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LIFE OP MARGARET FULLER OSSOLI. 89
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
I1st Europe. We Passed Over In Rapid Rev...
weeks all went on prosperously till fear was well nig h , forgotten . 13 ut alas for the captain and crew ! alas for the company and
_Margaret ! the good commander fell ill , he suffers , he dies ! and dies too of confluent sinall-pox . The young child Angelino , Margaret ' s
boy , for whom she Iiad suffered so much ., and whom she loved so _deeply , lie too sickens , his eyes close , his head and face swell , his
body is covered witli eruptions ; death in life is there , and it is only through the incessant care of his parents that the fever abates .
Sobered and saddened they rejoice with trembling , and struggle hard to enjoy the beauties of the sky and ocean which surround
them . Peacefully , if slowly , the long summer days and the quiet nihts passfour thousand miles of ocean lie behind , and they are
nearl g y home , . The officer in command has promised to land his passengers early the next morning at New York : the trunks are
packed , all preparations made , and the last good night is spoken . By nine o ' clock a sharp breeze arises , it is a gale , at midnight it is
a hurricane . The barque is new and strong , her crew at work and _^ uneasy prompt , sleep the as passengers a howling remain storm and in the tossing sfcate shi -room p permit catching ; but with such
a force far swifter than any one on board has imagined possible , the ill-starred ship has been driven by the combined force of
currents and tempest towards the sand-bar of Long Island , where she strikesfirst dragginglythen harder and still harder , and then
strands , , on Friday morning , , the 16 th of July . The main and mizen masts were at once cut away , but the hold
was broken and she bilged , her stern swung round , her broadside ¦ was bared to the shock of the billows , and the waves made a clean
breach over her with every swell . The doom of the Elizabeth was . sealed , and no human power could save her . She lay at the mercy
of the maddened waves . At the first jar the passengers , knowing but too well its fatal import , sprang from their berths . In a moment
more the cabin skylight was dashed in pieces by the breakers , and the waterpouring down like a cataract , put out the lights
wrenched the , cabin-door from its fastenings , and swept all before it . , It was in the gray dusk and amid this awful tumult that the
companions in misfortune met , and for three hours , amidst the darkness and rushing water , remained endeavoring to calm each other , and
exchanging messages to friends , should any survive to be the bearer . About seven , there were signs that the cabin would break up , and
any death seeming preferable to that of being crushed among the ruins , the passengers , with the assistance of some of the sailors ,
laboriously crept across the deck through the broken rail and cordage to the forecastle , which was comparatively dry and sheltered ;
here they discussed the chances of escape ; at the distance of a few hundred yards appeared the shore , a lonely waste of sand-hills , from
whence men had early been observed gazing at the wreck , but hy whom no assistance was offered ! The life-boats , and
carpenters' tools had been long ago washed overboard ; so at nine , in YOL , IV . H
Life Op Margaret Fuller Ossoli. 89
LIFE OP MARGARET FULLER OSSOLI . 89
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Oct. 1, 1859, page 89, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01101859/page/17/
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