{"collection":"philosophy-ethics","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_54254/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_54254","id":"gutenberg_54254","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54254","summary":null,"tags":["Category: British Literature","Category: Novels","Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Children's writings, English","English fiction -- 19th century","Happiness -- Fiction","Short stories"],"text":"Transcriber's note\n\nThis e-book has been transcribed from the author's hand-written\nmanuscript, downloaded from the British Library. The original text and\nthe pagination have both been retained. For the reader's convenience an\nedited version follows, where punctuation, capitalisation and spelling\nhave been normalised.\n\nThe following changes have been made to both the original and the\nedited version:\n\nLeaf numbers, as they appear in the original, are shown in [brackets].\n\nThe name \"ODonell\" was changed to \"O'Donell\".\n\nAmpersand (&) was changed to \"and\".\n\n\n\n\n                   [1] The Search after Happiness\n\n                              A Tale by C\n                                Bronte\n\n                      August the seventeenth 1829\n\n\n\n\n                         [2] THE SEARCH AFTER\n                               HAPINESS\n\n                               A TALE BY\n                               CHARLOTTE\n                                BRONTE\n\n                          PRINTED BY HERSELF\n                                  AND\n                                SOLD BY\n                            NOBODY &ct &ct\n\n                                AUGUST\n                                  THE\n                              SEVENTEENTH\n                           EIGHTEEN HUNDRED\n                                AND on\n                              Twenty nine\n\n\n\n\nPreface\n\n\nThe persons meant by the Chief of the city and his Sons are the Duke of\nWellington the Marquis of Duro and Lord Wellesly the city is the Glass\ntown Henry O'Donell and Alexander Delancy are Captain Tarry-not-at-home\nand Monsieur Like-to-live-in-lonely-places\n\n  Charlotte Bronte\n\n  August the 17\n  1829\n\n\n\n\n[3] A TALE BY\n\nCB July 28 1829\n\nThe search after happiness\n\nchapter I\n\n\nNOT many years ago there lived in a certain city a person of the name\nof Henry O'Donell, in figure he was tall of a dark complexion and\nsearching black eye, his mind was strong and unbending his disposition\nuncosiable and though respected by many he was loved by few. the\ncity where he resided was very great and magnificent it was governed\nby a warior a mighty man of valour whose deeds had resounded to the\nends of the earth. this soldier had 2 son's who were at that time of\nthe seperate age's of 6 and 7 years Henry--O'Donell was a nobleman\nof great consequence in the city and a peculiar favourite with the\ngovernor before whose glance his stern mind would bow and at his comand\nO'Donells selfwill would be overcome and while playing with the young\nprinces he would forget his usual sulleness of demeanour the day's of\nhis childhood returned upon him and he would be a merry as the youngest\nwho was gay indeed. one day at court a quarrel ensued between him and\nanother noble words came to blows and O'Donell struck his oponent a\nviolent blow on the left cheek at this the miliatry King started up and\ncommanded O'Donell to apologize this he imediatly did, but from that\nhour the spell of discontent seemed to have been cast over him and he\nresolved to quit the city. the evening before he put this resolution\ninto practise he had an interview with the King and returned quite an\naltered man. before he seemed stern and intractable now he was only\nmeditative and sorrowful as he was passing the inner court of the\npalace he perceived the 2 young princes at play he called them and they\ncame runing to him. I am going far from this city and shall most likely\nnever see you again said O'Donell. where are you going? I canot tell\nthen why do you go away from us why do you go from your own house and\nlands from this great and splendid city to you know not where because I\nam not happy here. And if you are not happy here where you have every\nthing for which you can whish do you expect to be happy when you are\ndying of hunger or thirst in a desert or longing for the society of men\nwhen you are thousands of miles of miles From any human being. how do\nyou know that that will be my case? it is very likely that it will. and\nif it was I am determined to go. take this then that you may sometimes\nrememberus when you dwell with only the wild beast of the desert or\nthe great eagle of the mountain, said they as they each gave him a\ncurling lock of their hair yes I will take it my princes and I shall\nrember you and the mighty warrior King your father even when the angel\nof Death has stretched forth his bony arm against me and I am within\nthe confines of his dreary kingdom the cold damp grave replied O'Donell\nas the tears rushed to his eyes and he once more embraced the little\nprinces and then quitted them it might be for ever----\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER. THE II\n\n\nTHE Dawn of the next morning found O'Donell on the sumit of a High\nmountain which overlooked the city he had stopped to take a farewell\nview of the place of his nativity. all along the eastern horizon there\nwas a rich glowing light which as it rose gradually melted into the\npale blue of the sky in which just over the light there was still\nvisible the silver crescent of the moon in a short time the sun began\nto rise in golden glory casting his splendid radiance over all the\nface of nature and illuminating the magnificent city in the midst of\nwhich towering in silent grandeur there appeared the Palace where\ndwelt the mighty Prince of that great and beautiful city. all around\nthe brazen gates and massive walls of which there flowed the majestic\nstream of the Guadima whose Banks where bordered by splendid palaces\nand magnificent gardens behind these stretching for many a league were\nfruitful plains and forests whose shade seemed almost impenetrable to\na single ray of light while in the distace blue mountains were seen\nraising their heads to the sky and forming a misty girdle to the plains\nof Dahomey. on the whole of this grand and beautiful prospect [4]\nO'Donells gaze was long and fixed but his last look was to the palace\nof the King and a tear stood in his eye as he said ernestly may he be\npreserved from all evil may good attend him and may the cheif Geni\nspread their broad sheild of protection over him all the time of his\nsojourn in this wearisome world. then turning round he began to decend\nthe mountain he pursued his way till the sun began to wax hot when\nhe stopped and sitting down he took out some provisions which he had\nbrought with him and which consisted of a few biscuits and dates while\nhe was eating a tall man came up and acosted him O'Donell requested\nhim to sit beside him and offered him a biscuit this he refused and\ntaking one out of a small bag which he carried he sat down and they\nbegan to talk. In the course of conversation O'Donell learnt that this\nmans name was ALexander DeLancy that he was a native of France and\nthat he was engaged in the same pursuit with himself i-e the search\nof happiness they talked for along time and at last agreed to travel\ntogether then rising they pursued their journey towards night fall\nthey lay down in the open air and slept soundly till morning when they\nagain set off and thus they continued till the 3 day when about 2 hours\nafter noon they aproached an old castle which they entred and as they\nwere examining it they discovered a subteaneous passage which they\ncould not see the end of Let us follow where this passage leads us and\nperhaps we may find happiness here said O'Donell Delancy agreed the\n2 stepped into the opening imediately they a great stone was rolled\nto the mouth of the passage with a noise like thunder which shut out\nall but a single ray daylight. \"What is that! exclaimed O'Donell \"I\ncannot tell,\" replied DeLancy \"but never mind I supose it is only some\ngenius playing tricks\" \"Well it may be so returned O'Donell and they\nproceeded on their way after traveling for a long time as near as they\ncould reckon about 2 days they perceived a silvery streak of light\non the walls of the passage something like the light of the moon in\na short time they came to the end of the passage and leaping out of\nthe opening which formed they entred a new world they where at first\nso much bewildred by the different objects which struck their senses\nthat they almost fainted but at length recovering they had time to see\nevery thing around them they were upon the top of a rock which was more\nthan a thousand fathoms high, all beneath them was liquid Mountains\ntossed to and fro with horrible confusion roaring and raging with a\ntremendous noise and crowned with waves of foam all above them was a\nmighty firmament in one part covere with black clouds from which darted\nhuge and terrible sheets of Lightning in another part an imense globe\nof Light like silver was hanging in the sky and several smaller globes\nwhich spakled exceedingly surounded it. in a short time the tempest\nwhich was dreadful beyond description ceased the large black clouds\ncleared away the silver globes vanished and another globe whose light\nwas of a gold colour appeared it was far larger than the former and in\na little time it became so intensely bright that they could no longer\ngaze on it so after looking around them for some time they rose and\npursued their journey. they had travelled a long way when they came an\nimense forest the trees of which bore a large fruit of a deep purple\ncolour of which they tasted and found that it was fit for food, they\njourneyed in this forest for three days and on the 3 day they entred a\nvalley or rather a deep glen surounded on each side by tremendous rocks\nwhose tops where lost in the clouds in this glen they continued for\nsome time and at last came in sight of a mountain which rose so high\nthat the could not see the sumit though the sky was quite clear. at\nthe foot of the mountain there flowed a river of pure water border by\ntrees which had flowers of a beautiful rose coulour except these trees\nnothing was to be seen but black forests and huge rocks rising out of\na wilderness which bore the terrible aspect of devastation and which\nstretched as far as the eye could reach in this desolate land no sound\nwas to be heard, not even cry of the eagle or the scream of the Curlew\nbut a silence like the silence of the grave reigned over all the face\nof nature unbroken except by the murmur of the river as it slowly wound\nits course through the desert\n\n\n\n\n[5] CHAPTER THE III\n\n\nafter they had contemplated this scene for some time O'Donell exclaimed\n\"ALEXANDER Let us abide here what need have we to travel father let us\nmake this our place of rest\"! \"We will\" replied DeLancy and \"this shall\nbe our abode\" added he pointing to a cave at the foot of the mountaine\n\"It shall\" returned--O'Donell as they entered it. in this country they\nremained for many long years and passed their time in a maner which\nmade them completely happy sometimes they would sit upon a high rock\nand listen to the hoarse thunder rolling through the sky and making\nthe mountains to echo and the deserts to ring with its awful voice,\nsomtimes they would watch the lightning darting across black clouds\nand shivering huge fragments of rock in its terrible passage sometimes\nthey would witness the great glorious orb of gold sink behind the far\ndistant mountains which girded the horizon and then watch the advance\nof grey twilight and the little stars coming forth in beauty and the\nsilver moon arising in her splendour till the cold dews of night began\nto fall and then they would retire to their bed in the cave with\nhearts full of joy and thankfulness. one evening they were seated in\nthis cave by a large Blazing fire of turf which cast its lurid light\nto the high arched roof and illuminated the tall and stately pillars\ncut by the hand of nature out the stony rock with a cheerful and red\nglare that appeared strange in this desolate land which no fires had\never before visited except those feirce flames of death which flash\nfrom the heavens when robed in the dreadful majesty of thunder. they\nwere seated in this cave then listening to the howling night wind as\nit swept in mournful cadences through the trees of the forest which\nencircled the foot of the mount and bordered the stream which flowed\nround it. they were quite silent and their thoughts were ocupied by\nthose that were afar off and whom it was their fate most likely never\nmore to behold O'Donell was thinking of his noble master and his young\nPrinces of the thousands of miles which intervened between him and them\nand the sad silent tear gushed forth as he ruminated on the happiness\nof those times when his master frowned not when the gloom of care gave\nplace to the smile of freindship when he would talk to him and laugh\nwith him and be to him not as a brother no no but as a mighty warrior\nwho relaxing from his haughtiness would now and then converse with\nhis high officers in a strain of vivacity and playful humour not to\nbe equalled. next he viewed him in his minds eye at the head of his\narmy he heared in the ears of his imagination the buzz of expectation\nof hope and supposition which humed round him as his penetrating eye\nwith a still keeness of expression was fixed on the distant ranks of\nthe enemy then he heard his authorative voice exclam, Onward brave\nsons of freedom onward to the battle and lastly his parting words\nto him \"in prosperity or, in misery In sorrow or in joy In populous\ncities or in desolate wildernesses my prayer shall go with you\" darted\nacross his mind with such painful distinctness that he at length gave\nway to his uncontrollable greif at the thought that he should never\nbehold his beloved and mighty comander more and burst into a flood of\ntears. What is the matter Henry exclaimed Delancy O nothing nothing\nwas the reply and they were resuming their tacit thinking when a voice\nwas heard outside the cavern which broke strangely upon the desolate\nsilence of that land which for thousands of years had heard no sound\nsave the howling of the wind through the forest the echoing of the\nthunder among mountains or the solitary murmuring of the river if we\nexcept the preseence of O'Donell and Delancy. Listen! cried ALEXANDER\nlisten! what is that. it is the sound of a mans voice replied Henry and\nthen snatching up a burning torch he rushed to the mouth of the cave\nfollowed by Delancy when they had got there they saw the figure of a\nvery old man sitting on the damp wet ground moaning and complaining\nbitterly they went up to him at their approach he rose and said are\nyou human or supernatural beings? they assured him that they were\nhuman. he went on. then why have you taken up your abode in this\nland of the grave? O'Donell answered that he would relate to him all\nthe particulars if he would he would take shelter for the night with\nthem the old man consented and when they were all assembled round the\ncheerful fire O'Donell fulfilled his promise and then requested the old\nman to tell them how he came to be travelling there he complied and\nbegan as follows----\n\n\n\n\n[6] CHAPTER the IV\n\n\nI was the son of a respectable merchant in moussoul my father intended\nto bring me up to his own trade but I was idle and did not like. it\none day as I was playing in the street a very old man came up to me\nand asked me if I would go with him I asked him where he was going he\nreplyed that if I would go with him he would show me very wonderful\nthings this raised my curiosity and I consented he imediatly took me\nby the hand and hurried me out of the city of Moussoul so quickly that\nmy breath was almost stopped and it seemed as if we glided along in\nthe air for I could hear no sound of our footsteps we continued on our\ncourse for a long time till we came to glen surrounded by very high\nmountains how we passed over those mountains I could never tell, in the\nmiddle of the glen there was a small fountain of very clear water my\nconducter directed me to drink of it this I did and imediatly I found\nmyself in a palace the glory of which far exceeds any description which\nI can give the tall stately pillars reaching from heaven to earth were\nformed of the fines and pured diamonds the pavement sparkling with\ngold and precious stones and the mighty dome made solem and awful by\nits stupendous magnitude was of a single emerald. in the midst of this\ngrand and magnificent palace was a lamp like the sun the radiance of\nwhich made all the palace to flash and glitter with an almost fearful\ngrandeur the ruby sent a stream forth of crimson light the topaz gold\nthe saphire intensest purple and the dome poured a flood of deep\nclear splendour which overcame all the other gaudy lights by its mild\ntriumphant glory in this palace were thousands and tens of thousand of\nfaires and geni some of whom flitted lightly among the blazing lamps to\nthe sound of unearthly music which dyed and swelled in a strain of wild\ngrandeur suited to the words they sung--\n\n    in this fairy land of light\n    no mortal ere has been\n    and the dreadful grandeu of this sight\n    by them hath not been seen\n\n    t'would strike them shudering to the earth\n    like the flash from a thunder cloud\n    it would quench their light and joyous mirth\n    and fit them for the shroud\n\n    the rising of our palaces\n    like visions of the deep\n    and the glory of their structure\n    no mortal voice can speak\n\n    the music of our songs\n    and our mighty trumpets swell\n    and the sounding of our silver harps\n    no mortal tongue can tell\n\n    of us they know but little\n    save when the storm doth rise\n    and the mighty waves are tossing\n    agains the arched skys\n\n    [7] then oft they see us striding\n    o'e'r the billows snow white foam\n    or hear us speak in thunder\n    when we stand in grandeur lone\n\n    on the darkest of the mighty clouds\n    which veil the pearly moon\n    around us lightning flashing\n    nights blackness to illume\n\n    chorus the music of our songs\n           and our mighty trumpets\n           swell and the sounding of our silver\n           harp no mortal tongue can tell\n\nwhen they had finished their was a dead silence for about half an\nhour and then the palace began slowly and gradualy to vanish till\nit disapeared intirely and I found myself in the glen surounded by\nhigh mountains the fountain illuminated by the cold light of the moon\nspringing up in the middle of the valley and standing close by was the\nold man who had conducted me to this enchanted place he turned round\nand I could see that his countenance had an expression of strange\nseverity which I had not before observed. Follow me he said I obeyed\nand we began to ascend the mountain it would be needless to trouble you\nwith a repititon of all my adventures suffice it to say that after two\nmonths time we arrived at a large temple we entred it the interior as\nwell as the outside had a very gloomy and ominous aspect being intirely\nbuilt of black marble the old man suddenly seized me and dragged me\nto an altar at the upper end of the temple then forcing me down on my\nknees he made me swear that I would be his servant forever and this\npromise I faithfully kept notwithstanding the dreadful scenes of magic\nof which every day of my life I was forced to be a witness one day\nhe told me that he would discharge me from the oath I had taken and\ncomanded me to leave his service I obeyed and after wandering about the\nworld for many years I one evening laid myself down on a little bank by\nthe roadside intending to pass the night there suddenly I felt myself\nraised in the air by invisible hands in a short time I lost sight of\nthe earth and continued on my course through the clouds till I became\ninsensible and when I recovered from my swoon I found myself lying\noutside this cave what may be my future destiny I know not----\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER the V\n\n\nWhen the old man had finished his tale O'Donell and Delancy thanked\nhim for the relation adding at the same time that they had never heard\nanything half so wonderful then as it was very late they all retired\nto rest next morning O'Donell awoke very early and looking round the\ncave he perceived the bed of leaves on which the old man had lain to be\nempty the rising he went out of the cave the sky was covered with red\nfiery clouds except those in the east whose edges were tinged with the\nbright rays of the morning sun as they strove to hide its glory with\ntheir dark veil of vapours now all beauty and radiance by the golden\nline of light which sreaked their gloomy surface beneath this storm\nportending sky and far off to the westward rose two tremendous rocks\nwhose sumits were enveloped with black clouds rolling one above another\nwith an awful magnificence well suited to the land of wilderness and\nmountain which they canopied gliding along in the air between these\ntwo rocks was a chariot of light and in the chariot sat a figure the\nexpression of whose countenance was that of the old man armed with the\nmajesty and might of a spirit O'Donell stood at the mouth of the cave\nwatching it till it vanished and then calling Delancy he related the\ncircumstance to him [8] some years after this ALexander went out one\nmorning in search of the fruit on which they subsisted noon came and\nhe had not returned evening and still no tidings of him O'Donell began\nto be alarmed and set out in search of him but could no where find him\none whole day he spent in wandering about the rocks and mountains and\nin the evening he came back to his cave weary and faint with hunger and\nthirst days weeks months passed away and no Delancy apeared O'Donell\nmight now Be said to be truly miserable he would sit on a rock for\nhours together and cry out ALexander ALexander but receive no answer\nexcept the distant echoing of his voice among the rocks sometimes\nhe fancied it was another person answering him and he would listen\nernestly till it dyed awey then sinking into utter despair again he\nwoul sit till the dews of night began to fall when he would retire to\nhis cave to pass the night in unquiet broken slumbers or in thinking\nof his beloved commander whom he could never see more in one of these\ndreadful intervals he took up a small parcel and opening it he saw\nlying before him two locks of soft culy hair shing like--burnished\ngold he gazed on them for a little and thought of the words of those\nwho gave them to him--take this then that you may rember us when you\ndewll with only the wild beast of the desert and the great eagle of\nthe mountain he burst into a flood of tears he wrung his hands sorrow\nand in the anguish of the moment he wished that he could once more\nsee them and the mighty Warrior King their father if it cost him his\nlife just at that instant a loud clap of thunder shook the roof of\nthe cave a sound like the rushing of the wind was heard and a mighty\ngenius stood before him I know thy wish cried he with a loud and\nterrible voice and I will grant it in 2 months time thou returnest\nto the castle wence thou camest hither and surrenderest thyself into\nmy power O'Donell promised that he would and instantly he found\nhimself at the door of the old castle and in the land of his birth\nhe pursued his journey for three days and on the 3. day he arrived\nat the mountain which overlooked the city it was a beautiful evening\nin the month of September and the full moon was shedding her traquil\nlight on all the face of nature the city was lying in its splendour\nand magnificence surrounded by the broad stream of the Guadima the\npalace was majestically towering in the midst of it and all its pillars\nand battlements eemed in the calm light of the moon as if they were\ntransformed into siver by the touch of a fairys wand O'Donell staid not\nlong to contemplate this beautiful scene but decending the mountain\nhe soon crossed the fertile plain which led to the city and entering\nthe gates he quickly arrived at the palace without speaking to any one\nhe entred the iner court of the palace by a seecret way with which he\nwas acquainted and then going up a flight of steps and crossing a long\ngallery he arrived at the Kings private apartment the door was half\nopen he looked and beheld 2 very handsome young men sitting together\nand reading he instantly recgonized them and was going to step forward\nwhen the door opened and the Great Duke entred O'Donell could contain\nhimself no longer but rushing in he threw himself at the feet of his\nGrace O'Donell is this you exclaimed the Duke it is my most noble\nmaster answered O'Donell almost choking with joy the young princes\ninstantly embraced him while he almost smothered them with [9] caresses\nafter a while they became tranquil and then O'Donell at the request\nof the Duke related all his adventures since he parted with them not\nomiting the condition on which he was now in the palace when he had\nended a loud voice was heard saying that he was free from his promise\nand might spend the rest of his days in his native city sometime after\nthis as O'Donell was walking in the streets he met a gentleman who he\nthought he had seen before but could not recolect where or under what\ncircumstances after a little conversation he discovered that he was\nALexander Delancy that he was now a rich merchant in the city of Paris\nand high in favour with the emperor Napoleon as may be suposed they\nboth were equally delighted at the discovery they ever after lived\nhapily in their seperate cities and so ends my little tale.\n\n  C Bronte August the 17\n  1829\n\n\n\n\nContents\n\n\nChap I character of O'Donell cause of his travels\n\nChap II set out meeting Delancy coming to the old castle entreing the\nnew world description\n\nChap III coming to the cave maner of life arrival of the old man\n\nChap VI old mans tale\n\nChap V Departure of the old man disapearance of Delancy transportation\nof O'Donell his arrival at the city his arrival at the palace; his\ninterview with his cheif he finds Delancy end\n\n\nFINIS\n\n\n\n\n                            EDITED VERSION\n\nPreface\n\nThe persons meant by the Chief of the city and his Sons are the Duke\nof Wellington, the Marquis of Duro and Lord Wellesly. The city is\nthe Glass town. Henry O'Donell and Alexander Delancy are Captain\nTarry-not-at-home and Monsieur Like-to-live-in-lonely-places.\n\nCharlotte Bronte\n\nAugust the 17 1829\n\n\n[3] A TALE BY\n\nCB July 28 1829\n\nThe search after happiness\n\nChapter I\n\nNOT many years ago there lived in a certain city a person of the name\nof Henry O'Donell. In figure he was tall, of a dark complexion and\nsearching black eye, his mind was strong and unbending, his disposition\nunsociable and though respected by many he was loved by few. The city\nwhere he resided was very great and magnificent. It was governed by a\nwarrior, a mighty man of valour whose deeds had resounded to the ends\nof the earth. This soldier had two sons who were at that time of the\nseparate ages of six and seven years.\n\nHenry O'Donell was a nobleman of great consequence in the city and a\npeculiar favourite with the governor, before whose glance his stern mind\nwould bow and at his command O'Donell's selfwill would be overcome,\nand while playing with the young princes he would forget his usual\nsullenness of demeanour; the days of his childhood returned upon him and\nhe would be as merry as the youngest, who was gay indeed.\n\nOne day at court, a quarrel ensued between him and another noble, words\ncame to blows and O'Donell struck his opponent a violent blow on the\nleft cheek. At this the military King started up and commanded O'Donell\nto apologize. This he immediately did, but from that hour the spell of\ndiscontent seemed to have been cast over him and he resolved to quit\nthe city. The evening before he put this resolution into practice,\nhe had an interview with the King and returned quite an altered man.\nBefore he seemed stern and intractable, now he was only meditative\nand sorrowful. As he was passing the inner court of the palace, he\nperceived the two young princes at play. He called them and they came\nrunning to him.\n\n\"I am going far from this city and shall most likely never see you\nagain,\" said O'Donell.\n\n\"Where are you going?\"\n\n\"I cannot tell.\"\n\n\"Then why do you go away from us, why do you go from your own house and\nlands, from this great and splendid city to you know not where?\"\n\n\"Because I am not happy here.\"\n\n\"And if you are not happy here where you have every thing for which\nyou can wish, do you expect to be happy when you are dying of hunger\nor thirst in a desert or longing for the society of men, when you are\nthousands of miles, of miles from any human being?\"\n\n\"How do you know that that will be my case?\"\n\n\"It is very likely that it will.\"\n\n\"And if it was, I am determined to go.\"\n\n\"Take this then that you may sometimes remember us when you dwell with\nonly the wild beast of the desert or the great eagle of the mountain,\"\nsaid they as they each gave him a curling lock of their hair.\n\n\"Yes, I will take it my princes and I shall remember you and the mighty\nwarrior King your father, even when the angel of Death has stretched\nforth his bony arm against me and I am within the confines of his\ndreary kingdom, the cold damp grave,\" replied O'Donell, as the tears\nrushed to his eyes and he once more embraced the little princes and\nthen quitted them, it might be for ever----\n\n\nCHAPTER THE II\n\nTHE Dawn of the next morning found O'Donell on the summit of a high\nmountain which overlooked the city. He had stopped to take a farewell\nview of the place of his nativity. All along the eastern horizon, there\nwas a rich glowing light, which, as it rose, gradually melted into the\npale blue of the sky, in which, just over the light, there was still\nvisible the silver crescent of the moon. In a short time the sun began\nto rise in golden glory casting his splendid radiance over all the\nface of nature and illuminating the magnificent city in the midst of\nwhich, towering in the silent grandeur, there appeared the Palace where\ndwelt the mighty Prince of that great and beautiful city, all around\nthe brazen gates and massive walls of which there flowed the majestic\nstream of the Guadima whose banks were bordered by splendid palaces and\nmagnificent gardens. Behind these stretching for many a league were\nfruitful plains and forests whose shade seemed almost impenetrable to\na single ray of light, while in the distance blue mountains were seen\nraising their heads to the sky and forming a misty girdle to the plains\nof Dahomey. On the whole of this grand and beautiful prospect, [4]\nO'Donell's gaze was long and fixed but his last look was to the palace\nof the King and a tear stood in his eye as he said earnestly, \"May he\nbe preserved from all evil. May good attend him and may the chief Genie\nspread their broad shield of protection over him all the time of his\nsojourn in this wearisome world.\"\n\nThen turning round he began to descend the mountain. He pursued his\nway till the sun began to wax hot when he stopped and, sitting down,\nhe took out some provisions which he had brought with him and which\nconsisted of a few biscuits and dates. While he was eating, a tall man\ncame up and accosted him. O'Donell requested him to sit beside him and\noffered him a biscuit. This he refused, and taking one out of a small\nbag which he carried, he sat down and they began to talk. In the course\nof conversation O'Donell learnt that this man's name was Alexander\nDelancy, that he was a native of France, and that he was engaged in the\nsame pursuit with himself, i.e. the search of happiness. They talked\nfor a long time and at last agreed to travel together. Then, rising,\nthey pursued their journey. Towards nightfall they lay down in the open\nair and slept soundly till morning, when they again set off and thus\nthey continued till the 3rd day, when about two hours after noon they\napproached an old castle which they entered and as they were examining\nit, they discovered a subterraneous passage, which they could not see\nthe end of.\n\n\"Let us follow where this passage leads us and perhaps we may find\nhappiness here,\" said O'Donell.\n\nDelancy agreed; the two stepped into the opening. Immediately a great\nstone was rolled to the mouth of the passage with a noise like thunder\nwhich shut out all but a single ray of daylight.\n\n\"What is that!\" exclaimed O'Donell.\n\n\"I cannot tell,\" replied Delancy \"but never mind. I suppose it is only\nsome genius playing tricks.\"\n\n\"Well, it may be so,\" returned O'Donell and they proceeded on their way.\n\nAfter travelling for a long time, as near as they could reckon about\ntwo days, they perceived a silvery streak of light on the walls of the\npassage, something like the light of the moon. In a short time they\ncame to the end of the passage, and, leaping out of the opening which\nformed, they entered a new world.\n\nThey were at first so much bewildered by the different objects which\nstruck their senses that they almost fainted, but at length recovering\nthey had time to see everything around them. They were upon the top of\na rock which was more than a thousand fathoms high. All beneath them\nwas liquid mountains tossed to and fro with horrible confusion, roaring\nand raging with a tremendous noise and crowned with waves of foam.\nAll above them was a mighty firmament, in one part covered with black\nclouds from which darted huge and terrible sheets of lightning, in\nanother part an immense globe of light like silver was hanging in the\nsky and several smaller globes which sparkled exceedingly surrounded it.\n\nIn a short time the tempest which was dreadful beyond description\nceased, the large black clouds cleared away, the silver globes\nvanished, and another globe whose light was of a gold colour appeared.\nIt was far larger than the former and in a little time it became so\nintensely bright that they could no longer gaze on it, so after looking\naround them for some time they rose and pursued their journey.\n\nThey had travelled a long way, when they came to an immense forest,\nthe trees of which bore a large fruit of a deep purple colour of which\nthey tasted and found that it was fit for food. They journeyed in this\nforest for three days and on the 3rd day they entered a valley or\nrather a deep glen surrounded on each side by tremendous rocks, whose\ntops were lost in the clouds. In this glen they continued for some\ntime and at last came in sight of a mountain which rose so high that\nthey could not see the summit though the sky was quite clear. At the\nfoot of the mountain, there flowed a river of pure water bordered by\ntrees which had flowers of a beautiful rose colour. Except these trees\nnothing was to be seen but black forests and huge rocks rising out of\na wilderness which bore the terrible aspect of devastation and which\nstretched as far as the eye could reach. In this desolate land no sound\nwas to be heard, not even cry of the eagle or the scream of the curlew,\nbut a silence, like the silence of the grave, reigned over all the face\nof nature unbroken except by the murmur of the river as it slowly wound\nits course through the desert.\n\n\n[5] CHAPTER THE III\n\nAfter they had contemplated this scene for some time O'Donell\nexclaimed, \"Alexander, let us abide here. What need have we to travel\nfarther? let us make this our place of rest!\"\n\n\"We will,\" replied Delancy \"and this shall be our abode,\" added he\npointing to a cave at the foot of the mountain.\n\n\"It shall,\" returned O'Donell as they entered it.\n\nIn this country they remained for many long years and passed their time\nin a manner which made them completely happy. Sometimes they would sit\nupon a high rock and listen to the hoarse thunder rolling through the\nsky and making the mountains to echo and the deserts to ring with its\nawful voice. Sometimes they would watch the lightning darting across\nblack clouds and shivering huge fragments of rock in its terrible\npassage. Sometimes they would witness the great glorious orb of gold\nsink behind the far distant mountains which girded the horizon and then\nwatch the advance of grey twilight and the little stars coming forth in\nbeauty and the silver moon arising in her splendour till the cold dews\nof night began to fall and then they would retire to their bed in the\ncave with hearts full of joy and thankfulness.\n\nOne evening they were seated in this cave by a large blazing fire of\nturf which cast its lurid light to the high arched roof and illuminated\nthe tall and stately pillars cut by the hand of nature out the stony\nrock with a cheerful and red glare that appeared strange in this\ndesolate land, which no fires had ever before visited except those\nfierce flames of death, which flash from the heavens when robed in\nthe dreadful majesty of thunder. They were seated in this cave then\nlistening to the howling night wind as it swept in mournful cadences\nthrough the trees of the forest, which encircled the foot of the mount\nand bordered the stream which flowed round it. They were quite silent\nand their thoughts were occupied by those that were afar off and whom\nit was their fate most likely never more to behold. O'Donell was\nthinking of his noble master and his young Princes, of the thousands of\nmiles which intervened between him and them, and the sad silent tear\ngushed forth as he ruminated on the happiness of those times: when his\nmaster frowned, not when the gloom of care gave place to the smile of\nfriendship; when he would talk to him and laugh with him and be to him\nnot as a brother, no no, but as a mighty warrior, who relaxing from\nhis haughtiness would now and then converse with his high officers\nin a strain of vivacity and playful humour not to be equalled. Next\nhe viewed him in his mind's eye at the head of his army. He heard\nin the ears of his imagination the buzz of expectation of hope and\nsupposition which hummed round him as his penetrating eye with a still\nkeenness of expression was fixed on the distant ranks of the enemy,\nthen he heard his authoritative voice exclaim, \"Onward brave sons of\nfreedom, onward to the battle,\" and lastly his parting words to him,\n\"In prosperity or in misery, in sorrow or in joy, in populous cities or\nin desolate wildernesses my prayer shall go with you,\" darted across\nhis mind with such painful distinctness that he at length gave way to\nhis uncontrollable grief at the thought that he should never behold his\nbeloved and mighty commander more and burst into a flood of tears.\n\n\"What is the matter, Henry?\" exclaimed Delancy.\n\n\"O nothing, nothing,\" was the reply, and they were resuming their\ntacit thinking, when a voice was heard outside the cavern which broke\nstrangely upon the desolate silence of that land which for thousands\nof years had heard no sound save the howling of the wind through the\nforest, the echoing of the thunder among mountains or the solitary\nmurmuring of the river if we except the presence of O'Donell and\nDelancy.\n\n\"Listen!\" cried Alexander, \"listen! What is that?\"\n\n\"It is the sound of a man's voice,\" replied Henry and then snatching up\na burning torch, he rushed to the mouth of the cave followed by Delancy.\n\nWhen they had got there they saw the figure of a very old man, sitting\non the damp wet ground moaning and complaining bitterly. They went up\nto him.\n\nAt their approach he rose and said, \"Are you human or supernatural\nbeings?\"\n\nThey assured him that they were human. He went on, \"Then why have you\ntaken up your abode in this land of the grave?\"\n\nO'Donell answered that he would relate to him all the particulars, if\nhe would he would take shelter for the night with them. The old man\nconsented and when they were all assembled round the cheerful fire,\nO'Donell fulfilled his promise and then requested the old man to tell\nthem how he came to be travelling there. He complied and began as\nfollows----\n\n\n[6] CHAPTER the IV\n\n\"I was the son of a respectable merchant in Moussoul. My father\nintended to bring me up to his own trade but I was idle and did not\nlike it. One day as I was playing in the street a very old man came\nup to me and asked me if I would go with him. I asked him where he\nwas going. He replied that if I would go with him he would show me\nvery wonderful things. This raised my curiosity and I consented. He\nimmediately took me by the hand and hurried me out of the city of\nMoussoul so quickly that my breath was almost stopped and it seemed\nas if we glided along in the air for I could hear no sound of our\nfootsteps. We continued on our course for a long time till we came to\na glen surrounded by very high mountains. How we passed over those\nmountains, I could never tell. In the middle of the glen there was a\nsmall fountain of very clear water. My conductor directed me to drink\nof it. This I did and immediately I found myself in a palace, the glory\nof which far exceeds any description which I can give: the tall stately\npillars reaching from heaven to earth were formed of the finest and\npurest diamonds, the pavement sparkling with gold and precious stones\nand the mighty dome, made solemn and awful by its stupendous magnitude,\nwas of a single emerald. In the midst of this grand and magnificent\npalace was a lamp like the sun, the radiance of which made all the\npalace to flash and glitter with an almost fearful grandeur, the ruby\nsent a stream forth of crimson light, the topaz gold, the sapphire\nintensest purple, and the dome poured a flood of deep clear splendour\nwhich overcame all the other gaudy lights by its mild triumphant glory.\nIn this palace were thousands and tens of thousands of fairies and\ngenii, some of whom flitted lightly among the blazing lamps to the\nsound of unearthly music which died and swelled in a strain of wild\ngrandeur suited to the words they sung--\n\n    in this fairy land of light\n    no mortal ere has been\n    and the dreadful grandeur of this sight\n    by them hath not been seen\n\n    'twould strike them shuddering to the earth\n    like the flash from a thunder cloud\n    it would quench their light and joyous mirth\n    and fit them for the shroud\n\n    the rising of our palaces\n    like visions of the deep\n    and the glory of their structure\n    no mortal voice can speak\n\n    the music of our songs\n    and our mighty trumpets' swell\n    and the sounding of our silver harps\n    no mortal tongue can tell\n\n    of us they know but little\n    save when the storm doth rise\n    and the mighty waves are tossing\n    against the arched skies\n\n    [7] then oft they see us striding\n    o'er the billows' snow white foam\n    or hear us speak in thunder\n    when we stand in grandeur lone\n\n    on the darkest of the mighty clouds\n    which veil the pearly moon\n    around us lightning flashing\n    night's blackness to illume\n\n    chorus the music of our songs\n           and our mighty trumpets' swell\n           and the sounding of our silver\n           harp no mortal tongue can tell.\n\nWhen they had finished, there was a dead silence for about half an\nhour and then the palace began slowly and gradually to vanish till\nit disappeared entirely and I found myself in the glen surrounded by\nhigh mountains, the fountain illuminated by the cold light of the moon\nspringing up in the middle of the valley, and standing close by was\nthe old man who had conducted me to this enchanted place. He turned\nround and I could see that his countenance had an expression of strange\nseverity which I had not before observed. \"Follow me,\" he said. I\nobeyed and we began to ascend the mountain. It would be needless to\ntrouble you with a repetition of all my adventures. Suffice it to say\nthat after two months time, we arrived at a large temple. We entered\nit. The interior as well as the outside had a very gloomy and ominous\naspect being entirely built of black marble. The old man suddenly\nseized me and dragged me to an altar at the upper end of the temple,\nthen, forcing me down on my knees, he made me swear that I would be his\nservant forever and this promise I faithfully kept notwithstanding the\ndreadful scenes of magic of which every day of my life I was forced\nto be a witness. One day he told me that he would discharge me from\nthe oath I had taken and commanded me to leave his service. I obeyed\nand, after wandering about the world for many years, I one evening\nlaid myself down on a little bank by the roadside intending to pass\nthe night there. Suddenly I felt myself raised in the air by invisible\nhands. In a short time I lost sight of the earth and continued on my\ncourse through the clouds till I became insensible and when I recovered\nfrom my swoon, I found myself lying outside this cave. What may be my\nfuture destiny I know not----\"\n\n\nCHAPTER the V\n\nWhen the old man had finished his tale, O'Donell and Delancy thanked\nhim for the relation, adding at the same time that they had never heard\nanything half so wonderful. Then as it was very late, they all retired\nto rest. Next morning O'Donell awoke very early and, looking round the\ncave, he perceived the bed of leaves on which the old man had lain to\nbe empty. He went out of the cave. The sky was covered with the rising\nred fiery clouds except those in the east whose edges were tinged with\nthe bright rays of the morning sun, as they strove to hide its glory\nwith their dark veil of vapours, now all beauty and radiance by the\ngolden line of light which streaked their gloomy surface. Beneath this\nstorm-portending sky and far off to the westward rose two tremendous\nrocks whose summits were enveloped with black clouds rolling one\nabove another with an awful magnificence well suited to the land of\nwilderness and mountain which they canopied. Gliding along in the air\nbetween these two rocks was a chariot of light and in the chariot sat\na figure, the expression of whose countenance was that of the old man\narmed with the majesty and might of a spirit. O'Donell stood at the\nmouth of the cave watching it till it vanished and then calling Delancy\nhe related the circumstance to him.\n\n[8] Some years after this, Alexander went out one morning in search of\nthe fruit on which they subsisted. Noon came and he had not returned,\nevening and still no tidings of him. O'Donell began to be alarmed and\nset out in search of him but could nowhere find him. One whole day he\nspent in wandering about the rocks and mountains and in the evening he\ncame back to his cave weary and faint with hunger and thirst. Days,\nweeks, months passed away and no Delancy appeared. O'Donell might\nnow be said to be truly miserable. He would sit on a rock for hours\ntogether and cry out \"Alexander, Alexander,\" but receive no answer,\nexcept the distant echoing of his voice among the rocks. Sometimes\nhe fancied it was another person answering him and he would listen\nearnestly till it died away. Then sinking into utter despair again, he\nwould sit till the dews of night began to fall, when he would retire to\nhis cave to pass the night in unquiet broken slumbers or in thinking of\nhis beloved commander, whom he could never see more. In one of these\ndreadful intervals, he took up a small parcel and opening it he saw\nlying before him two locks of soft curly hair shining like burnished\ngold. He gazed on them for a little and thought of the words of those\nwho gave them to him--\"Take this then, that you may remember us when\nyou dwell with only the wild beast of the desert and the great eagle of\nthe mountain.\" He burst into a flood of tears, he wrung his hands in\nsorrow, and in the anguish of the moment he wished that he could once\nmore see them and the mighty Warrior King their father if it cost him\nhis life. Just at that instant, a loud clap of thunder shook the roof\nof the cave, a sound like the rushing of the wind was heard and a\nmighty genius stood before him.\n\n\"I know thy wish,\" cried he with a loud and terrible voice \"and I will\ngrant it. In two months' time thou returnest to the castle whence thou\ncamest hither and surrenderest thyself into my power.\"\n\nO'Donell promised that he would and instantly he found himself at\nthe door of the old castle and in the land of his birth. He pursued\nhis journey for three days and on the third day, he arrived at the\nmountain which overlooked the city. It was a beautiful evening in\nthe month of September and the full moon was shedding her tranquil\nlight on all the face of nature. The city was lying in its splendour\nand magnificence surrounded by the broad stream of the Guadima, the\npalace was majestically towering in the midst of it and all its pillars\nand battlements seemed in the calm light of the moon as if they were\ntransformed into silver by the touch of a fairy's wand. O'Donell stayed\nnot long to contemplate this beautiful scene but, descending the\nmountain, he soon crossed the fertile plain which led to the city and\nentering the gates he quickly arrived at the palace. Without speaking\nto anyone he entered the inner court of the palace by a secret way\nwith which he was acquainted and then going up a flight of steps and\ncrossing a long gallery he arrived at the King's private apartment.\n\nThe door was half open. He looked and beheld two very handsome young\nmen sitting together and reading. He instantly recognized them and was\ngoing to step forward, when the door opened and the Great Duke entered.\nO'Donell could contain himself no longer but, rushing in, he threw\nhimself at the feet of his Grace.\n\n\"O'Donell, is this you?\" exclaimed the Duke.\n\n\"It is, my most noble master,\" answered O'Donell, almost choking with\njoy. The young princes instantly embraced him while he almost smothered\nthem with [9] caresses. After a while they became tranquil, and then\nO'Donell at the request of the Duke related all his adventures since\nhe parted with them not omitting the condition on which he was now in\nthe palace. When he had ended, a loud voice was heard saying that he\nwas free from his promise and might spend the rest of his days in his\nnative city.\n\nSome time after this, as O'Donell was walking in the streets, he met a\ngentleman who he thought he had seen before but could not recollect\nwhere or under what circumstances. After a little conversation, he\ndiscovered that he was Alexander Delancy, that he was now a rich\nmerchant in the city of Paris and high in favour with the emperor\nNapoleon. As may be supposed, they both were equally delighted at the\ndiscovery. They ever after lived happily in their separate cities and\nso ends my little tale.\n\nC Bronte August the 17 1829\n\n\nContents\n\nChap I Character of O'Donell--cause of his travels\n\nChap II Set out--meeting Delancy--coming to the old castle--entering the\nnew world--description\n\nChap III Coming to the cave--manner of life--arrival of the old man\n\nChap IV Old man's tale\n\nChap V Departure of the old man--disappearance of\nDelancy--transportation of O'Donell--his arrival at the city--his\narrival at the palace--his interview with his chief--he finds\nDelancy--end","title":"The Search After Hapiness [sic]: A Tale","tradition":"philosophy-ethics","translated_text":null,"word_count":9148}