Ледяной сфинкс

           Onthe3rd,thebrigfounderedinthenight,andArthurPymandthehalf-breed,crouchingupontheupturnedkeel,werereducedtofeeduponthebarnacleswithwhichthebottomwascovered,inthemidstofacrowdofwaiting,watchingsharks.Finally,aftertheshipwreckedmarinersoftheGrampushaddriftednolessthantwenty-fivedegreestowardsthesouth,theywerepickedupbytheschoonerJane,ofLiverpool,CaptainWilliamGuy.

           Evidently,reasonisnotoutragedbyanadmissionoftherealityofthesefacts,althoughthesituationsarestrainedtotheutmostlimitsofpossibility;butthatdoesnotsurpriseus,forthewriteristheAmericanmagician-poet,EdgarPoe.Butfromthismomentonwardsweshallseethatnosemblanceofrealityexistsinthesuccessionofincidents.

           ArthurPymandDirkPeterswerewelltreatedonboardtheEnglishschoonerJane.Inafortnight,havingrecoveredfromtheeffectsoftheirsufferings,theyrememberedthemnomore.WithalternationsoffineandbadweathertheJanesightedPrinceEdward’sIslandonthe13thofOctober,thentheCrozetIslands,andafterwardstheKerguelens,whichIhadleftelevendaysago.

           Threeweekswereemployedinchasingsea-calves;thesefurnishedtheJanewithagoodlycargo.ItwasduringthistimethatthecaptainoftheJaneburiedthebottleinwhichhisnamesakeoftheHalbraneclaimedtohavefoundalettercontainingWilliamGuy’sannouncementofhisintentiontovisittheaustralseas.