have travelled while I slept. In my
opinion we were now in the archipelago of Norrkoping ;
all hope of return was therefore dead. Everything was
strange to me, the scattered islands in the bay, the rugged
coast, the shape of the cottages dotted along the shore,
and the cut of the sails on the fishing-smacks. Amid
these unfamiliar surroundings I felt the first pangs of
homesickness. A sullen wrath choked me, I felt a wild
despair in finding myself packed on this cargo-boat in
spite of myself, in deference to a higher power, in the
imperious name of Honour !
When my wrath had exhausted itself, my strength had
come to an end. Leaning against the rail, I let the waves
lash my burning face, while my eyes greedily devoured
the coastline, eager to discover a ray of hope. And again
and again my mind returned to the idea of swimming to
the shore.
For a long time I stood gazing at the swiftly-receding
outlines of the coast. The wind had dropped, and I grew
calmer, rays of a tranquil happiness illuminated my soul ;
the pressure on my surcharged brain grew less ;
pictures
of beautiful summer days, memories of my first youth
came into my mind, although I was at a loss to understand
why I should suddenly think of them. The boat was
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
