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The Oblong Box by Edgar Allan Poe. Some years ago, I engaged passage

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from Charleston, s c. To
the City of New York in the fine

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packet ship Independence Captain Hardy. We
were to sail on the fifteenth of the

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month June, weather permitting, and
on the fourteenth I went on board to

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arrange some matters in my state room. I found that we were to have

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a great many passengers, including a
more than usual number of ladies. On

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the list were several of my acquaintances, and among other names, I was

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rejoiced to see that mister Cornelius Wyatt, a young artist for whom I entertained

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feelings of warm friendship. He had
been with me a fellow student at Sea

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University, where we were very much
together. He had the ordinary temperament of

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genius, and was a compound of
misanthropy, sensibility, and enthusiasm. To

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these qualities he united the warmest and
truest heart which ever beat in a human

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bosom. I observed that his name
was carded upon three state rooms, and

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upon again referring to the list of
passengers, I found that he had engaged

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passage for himself, wife, and
two sisters his own. The state rooms

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were sufficiently roomy, and each had
two berths, one above the other.

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These berths, to be sure,
were so exceedingly narrow as to be insufficient

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for more than one person. Still, I could not comprehend why there were

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three staterooms for these four persons.
I was just at that epoch, in

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one of those moody frames of mind
which make a man abnormally inquisitive about trifles.

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And I confess with shame that I
busied myself in a variety of ill

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bred and preposterous conjectures about this matter
of the supernumery stateroom. It was no

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business of mine, to be sure, But with none the less pertinicity did

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I occupy myself in attempts to resolve
the enigma. At last I reached a

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conclusion which wrought in me great wonder
why I had not arrived at it before.

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It is a servant, of course, I said, what a fool,

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I am not sooner to have thought
of so obvious a solution. And

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then I again repaired to the list. But here I saw distinctly that no

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serpent was to come with the party, although in fact it had been the

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original design to bring one, for
the words and servant had been first written

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and then overscored, Oh extra baggage. To be sure, I now said

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to myself something he wishes not to
be put in hold, something to be

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kept under his own eye. Ah, I have it a painting or so,

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and this is what he has been
bargaining about with Nicolino, the Italian

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Jew. This idea satisfied me,
and I dismissed my curiosity for the nons

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Whyatt's two sisters I knew very well
and most amiable and clever girls. They

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were his wife, he had newly
married, and I had never yet seen

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her. He had often talked about
her in my presence, however, and

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in his usual style of enthusiasm,
he described her as of surpassing beauty,

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wit and accomplishment. I was therefore
quite anxious to make her acquaintance. On

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the day in which I visited the
ship, the fourteenth Wide and party were

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also to visit it, so the
captain informed me, and I waited on

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board an hour longer than I had
designed, in hope of being presented to

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the bride. But then an apology
came. Missus w was a little indisposed

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and would decline coming on board until
tomorrow. At the hour of sailing.

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The morrow having arrived, I was
going from my hotel to the wharf when

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Captain Hardy met me and said that
owing to circumstances a stupid but convenient phrase.

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He rather thought the independents would not
sail for a day or two,

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and that when all was ready,
he would send up and let me know.

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This. I thought strange, for
there was a stiff southerly breeze.

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But as the circumstances were not forthcoming, although I pumped for them with much

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perseverance, I had nothing to do
but to rehurn home and digest my impatience

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at leisure. I did not receive
the expected message from the captain for nearly

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a week. It came at length, however, and I immediately went on

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board. The ship was crowded with
passengers, and everything was in the bustle

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attendant upon making sail. Wyatt's party
arrived in about ten minutes after myself.

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There were the two sisters, the
bride and the artist, the latter in

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one of his customary fits of moody
misanthropy. I was too well used to

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these, however, to pay them
any special attention. He did not even

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introduce me to his wife, this
courtesy devolving perforce upon his sister, Mary

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Anne, a very sweet and intelligent
girl, who, in a few hurried

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words made us acquainted. Missus Wyatt
had been closely veiled, and when she

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raised her veil in acknowledging my bow, I confessed that I was very profoundly

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astonished. I should have been much
more so, however, had not long

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experience advised me not to trust with
too implicit a reliance the enthusiastic descriptions of

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my friend the artist when indulging in
comments upon the loveliness of women, when

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beauty was the theme, I well
knew with what facility he soared into the

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regions of the purely ideal. The
truth is I could not help regarding Missus

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Wyatt as a decidedly plain looking woman. If not positively ugly, she was

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not, I think, very far
from it. She was dressed, however,

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in exquisite taste, and then I
had no doubt that she had captivated

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my friend's heart by the more enduring
graces of the intellect and soul. She

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said very few words and passed at
once into her stateroom with mister w My

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old inquisitiveness now returned. There was
no servant. That was a settled point.

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I looked, therefore for the extra
baggage. After some delay, a

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cart arrived at the wharf with an
oblong pine box, which was everything that

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seemed to be expected. Immediately upon
its arrival we made sail, and in

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a short time were safely over the
bar and standing out to sea. The

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box in question was, as I
say, oblong. It was about six

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feet in length by two and a
half in breadth. I observed it attentively,

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and liked to be precise. Now
this shape was peculiar, and no

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longer had I seen it than I
took credit to myself for the accuracy of

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my guessing. I had reached the
conclusion, it will be remembered, that

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the extra baggage of my friend the
artist would prove to be pictures, or

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at least a picture, for I
knew he had been for several weeks in

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conference with Nicolino, and now here
was a box which, from its shape

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could possibly contain nothing in the world
but a copy of Leonardo's last supper,

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and a copy of this very last
supper done by Rubini. The younger at

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Florence, I had known for some
time to be in the possession of Niccolino.

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This point, therefore, I considered
as sufficiently settled. I chuckled excessively

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when I thought of my acumen.
It was the first time I had ever

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known why it to keep from me
any of his artistical secrets. But here

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he evidently intended to steal a march
upon me and smuggle a fine picture to

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New York under my very nose,
Expecting me to know nothing of the matter.

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I resolved to quiz him well now
and hereafter. One thing, however,

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annoyed me not a little. The
box did not go into the extra

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stateroom. It was deposited in White's
own, and there too it remained,

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occupying very nearly the whole of the
floor, no doubt to the exceeding discomfort

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of the artist and his wife.
This the more especially as the tar or

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paint with which it was lettered in
sprawling capitals, emitted a strong, disagreeable

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and to my fancy, a peculiarly
disgusting odor. On the lid were painted

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the words Missus Adelaide Curtis Albany,
New York, charge of Cornelius Wyatt esquire

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this side up to be handled with
care. Now I was aware that Missus

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Adelaide Curtis of Albany was the artist's
wife's mother. But then I looked upon

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the whole address as a mystification intended
especially for myself. I made up my

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mind, of course, that the
box and contents would never get farther north

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than the studio of my misanthropic friend
in Chambers Street, New York. For

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the first three or four days we
had fine weather, although the wind was

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dead ahead, having chopped round to
the northward immediately upon our losing sight of

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the coast. The passengers were consequently
in high spirits and disposed to be social.

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I must accept, however, Wyatt
and his sisters, who behaved stiffly,

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and I could not help thinking uncourteously
to the rest of the party.

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Whyite's conduct I did not so much
regard. He was gloomy, even beyond

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his usual habit. In fact,
he was more rose, But in him

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I was prepared for eccentricity. For
the sisters, however, I could make

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no excuse. They secluded themselves in
their state rooms during the greater part of

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the passage, and absolutely refused although
I repeatedly urged them to hold communication with

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any person on board. Missus Whitet
herself was far more agreeable. That is

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to say, she was chatty,
and to be chatty is no slight recommendation.

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At sea, she became excessively intimate
with most of the ladies, and

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to my profound astonishment, evinced no
equivocal disposition to coquette with the men.

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She amused us all very much,
I say, amused, and scarcely know

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how to explain myself. The truth
is, I soon found that Missus w

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was far oftener laughed at than with. The gentleman said little about her,

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but the ladies in a little while
pronounced her a good hearted thing, rather

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indifferent, looking, totally uneducated,
and decidedly vulgar. The great wonder was

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how Whyae had been entrapped into such
a match. Wealth was the general solution,

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but this I knew to be no
solution at all, For White had

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told me that she neither brought him
a dollar, nor had any expectations from

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any source. Whatever he had married, he said, for love and for

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love only, and his bride was
far more than worthy of his love.

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When I thought of these expressions on
the part of my friend. I confessed

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that I felt indescribably puzzled. Could
it be possible that he was taking leave

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of his senses? What else could
I think? He so refined, so

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intellectual, so fastidious, with so
exquisite a perception of the faculty, and

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so keen an appreciation of the beautiful. To be sure, the lady seemed

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especially fond of him, particularly so
in his absence, when she made herself

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ridiculous by frequent quotations of what he
had been said by her beloved husband,

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mister Wyatt. The word husband seemed
forever to use, one of her own

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delicate expressions, forever on the tip
of her tongue. In the meantime,

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it was observed by all on board
that he avoided her in the most pointed

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manner, and for the most part
shut himself up alone in his stateroom,

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where in fact he might have been
said to live altogether, leaving his wife

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at full liberty to amuse herself as
she thought best in the public society of

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the main cabin. My conclusion from
what I saw and heard was that the

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artist, by some unaccountable freak of
fate, or perhaps in some fit of

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enthusiastic and fanciful passion had been induced
to unite himself with a person altogether beneath

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him, and that the natural result, entire and speedy disgust had ensued.

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I pitied him from the bottom of
my heart, but could not for that

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reason quite forgive his incommunicativeness in the
matter of the Last Supper. For this

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I resolved to have my revenge.
One day he came up on deck,

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and taking his arm, as had
been my wont I sauntered with him backward

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and forward. His gloom, however, which I considered quite natural under the

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circumstances, seemed entirely unabated. He
said little, and that moodily and with

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evident effort. I ventured a jest
or two, and he made a sickening

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attempt at a smile. Poor fellow. As I thought of his wife,

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I wondered that he could have heart
to put on even the semblance of mirth.

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At last, I ventured a home
thrust. I determined to commence a

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series of covert insinuations or innuendoes about
the oblong box, just to let him

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perceive gradually that I was not altogether
the butt or victim of his little bit

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of pleasant mystification. My first observation
was by way of opening a masked battery.

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I said something about the peculiar shape
of that box, and as I

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spoke the words, I smiled knowingly, winked, and touched him gently with

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my forefinger in the ribs. The
manner in which Wyat received this harmless pleasantry

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convinced me at once that he was
mad. At first, he stared at

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me as if he found it impossible
to comprehend the witticism of my remark.

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But as its point seemed slowly to
make its way into his brain, his

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eyes, in the same proportions,
seemed protruding from their sockets. Then he

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grew very red and hideously pale.
Then, as if highly amused with what

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I had insinuated, he began to
a loud and boisterous laugh, which,

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to my astonishment, he kept up
with gradually increasing vigor for ten minutes or

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more. In conclusion, he fell
flat and heavily upon the deck. When

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I ran to uplift him. To
all appearances he was dead. I called

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assistance, and with much difficulty we
brought him to himself. Upon reviving,

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he spoke incoherently for some time.
At length we bled him and put him

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to bed. The next morning he
was quite recovered, so far as regarded

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his mere bodily health of his mind, I say nothing. Of course,

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I avoided him during the rest of
the passage, by advice of the captain,

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who seemed to coincide with me altogether
in my views of his insanity,

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but cautioned me to say say nothing
on this head to any person on board.

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Several circumstances occurred immediately after this fit
of whites, which contributed to heighten

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the curiosity with which I was already
possessed. Among other things this I had

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been nervous, drank too much strong
green tea, and slept ill at night.

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In fact, for two nights I
could not be properly said to sleep

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at all. Now my stateroom opened
into the main cabin or dining room,

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as did those of all the single
men on board. Whye's three rooms were

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in the after cabin, which was
separated from the main one by a slight

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sliding door never locked even at night. As we were almost certainly on a

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wind and the breeze was not a
little stiff, the ship heeled to leeward

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very considerably, and whenever her starboard
side was to leeward, the sliding door

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between the cabins slid open, and
so remained, nobody taking the trouble to

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get up and shut it. But
my berth was in such a position that

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when my own stateroom door was open
as well as the sliding door in question,

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and my own door was always open
on account of the heat, I

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could see into the aftercabmin quite distinctly, and just at that portion of it

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too, were situated the staterooms of
mister Wyatt Well during two nights not consecutive,

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while I lay awake, I clearly
saw missus W about eleven o'clock upon

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each night, still cautiously from the
stateroom of mister W and entered the extra

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room, where she remained until daybreak, when she was called by her husband

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and went back. That they were
virtually separated was clear they had separate apartments,

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no doubt in contemplation of a more
permanent divorce. And here after all

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I thought, was the mystery of
the extra stateroom. There was another circumstance

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too, which interested me much during
the two wakeful nights in question, and

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immediately after the disappearance of missus Wyatt
into the extra stateroom, I was attracted

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00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:54,120
by certain singular, cautious, subdued
noises in that of her husband. After

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00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:58,840
listening to them for some time with
thoughtful attention, I at length succeeded perfectly

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00:14:58,919 --> 00:15:03,759
in translating their inac They were sounds
occasioned by the artist in prying open the

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00:15:03,799 --> 00:15:07,200
oblong box by means of a chisel
and mallet, the latter being apparently muffled

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00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:11,679
or deadened by some soft woolen or
cotton substance in which its head was enveloped.

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00:15:13,919 --> 00:15:16,759
In this manner, I fancied I
could distinguish the precise moment when he

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00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:22,399
fairly disengaged the lid, Also that
I could determine when he removed it altogether,

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00:15:22,559 --> 00:15:26,039
and when he deposited upon the lower
berth in his room. This latter

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00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:30,000
point I knew, for example,
by certain slight taps which the lid made

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00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:33,759
in striking against the wooden edges of
the berth, as he endeavored to lay

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00:15:33,759 --> 00:15:35,879
it down very gently, there being
no room for it on the floor.

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00:15:37,399 --> 00:15:41,320
After this there was a dead stillness, and I heard nothing more upon either

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00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:48,120
occasion until nearly daybreak, unless perhaps
I may mention a low sobbing or murmuring

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00:15:48,159 --> 00:15:52,720
sound so very much suppressed as to
be nearly inaudible, If indeed the whole

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00:15:52,799 --> 00:15:56,399
of this latter noise were not rather
produced by my own imagination. I say

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00:15:56,440 --> 00:16:00,120
it seemed to resemble sobbing or sighing, but of course it could not have

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00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:03,639
been either. I rather think it
was a ringing in my own ears.

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00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:07,679
Mister Wyatt, no doubt, according
to custom, was merely giving the rein

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00:16:07,759 --> 00:16:11,759
to one of his hobbies. Indulging
in one of his fits of artistic enthusiasm.

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00:16:12,399 --> 00:16:15,320
He had opened his oblong box in
order to feast his eyes on the

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00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:19,200
pictorial treasure within. There was nothing
in this, however, to make him

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00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:22,600
sob I repeat, therefore, that
it must have been simply a freak of

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00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:27,759
my own fancy, distempered by good
Captain Hardy's green tea. Just before dawn

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00:16:27,879 --> 00:16:32,240
on each of the two nights of
which I speak, I distinctly heard mister

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00:16:32,279 --> 00:16:36,480
Wyatt replace the lid upon the oblong
box and force the nails into their old

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00:16:36,519 --> 00:16:40,639
places by means of the muffled mallet. Having done this, he issued from

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00:16:40,679 --> 00:16:45,799
his stateroom fully dressed, and proceeded
to call missus w from hers. We

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00:16:45,879 --> 00:16:49,120
had been at sea seven days and
were now off Cape Hatteras when there came

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00:16:49,159 --> 00:16:55,080
a tremendously heavy blow from the southwest. We were in a measure prepared for

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00:16:55,159 --> 00:16:57,120
it. However, as the weather
had been holding out threats for some time,

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00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:03,120
everything was made snow a low and
aloft, and as the wind steadily

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00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:07,240
freshened, we lay too at length
under spanker and foretopsail, both double reefed.

237
00:17:08,279 --> 00:17:11,440
In this trim. We rowed safely
enough for forty eight hours, the

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00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:15,480
ship proving herself an excellent sea boat
in many respects, and shipping no water

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00:17:15,559 --> 00:17:19,079
of any consequence. At the end
of this period, however, the gale

240
00:17:19,119 --> 00:17:23,240
had freshened into a hurricane, and
our after sail split into ribbons, bringing

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00:17:23,319 --> 00:17:27,519
us so much in the trough of
the water that we shipped several prodigious seas,

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00:17:27,599 --> 00:17:32,759
one immediately after the other. By
this accident, we lost three men

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00:17:32,799 --> 00:17:37,319
overboard with the cboos, and nearly
the whole of the larboard bulwarks. Scarcely

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00:17:37,359 --> 00:17:41,799
had we recovered our senses before the
foretopsail went into shreds. When we got

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00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:47,160
up a storm staysail, and with
this did pretty well for some hours,

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00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:52,359
the ship heading the sea much more
steadily than before. The gale still held

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00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:55,880
on, however, and we saw
no signs of its abating. The rigging

248
00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:59,119
was found to be ill fitted and
greatly strained, and on the third day

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00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:02,559
of the blow, about five in
the afternoon, our mizen mast, in

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00:18:02,599 --> 00:18:06,720
a heavy lurch to windward, went
by the board for an hour or more.

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00:18:06,759 --> 00:18:08,799
We tried in vain to get rid
of it on account of the prodigious

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00:18:08,839 --> 00:18:12,839
rolling of the ship, and before
we had succeeded, the carpenter came aft

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00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:18,160
and announced four feet of water in
the hold. To add to our dilemma,

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00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:22,200
we found the pumps choked and nearly
useless. All was now confusion and

255
00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:26,039
despair, but an effort was made
to lighten the ship by throwing overboard as

256
00:18:26,119 --> 00:18:30,279
much of her cargo as could be
reached, and by cutting away the two

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00:18:30,359 --> 00:18:34,400
masts that remained. This we at
last accomplished, but we were still unable

258
00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:37,759
to do anything at the pumps,
and in the meantime the leak gained on

259
00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:42,960
us very fast. At sundown,
the gale had sensibly diminished its violence,

260
00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:47,319
and as the sea went down with
it. We still entertained faint hopes of

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00:18:47,359 --> 00:18:51,240
saving ourselves in the boats. At
eight p m. The clouds broke away

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00:18:51,279 --> 00:18:53,400
to windward, and we had the
advantage of a full moon, a piece

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00:18:53,440 --> 00:19:00,000
of good fortune, which served wonderfully
to cheer our drooping spirits. After incredible

264
00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:03,440
labor, we succeeded at length in
getting the longboat over the side without material

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00:19:03,519 --> 00:19:07,759
accident, and into this we crowded
the whole of the crew and most of

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00:19:07,799 --> 00:19:11,319
the passengers. This party made off
immediately, and after undergoing much suffering,

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00:19:11,519 --> 00:19:17,400
finally arrived in safety at Okracoke Inlet
on the third day after the wreck.

268
00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:22,039
Fourteen passengers with the captain, remained
on board, resolving to trust their fortunes

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00:19:22,039 --> 00:19:26,759
to the jolly boat. At the
stern, we lowered it without difficulty,

270
00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:30,440
although it was only by a miracle
that we prevented it from swamping as it

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touched the water it contained. When
afloat the captain and his wife, mister

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00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:40,319
Wyan party, a Mexican officer wife, four children, and myself with a

273
00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:45,039
Negro valet. We had no room, of course, for anything, except

274
00:19:45,039 --> 00:19:48,599
a few positively necessary instruments, some
provisions, and the clothes upon our backs.

275
00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:53,799
No one had thought of even attempting
to save anything more. What must

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00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:57,960
have been the astonishment of all.
Then, when having proceeded a few fathoms

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00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:02,799
from the ships, Wyatt stood up
in the stern sheets and coolly demanded of

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00:20:02,839 --> 00:20:06,200
Captain Hardy that the boat should be
put back for the purpose of taking in

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00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:11,559
his oblong box. Sit down,
mister Wyatt replied the captain, somewhat sternly.

280
00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:15,519
You will capsize us if you do
not sit quite still. Our gunwale

281
00:20:15,559 --> 00:20:19,200
is almost in the water. Now
the box, vociferated mister Wyatt, still

282
00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:22,880
standing the box, I say,
Captain Hardy, you cannot You will not

283
00:20:23,039 --> 00:20:26,119
refuse me. Its weight will be
but a trifle. It is nothing,

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00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:30,759
mere nothing, by the mother who
bore you, for the love of Heaven,

285
00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:33,599
by your hope of salvation. I
implore you to put back for the

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00:20:33,640 --> 00:20:37,119
box. The captain for a moment
seemed touched by the earnest appeal of the

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00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:42,319
artist, but he regained his stern
composure and merely said, mister Wyatt,

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00:20:42,319 --> 00:20:45,599
you are mad. I cannot listen
to you. Sit down, I say,

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00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:48,880
or you will swamp the boat.
Stay hold him, seize him.

290
00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:52,440
He is about to spring overboard.
There I knew it. He is over.

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00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:57,200
As the captain said this, mister
Wyatt in fact sprang from the boat,

292
00:20:57,359 --> 00:21:00,839
and, as we were yet in
the lee of the rest, succeeded

293
00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:04,000
by almost in superhuman exertion, in
getting hold of a rope which hung from

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00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:08,359
the fore chains. In another moment
he was on board and rushing frantically down

295
00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:12,640
into the cabin. In the meantime, we had been swept astern of the

296
00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:15,319
ship, and being quite out of
her lee, were at the mercy of

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00:21:15,319 --> 00:21:19,440
the tremendous sea, which was still
running. We made a determined effort to

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00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:22,240
put back, but our little boat
was like a feather in the breath of

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00:21:22,279 --> 00:21:26,759
a tempest. We saw at a
glance that the doom of the unfortunate artist

300
00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:33,240
was sealed. As our distance from
the wreck rapidly increased. The madman,

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00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:37,359
for as such only could we regard
him, was seen to emerge from the

302
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companionway up which, by dint of
strength that appeared gigantic. He dragged bodily

303
00:21:41,839 --> 00:21:47,720
the oblong box. While we gazed
in the extremity of astonishment. He passed

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00:21:47,799 --> 00:21:51,720
rapidly several turns of a three inch
rope, first around the box and then

305
00:21:51,759 --> 00:21:55,640
about his body. In another instant, both body and box were in the

306
00:21:55,680 --> 00:22:02,119
sea, disappearing suddenly at once and
foreveringered Awhile sadly upon our oars, with

307
00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:07,119
our eyes riveted upon the spot,
At length we pulled away. The silence

308
00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:12,119
remained unbroken for an hour. Finally
I hazarded a remark, did you observe,

309
00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:17,880
Captain, how suddenly they sank?
Was not that an exceedingly singular thing.

310
00:22:18,599 --> 00:22:22,680
I confess that I entertained some feeble
hope of his final deliverance when I

311
00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:26,160
saw him lash himself to the box
and commit himself to the sea. They

312
00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:30,480
sank as a matter of course,
replied the captain, and that like a

313
00:22:30,519 --> 00:22:33,160
shot, they will soon rise again, however, but not till the salt

314
00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:40,079
melts the salt I ejaculated. Hush, said the captain, pointing to the

315
00:22:40,119 --> 00:22:42,839
wife and sisters of the deceased.
We must talk of these things at some

316
00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:48,559
more appropriate time. We suffered much
and made a narrow escape, but fortune

317
00:22:48,599 --> 00:22:52,400
befriended us, as well as our
mates in the long boat. We landed

318
00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:56,920
in Fine, more dead than alive. After four days of intense distress,

319
00:22:56,039 --> 00:23:00,359
upon the beach opposite Roanoke Island.
He remained here a week, were not

320
00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:04,240
ill treated by the wreckers, and
at length obtained a passage to New York.

321
00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:08,880
About a month after the loss of
the Independence, I happened to meet

322
00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:15,960
Captain Hardway in Broadway. Our conversation
turned naturally upon the disaster, and especially

323
00:23:15,079 --> 00:23:19,400
upon the sad fate of poor Wyatt. I thus learned the following particulars.

324
00:23:21,599 --> 00:23:25,240
The artist had engaged passage for himself, wife, two sisters, and a

325
00:23:25,279 --> 00:23:27,920
servant. His wife was, indeed, as she had been represented, a

326
00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:33,599
most lovely and most accomplished woman.
On the morning of the fourteenth of June,

327
00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:37,640
the day in which I first visited
the ship, the lady suddenly sickened

328
00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:42,400
and died. The young husband was
frantic with grief, but circumstances imperatively forbade

329
00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:47,200
the deferring his voyage to New York. It was necessary to take to her

330
00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:49,960
mother the corpse of his adored wife, And on the other hand, the

331
00:23:51,079 --> 00:23:56,119
universal prejudice which would prevent his doing
so openly was well known. Nine tenths

332
00:23:56,119 --> 00:24:00,680
of the passengers would have abandoned the
ship rather than take passage with a dead

333
00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:04,440
body. In this dilemma, Captain
Hardy arranged that the corpse, being first

334
00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:08,839
partially embalmed and packed with a large
quantity of salt in a box of pudable

335
00:24:08,839 --> 00:24:14,559
dimensions, should be conveyed on board
as merchandise. Nothing was to be said

336
00:24:14,559 --> 00:24:18,720
of the lady's decease, and as
it was well understood that mister Wyatt had

337
00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:22,440
engaged passage for his wife, it
became necessary that some person should personate her

338
00:24:22,559 --> 00:24:27,039
during the voyage. This, the
deceased lady's maid, was easily prevailed on

339
00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:33,000
to do. The extra state room
originally engaged for this girl during her mistress's

340
00:24:33,079 --> 00:24:37,240
life, was now merely retained.
In this state room. The pseudo wife

341
00:24:37,279 --> 00:24:41,559
slept, of course, every night. In the daytime she performed to the

342
00:24:41,599 --> 00:24:45,119
best of her ability. The part
of her mistress, whose person it had

343
00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:48,880
been carefully ascertained, was unknown to
any of the passengers on board. My

344
00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:55,400
own mistake arose naturally enough through too
careless, too inquisitive, and too impulsive

345
00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:57,799
a temperament. But of late,
it is a rare thing that I sleep

346
00:24:57,839 --> 00:25:03,000
soundly at night. There's a countenance
which haunts me. Turn as I will,

347
00:25:03,599 --> 00:25:10,240
There's a hysterical laugh which will forever
ring within my ears. End of

348
00:25:11,039 --> 00:25:11,160
the oblong box