The Italians say, _La
speranza e il sogno d'an uomo svegliato_. Was Willis also dreaming
with his eyes open? Might not the wish be father to the thought, and
the thought produce the fancy? There is only one other supposition to
be hazarded--could it be possible, in spite of all his researches,
that Willis did see what he maintained with so much pertinacity he had
seen?
These questions are too astute to admit of answers without due
consideration and reflection; therefore, with the reader's permission,
we shall leave the replies over for the present.
On the 12th June a voice from the mast-head called "Land ahoy!" much
to the delight of the voyagers. The land in question was the island of
St. Helena. This sea-girt rock had not at that time become classic
ground. It had not yet become the prison and mausoleum of Napoleon the
Great. The petulant squabbles between Sir Hudson Lowe and his
illustrious prisoner had not been heard of. Little wotted then the
proud ruler of France the fate that awaited him, for, when the
_Boudeuse_ touched at the island, all Europe, with the single
exception of England, was kneeling at his feet.
On the 30th the Island of Ascension was reached. Here, in accordance
with a usage peculiar to French sailors, a bottle, containing a short
abstract of the ship's log, was committed to the deep.
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