The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
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you, but could_not rise; and when i_told her i_would come, she bid me be very quick; but when i_was coming down stairs, I heard her call me back for fear of_the rain and_the thunder; i_would_not hear her, but ran as fast as I_could, hoping to reach tent house . why did you come back so soon ? "

" to spare you half your journey, my brave little man," said I, hastening on; for jack's account of_his mother made me uneasy .I perceived she_must be labouring under fever, and_the blood ascending to her head . my children followed me, and we soon reached the foot of_our castle in_the air .

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chapter XXXIV .

we entered our apartment literally as_if we had come out_of_the sea, and I_found my poor Elizabeth much agitated ." heaven be praised ! " said she; " but where is jack, that rash little fellow ? "

" here I_am, mamma," said he, " as dry as when I left you . I_have left my dress below, that I might_not terrify you; for if Mr Fritz had had his gun, I might_have_been shot as arhinoceros_, and not been here to_tell you my story ."

the good mother then turned her thoughts on Fritz and me, and would_not suffer us to_come near her till we had changed our drenched garments . to oblige her, we retired to a little closet I had contrived between two thick branches at_the top of_the staircase, which_was used to contain our chests of linen, our dresses, and_our provisions . our dress was soon changed; we hung up the wet garments, and I returned to my companion, who was suffering from her foot, but still more from a frightful headache . she had aburning fever .I concluded that bleeding was urgently needed, but commenced by assuaging her thirst with some lemonade .I then opened my box of surgical instruments, and approached the opening to_the east which served us for a window, and which we_could close by_means of a curtain, that was now entirely raised to_give air to our dear invalid, and to amuse my children, who were watching the storm . the mighty waves that broke against the rocks, the vivid lightning bursting through_the castles of murky clouds, the majestic and incessant rolling of_the thunder, formed one of_those enchanting spectacles to_which they had_been from infancy accustomed . as in_the Swiss mountains we_are liable to frightful storms, to_which it_is necessary to familiarize oneself, as one cannot avoid them, I had accustomed my wife and children, by my own example, to behold, not_only without fear, but even with admiration, these great shocks of_the elements,-- these convulsions of nature .

I had opened the chest, and my children had directed their attention to_the instruments it contained; the first were a little rusty, and I handed them to Ernest, who, after examining them, placed them on a table inside the window . i_was searching for a lancet in good condition, when a clap of thunder, such as I had never heard in my life, terrified us all so_much, that we nearly fell down . this burst of thunder had_not_been preceded by any lightning, but was accompanied by two immense forked columns of fire, which seemed to stretch from_the sky to our very feet . we all cried out, even my poor wife; but the silence of terror succeeded, and seemed to_be the silence of death .I flew to_the bedside, and found my dear patient in a state of total insensibility . i_was convinced that she was dead, and i_was dumb with despair . i_was roused from my stupor by_the voice of_my children .I then remembered that I had_not lost all: there still remained duties to fulfil, and affection to console me ." my children," cried I, extending my arms to_them, " come and comfort your unfortunate father: come and lament with_him the best of wives and mothers ." terrified at_the appearance of_their mother, they surrounded her bed, calling on her in piercing accents . at_that moment I_saw my little Francis was missing, and my grief was augmented by_the fear that he had_been killed by_the lightning .I hastily turned to_the window, expecting to_find my child dead, and_our dwelling in flames .Fortunately, all was safe; but, in my distraction, I scarcely thanked god for_his mercy, at_the very moment even when he graciously restored to_me my lost treasures . Francis, frightened by_the storm, had hidden himself in_his mother's bed, and fallen asleep; awaked by_the thunder, he had_not dared to move, fearing it announced the arrival of_the savages; but at last, the cries of_his brothers roused him, and raising his pretty fair head, supposing his mother sleeping, he flung his arms round her neck, saying, " wake, mamma, we_are all here,--papa, my brothers, and_the storm, too, which_is very beautiful, but frightens me . open your eyes, mamma; look at_the bright lightning, and kiss your little Francis ." either his sweet voice, or the cries of her elder children, restored her faculties: she gradually recovered, and called me to her . the excess of_my joy threatened to_be almost as fatal as my grief . with difficulty I controlled my own feelings and those of_my boys; and, after I had sent them from_the bed, I ascertained that she was not_only really living, but much better . the pulse was calm, and_the fever had subsided, leaving only a weakness that was by no means alarming .I relinquished, joyfully, the intention of bleeding her, the necessity of_which I had trembled to contemplate, and contented myself with employing the boys to_prepare acooling mixture, composed of_the juice of_the lemon, of barley, and tamarinds, which they completed to_the great satisfaction of_their mother .I then ordered Fritz to descend to_the yard, to kill a fowl, pluck and boil it, to_make broth,--a wholesome and light nourishment for_our dear invalid . i_told one of_his brothers to assist him, and jack and Francis, frequently employed under their mother, were ready in a moment . Ernest alone remained quietly on_his seat, which I attributed to_his usual indolence, and tried to_make him ashamed of it ." Ernest," said I, " you_are_not very anxious to oblige your mother; you sit as if_the thunderbolt had struck you ."

" it has, indeed, rendered me unfit to_be of any service to my good mother," said he, quietly; and, drawing his right hand from under his waistcoat, he showed it to_me, most frightfully black and burnt .

this dear child, who must_have suffered very_much, had never uttered a complaint, for fear of alarming his mother; and even now he_made a sign to_me to_be silent, lest she should hear, and discover the truth . she soon, however, fell into a sleep, which enabled me to attend to poor Ernest, and to question him about_the accident .I learned that a long and pointed steel instrument, which he_was examining near the large window, stooping over it to_see it better, had attracted the lightning, which, falling partly on_the hand in_which he held it, had caused the misfortune . there were traces on_his arm of_the electric fire, and_his hair was burnt on one side . by what miracle the electric fluid had_been diverted, and how we, dwelling in a tree, had_been preserved from a sudden and general conflagration, I_knew not . my son assured me he had seen the fire run along the instrument he held, and from thence fall perpendicularly to_the earth, where it seemed to burst with a second explosion . i_was impatient to examine this phenomenon, and to_see if any_other traces were left, except those on_the hand of_my son, which it_was necessary, in_the first place, to attend to .I remembered frequently to_have applied with success in Burns the most simple and easy of remedies, which everybody can command: this_is, to bathe the hand affected in cold water, taking care to renew it every eight or ten minutes .I placed Ernest between two tubs of cold water, and, exhorting him to patience and perseverance, I left him to bathe his hand, and approached the opening, to_try and discover what had preserved us, by averting the direction of_the lightning, which one might_have expected would_have killed my son, and destroyed our dwelling . I_saw only some light traces on_the table; but, on looking more attentively, I_found that_the greater part of_the surgical instruments which Ernest had placed upon it were either melted or much damaged . in examining them separately, I remarked one much longer than_the rest, which projected beyond the edge of_the table, and was much marked by_the fire . I_could_not easily take it up; it had adhered somewhat in melting, and, in endeavouring to disengage it, I_saw that_the point, which_was beyond the opening, touched a thick wire, which seemed to_be suspended from_the roof of_our tent . all was now explained to_me; except that I_could in no way account for_this wire, placed expressly to_serve as a conductor for_the lightning . it seemed to_be the work of magic . the evening was too far advanced for_me to distinguish how it_was fastened, and what fixed it below; therefore, enjoining Ernest to_call loudly if he_needed me, I hastened down . I_saw my three cooks very busy, as I passed through, preparing the broth for their mother-- they assured me it would_be excellent .Fritz boasted that he had killed the fowl with all speed, jack that he had plucked it without tearing it much, and Francis that he had lighted and kept up the fire . they had nothing to employ them just then, and i_took them with me to_have some one to_talk to on_the phenomenon of_the lightning . below the window I_found a large packet of iron wire, which I had brought from tent house some days before, intending on some leisure day to_make a sort of grating before our poultry- yard . by what chance was_it here, and hooked by one end to_the roof of_our house ? some_time before I had replaced our cloth canopy by a sort of roof covered with bark nailed upon laths; the cloth still enclosed the sides and front; all was so inflammable, that, but for_the providential conductor, we_must_have been in flames in an instant .I thanked god for_our preservation; and little Francis, seeing me so happy, said--

" is_it quite true, papa, that_this wire has preserved us ? "

" yes, it_is true, my darling; and i_wish to_know what good genius has placed it there, that I_may_be thankful," said I .

"Ah ! father," said my little fellow, " embrace me, but do_not thank me; for I_did_not know that i_was doing good ."

Astonished at this_information, I requested my boy to_tell me why and how he had fixed the wire ?

" i_wanted to reach some figs," said he, " when_you and Fritz were at tent house, and jack and Ernest were nursing mamma; I wished to_do some good for her . i_thought she_would like some_of_our sweet figs; but there were none in my reach, and I had no stick long enough to beat them down .I went below, and found that great roll of wire .I tried to break a piece off, but could_not; and I then determined to carry the whole up_to our dwelling, and to bend one end into a hook, by_which I_might catch some_of_the branches, and bring them near me to gather the figs . i_was very successful at first, and secured one_or_two figs .I had my packet of wire on_the table by_the window, and stood near it myself . i_thought I_could reach a branch that hung over our roof, loaded with fruit .I leaned forward, and extended my hook to_the branch; I_felt I had secured it, and joyfully began to pull . you_know, papa, they bend, and don't break; but it remained immovable, as_well as my hook, which_was held by one_of_the laths of_the roof .I pulled with all my strength, and, in my efforts, I struck my foot against the roll of wire, which fell down to_the ground without detaching the hook . you_may judge how firm it_is, for_it is no trifling leap from_our house to_the ground ."

"A good work, indeed, my boy," said I, " is yours, for_it has saved us . god has inspired you, and has_made use of_the hand of a child for_our preservation . your conductor shall remain where you_have so happily placed it; we_may still have need of it . the sky still looks very threatening; let_us return to your mother, and take a light with_us ."

I had contrived a sort of portable lantern, made of isinglass, which lighted us in_our offices . moreover, acalibash pierced with small holes, with a candle inside, was placed at_the top of_the winding staircase, and lighted it entirely, so_that we were able to descend without danger by night as w ell as by day . i_was, however, uneasy about_the way we_should bring my wife down, if we_found it necessary to remove her during her sickness; I named it to Fritz .

" have no uneasiness, father," said he, " Ernest and I are very strong now, and we_can carry mamma like a feather ."

" you and I_might, my dear boy," said I; " but Ernest cannot_be of much assistance to_us at present ."

I then related his misfortune to_them . they were distressed and astonished, not comprehending the cause, which I promised to explain . they wished now, however, to_see their brother .Fritz then requested, in a low tone of voice, that he might go to tent house, to_see if_the vessel and_the captain had arrived .Seeing his brothers listening with


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