A STRANGE COINCIDENCE.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 109, 10 March 1870, Page 7

A STRANGE COINCIDENCE.

BY A NAVAL OFFICER. In Two Parts. — Part 11. "The old colonel, perceiving her affection for me, made all possible haste in his departure, and in ten days he and his daughter, with his odious aide-de-camp, left the country. "Everything now in life was a miserable blank. I cared for nothing, I thought of nothing, but Agnes, and she was gone. True, we had vowed eternal constancy; but yet I knew that that unmerciful old tyrant her father would be a greater barrier to our love than even the vast oceans that rolled between us. Eool that I was ! I thought myself wretched then, with Agnes living. "It chanced that some time after this I received a letter from my father in "Virginia directing me to take a large amount of specie, that would be furnished by an eminent London firm, to his agent at the Cape of G-ood Hope. In two months I had arrived at Cape Town, and executed my commission. I soon found a vessel bound to England, touching, on the way, at Saint Helena.

" In a fortnight, the longest I ever knew, we arrived at Saint Helena, and I again saw Agnes Norrington. Oh, the joy, the ecstaey of that meeting ! I cannot bear now to think of it ; I must pass on, and leave you to try and imagine it. " The old colonel received me coldly but civilly. In the afternoon we went out riding to visit Napoleon's tomb, and other places of interest. In the course of our ride, Agnes' horse shied at an old woman sitting by the roadside. The horse bolted straight for a ravine ; I galloped after, and just managed to snatch her from the saddle in time to prevent her sharing the fate of her horse, which was dashed to pieces. We both fell heavily to the ground; she luckily escaped quite unhurt, but I found that my left arm was broken. I have often since wished that it had been my neck, and never more so than at the present time. " Colonel Norrington, Avho I must admit was a perfect gentleman, insisted on my staying at his house until I should be able to move about without inconvenience. A month flew by. I scarcely felt the pain in my arm, although I know it was a bad fracture. Agnes nursed me, and as I got better walked with me. We then arranged that after I had taken my leave of them, and had ostensibly sailed for England, I should remain in seclusion in the island in a house that I had found out. We could then meet in the evenings, when the colonel was taking his nap after dinner, and again after the family had retired.

" I parted with the colonel in a most friendly manner, and it was evidently with feelings of relief that he saw the last of me. He had, indeed, long noticed our intimacy, but he winked at it, knowing that I was about to leave the island for ever. In parting he could not, however, resist saying, with bitter irony, ' I am sorry that you cannot be present at my daughter's wedding next month.' Erom that moment I determined that I would, and be principal actor too.

" During my visit I had the misfortune to attract the attention of Juanita, a Spanish Creole, who was Agnes' waiting woman. She fell madly in love with me — why I don't know, for I gave her no encouragement. She knew of my love for Agnes, and consequently hated her with all the fierce jealousy peculiar to the Spanish blood. She concealed it with the utmost care, and being a consummate actress she was never even suspected by Agnes. You will hear more of this she-devil presently. I abhor the very thought of her.

" As you know Saint Helena, I can describe to you exactly the place of our meeting, and also where I lived. In following the road from James Town out into the country, you pass along the east side of a valley gradually ascending until you come to the Commandant's house at its head. About a mile from the town along this road, there is a queer, tumbledown old house. It stands quite alone, half hidden by trees — I see, you know it. This was my hidding-place. About a hundred yards past this there is, or rather there was, a path coming straight up the side of the valley from the Commandant's house on the right. Crossing the road then at right angles, it led to a dell which is perfectly hidden from the road."

This affected me strangely, for his description coincided exactly with that of the place in which I had seen the mysterious figure. I wished to tell him of this, but he said petulantly, even angrily, "Wait — wait till I've done, don't interrupt me," and then he continued, growing every moment more excited — " It was there, then, that we used to

meet in the cool evenings, with the bright clear stars glittering over us as you see them now. It was there we breathed out our souls in purest, truest love, and there we arranged our flight. That Southern Cross, to-night so splendidly luminous, used to mark the hours for us. You see it is not yet vertical; when it became so, it was the signal for our parting. "As the time appointed for her marriage with the aide-de-camp was vow fast approaching, we lost no time in preparing our plans. We resolved to take the first opportunity of getting to Ascencion Island, where we could

be married by the British chaplain, and wait there for a ship going either to England or directly to the Southern States, our ultimate destination.

"A ship at length arrived bound for England, via Accencion. I made arrangements with the captain for our passage, and sent on board all the requisites for the voyage. The vessel was to sail at daylight. I directed Agnes to meet me at midnight. Oh, the joy, the unutterable joy,of meeting her that night, never again to part ! How long that day was ! I thought the sun would never set, and the day never come to an end. After dark I busied myself with getting everything on board, and disarranged and arranged everything a dozen times — anything to kill time until midnight. All the time I was trembling with nervous anxiety lest we should be discovered, and I thought over every disagreeable contingency that might possibly happen. Yet the one great danger never suggested itself to me. It was impossible that it should. How could I know that one of the archfiend's most malignant demons, incarnate and veiled in the likeness of a woman, was waiting to turn my love to dust and ashes, and my joy to bitterness of gall and wormwood? All things must have an end — love, life, and all — and so at last came the end of my weary waiting.

" Gaily, gladly, impatiently I hastened to the rendezvous. As I went I noticed that the Southern Cross pointed directly to the spot, and shone brilliantly with the fierce lustre that it has to-night. A few steps more, and I saw directly into the dell. What did I see ? Agnes — my Agnes lying dead, murdered, her pure white dress saturated with her life's blood. It was too much — too much !"

Here he burst into a flood of passionate tears, and sobs chocked his utterance. That strong man's frame quivered with emotion, his grief was terrible. I sent for wine, of which he took large draughts eagerly, and after some time he continued : —

" I knew no more until I found myself in my own room in bed. Oh, that fearful waking, that dreadful return to consciousness. When the picture of my murdered Agnes rose before my eyes I hated life, and tried to stifle myself ; but I was too weak — my hands dropped powerlessly.

" An old woman was sitting by my bedside. She told me that I had been in bed three weeks, dangerously ill with brain fever — twice I had been given up for dead; that Agnes had been buried a fortnight ago, and that there was no doubt but that Juanita, impelled by her fierce jealousy, was the murderess. She sailed that same night in the Libertad, bound for Pernambuco, and thence to Cuba, the land of her birth.

"My recovery was slow, and was much retarded by an incident that occurred shortly after I had returned to consciousness. Life had become intolerable to me, and I resolved to end it where my darling Agnes had yielded up hers. With that object I managed to escape one night, and dragged myself along the road — half crawling, half walking, until I came to the path leading to the dell. But here, where it crosses the road, they had since built a stone wall, after many fruitless attempts to climb which I sunk, bleeding and exhausted, at the foot of it. There I was found next morning, much bruised and torn by my ineffectual efforts.

" With my returning strength came thoughts of revenge. I determined to hunt the accursed Juanita to the ends of the earth. As soon as I could walk I engaged a passage in a ship bound to Havannah, and after a farewell visit to my Agnes' tomb, I embarked. I was still very ill, but the sea voyage and the hope of revenge gave me strength.

" Arrived at Havannah, I was delighted to find that the Liberfcad had not yet come in. About three days afterwards a violent hurricane arose. Minute-guns could be plainly heard during the night from a vessel that had driven on shore. No assistance could be rendered.

"The next morning the sun rose clearly, and the day was calm and lovely — the beach was strewn with pieces of wreck. The vessel proved to be none other than the Libertad. Not a soul was saved — I was cheated of my revenge. The people of the town were busily engaged in recovering part of the cargo, and in hauling up her masts and the larger timbers of the wreck, as fast as they came to land. The bodies had been buried at daylight, as they washed ashore : some were yet missing. A list of those already buried, with a description of such as had not been identified, would be published at noon. To while away the time until then, I strolled out to the extreme end of the fortifications of the old castle of El Moro. Seated in the shadow of an embrasure, I looked out upon the broad expanse of ocean, and presently noticed a black speck floating towards me from the direction of the wreck. It came on and on, slowly borne on the tide. At length I could discern that it was a human body. It drifted nearer and nearer — the sharks were snatching and tearing it. As it floated past at my feet, one of the sharks tugged violently at one side, turned the body over, and revealed the hateful face of Juanita. Those great black eyes glared upon me with a glassy stave.

I turned aw r ay, sickened and horrified. The sea had avenged me.

" I should have told you that on my arrival at Havannah I had news of the death of my father, and the confiseationj)f his estates by the Northerners. I therefore got together what money I had, and, a favourable opportunity offering, I embarked in the 'slave-trade. I have made some successful runs since then, but I have never set foot on that accursed island of Saint Helena since, and I never " Here he was interrupted by the man on the look-out — " Land, ho ! sir." "Very good; where away?" I asked. " Two points on the weather bow, sir." " Keep her up two points, quartermaster." " Ay, ay, sir," replied the old salt. "Ah!" said my friend the slavecaptain, " that's Saint Helena. Do you see the Southern Cross ? Now it is vertical. I must go to meet Agnes — there, there, where it is pointing. Hark ! she calls me. Yes, Agnes, darling Agnes ; I come. With tnese words he sprang over the rail, and threw himself into the sea. He went down — down like a shot. In an instant I turned the hands up, put the vessel about, and lowered the boats. We passed and re-passed over the place for half an hour, but in vain. He never appeared.