l, and cruelly abandoned them to their fate."

{*3} Among the vessels which at various times have professed to meet
with the Auroras may be mentioned the ship San Miguel, in 1769; the ship
Aurora, in 1774; the brig Pearl, in 1779; and the ship Dolores, in 1790.
They all agree in giving the mean latitude fifty-three degrees south.

{*4} The terms morning and evening, which I have made use of to avoid
confusion in my narrative, as far as possible, must not, of course, be
taken in their ordinary sense. For a long time past we had had no night
at all, the daylight being continual. The dates throughout are according
to nautical time, and the bearing must be understood as per compass. I
would also remark, in this place, that I cannot, in the first portion of
what is here written, pretend to strict accuracy in respect to dates, or
latitudes and longitudes, having kept no regular journal until after
the period of which this first portion treats. In many instances I have
relied altogether upon memory.

{*5} This day was rendered remarkable by our observing in the south
several huge wreaths of the grayish vapour I have spoken of.

{*6} The marl was also black; indeed, we noticed no light colored
substances of any kind upon the island.

{*7}For obvious reasons I cannot pretend to strict accuracy in
these dates. They are given principally with a view to perspicity of
narrative, and as set down in my pencil memorandum..

LIGEIA

And the will therein lieth, which dieth not. Who knoweth the mysteries
of the will, with its vigor? For God is but a great will pervading all
things by nature of its intentness. Man doth not yield himself to the
angels, nor unto death utterly, save only through the weakness of his
feeble will.--Joseph Glanvill.

I cannot, for my soul, remember how, when, or even precisely where,
I first became acquainted with the lady Ligeia. Long years have since
elapsed, and my memory is feeble through much suffering. Or, perhaps, I
cannot now bring these points to mind, because, in truth, the character
of my beloved, her rare learning, her singular yet placid cast of
beauty, and the thrilling and enthralling eloquence of her low musical
language, made their way into my heart by paces so steadily and
stealthily progressive that they have been unnoticed and unknown. Yet
I believe that I met her first and most frequently in some large, old,
decaying city near the Rhine. Of her family--I have surely heard her
s