With my companion, one beautiful afternoon, rambling over the rocky
cliffs at the back of the island, (New Providence, W.I.,) we came to a
spot where the stillness and the clear transparency of the water invited
us to bathe. It was not deep. As we stood above, on the promontory, we
could see the bottom in every part. Under the headland, which formed the
opposite side of the cove, there was a cavern, to which, as the shore
was steep, there was no access but by swimming, and we resolved to
explore it. We soon reached its mouth, and were enchanted with its
romantic grandeur and wild beauty. It extended, we found, a long way
back, and had several natural baths, into all of which we successively
threw ourselves; each, as they receded further from the mouth of the
cavern, being colder than the last. The tide, it was evident, had free
ingress, and renewed the water every twelve hours. Here we thoughtlessly
amused ourselves for some time.
At length the declining sun warned us that it was time to take our
departure from the cave, when, at no great distance from us, we saw the
back or dorsal fin of a monstrous shark above the surface of the water,
and his whole length visible beneath it. We looked at him and at each
other in dismay, hoping that he would soon take his departure, and go in
search of other prey; but the rogue swam to and fro, just like a frigate
blockading an enemy's port.
The sentinel paraded before us, about ten or fifteen yards in front of
the cave, tack and tack, waiting only to serve one, if not both of us,
as we should have served a shrimp or an oyster. We had no intention,
however, in this, as in other instances, of "throwing ourselves on the
mercy of the court." In vain did we look for relief from other quarters;
the promontory above us was inaccessible; the tide was rising, and the
sun touching the clear, blue edge of the horizon.
I, being the leader, pretended to a little knowledge in ichthyology, and
told my companion that fish could hear as well as see, and that
therefore the less we said, the better; and the sooner we retreated out
of his sight, the sooner he would take himself off. This was our only
chance, and that a poor one for the flow of the water would soon have
enabled him to enter the cave and help himself, as he seemed perfectly
acquainted with the _locale_, and knew that we had no mode of retreat,
but by the way we came. We drew back out of sight, and I don't know
when I ever passed a more unpleasant quarter of an hour. A suit in
chancery, or even a spring lounge at Newgate, would have been almost a
luxury to what I felt when the shades of night began to darken the mouth
of our cave, and this infernal monster continued to parade, like a
water-bailiff, before its door. At last, not seeing the shark's fin
above the water, I made a sign to Charles, that cost what it might, we
must swim for it, for we had notice to quit by the tide; and if we did
not depart, should soon have an execution in the house. We had been
careful not to utter a word, and, silently pressing each other by the
hand, we slipped into the water; and, recommending ourselves to
Providence, struck out manfully. I must own I never felt more assured of
destruction, not even when I once swam through the blood of a poor
sailor--while the sharks were eating him--for the sharks then had
something to occupy them; but this one had nothing else to do but to
look after us--we had the benefit of his undivided attention.
My sensations were indescribably horrible. I may occasionally write or
talk of the circumstance with levity, but whenever I recall it to mind,
I tremble at the bare recollection of the dreadful fate that seemed
inevitable. My companion was not so expert a swimmer as I was, so that I
distanced him many feet, when I heard him utter a faint cry. I turned
round, convinced that the shark had seized him, but it was not so; my
having left him so far behind had increased his terror, and induced him
to draw my attention. I returned to him, held him up, and encouraged
him. Without this he would certainly have sunk; he revived with my help,
and we reached the sandy beach in safety, having eluded our enemy, who,
when he neither saw nor heard us, had, as I concluded he would,
quitted the spot.
Once more on terra firma, we lay gasping for some minutes before we
spoke. What my companions thoughts were, I do not know; mine were
replete with gratitude to God, and renewed vows of amendment; and I have
every reason to think, that although Charles had not so much room for
reform as myself, that his feelings were perfectly in unison with
my own.
We never repeated this amusement, though we frequently talked of our
escape and laughed at our terrors, yet, on these occasions, our
conversation always took a serious turn; and, upon the whole, I am
convinced that this adventure did us both a vast deal of good.
[ILLUSTRATION: HUNTING THE TIGER]