A SEVERE STORM. 301 



in water at every part. lie was equally unsuc- 

 cessful at the palace 4 , for no one could be made 

 to hear the loud summons at the outer gate, the 

 cold and rain having driven in the wardens to 

 some retreat, and probably amidst the noise of the 

 tempest man's voice was lost ; so Walderheros, 

 after some time, returned to the tent unsuccessful, 

 and nearly half drowned. 



The night would have just suited Byron, pro- 

 vided he had been wrapt up in some good 

 macintoshes, for now increased the fierce contention 

 of the elements of fire and water. Thunder in the 

 distance boomed heavily, and, quick as the blow of 

 wrath, its dinning rat tat seemed to break the 

 electric cloud directly over head ; whilst bright 

 leaping flashes of the most vivid lightning pierced 

 the darkness of tempest and of night with a 

 moment's triumph. Like a bright spear-head 

 glaring for an instant upon a broad buckler of 

 dingy hide, night's darkness, more darkly opposed 

 the recoiling shaft of light, and the muttering echo 

 of the retiring peal, seemed to curse the innoxious 

 effect of its spent force upon earth and her 

 inhabitants. 



I sat upon my heels shivering in the middle 

 of my rude bedstead, where the concavity that 

 formed by my weight being in the centre of my 

 hide mattress, made a good pickling tub, and I 

 was very soon ankle deep in a pool of water, 

 whilst to increase the pleasantness of our situation, 



