The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1869-01-09

eyes, and looking as though he was only
waiting for a favorable opportunityto seize
me- Death, painful and horrible, stared
me in the face and could do nothing to
escape from it.
had retreated on to the highest part of
the reef; but the position afforded little
extra security, for when the rollers swept
over it l was several times knocked off my
feet, and once nearly preclpltated into the
very jaws of the shark.
remained for some time in fearful sus-
pense, half paralyZed with terror, and I'M
certain what to do. The boat was pursuing
a most erratic course, now carried one way,
and now another, by the opposite currents
of air. At one time it seemed floating to-
wards me, and my spirits began to revive;
but as soon as it got under the lee of the
rocks it advanced no farther, only bobbing
and dancing before me, as if to cheat me
with vain hopes. Then suddenly another
flaw seized it, and carried it once more into
the centre of the inlet. One time thought
of attempting to reach the point by wading
across the reef but was uncertain as to
the depth, and feared when got quite
from under the lee of the high rocks the
rollers would be too strong for me, so that
idea was dismissed.
l could not keep my eyes from my terri
BILE companion, which had continued to
float almost motionless in the clear water
before me. His eyes, dull and taccid yet
so ferocious, seemed to follow my every
movement. At intervals, as if to delude
me, he would gradually fade away, sinking
slowly, and without any motion of his
body till he almost disappeared from sight,
and then, without any perceptible effort,
rose again like cork to the surface. There
he lay like cat pretending to sleep, yet
never taking it's glance from its prey.
The tension of the muscles was so great
to keep my footing, and had been SO long
i'll the water, that felt my strength could
not last much longer, and l expected every
every minute to be swept from the reef
All hope, therefore, of escape, as far as any
active measure on my part was concerned,
was gone,-my trust was now in God 1
could do nothing but await His will.
From this state of dependency 1 was
awakened by a shout, and the next instant
was hauled into the boat.
What became of my enemy, or how got
clear of the inlet, have no very definite
idea. All l know is that, making a bold
dash, Peter succeeded in reaching the boat,
and rcscuing me. We were not long in
dressing, and soon got back to the lagoon
and though only half an hour previous
had expected to be food for shark, the
idea had not taken away my appetite, for l
enjoyed my dinner as well as if nothing had
happened.
After dinner we lit our pipes, and reclin-
ing upon the green and leafy sward, unused
on my situation. Nothing, perhaps, could
be more romantic. The scene was wild
one; and, as gazed into the dark and sol
emn forests, that stretched for hundreds of
miles along the coast, and extended an un-
known distance into the interior, felt my
heart dilate, and my pulse beat strong as 1
thought of their mysterious depth, vast ex-
tent, and tie immense variety of animal
and vegetable life they contained.
Nothing strikes European more forcibly
when he first sees a tropical forest than the
gigantic growth of its vegetable produc-
tons. But what, after time, surprises
him more than anything, is to find himself
living, as it were, in Il perpetual spring,
with a continuous and never-ending harvest
1t is not only surprising to him that Nature
is able to sustain such immense, and, it
would almost appear, prodigal demands
upon her vital energies, -producing, as she
does, the most beautiful things, in the most
wonderful profusion; but that she does
this unaided by man, almost without inter-
mission, and without any appearance of
exhaustion OF decadence of power.
To my mind, there is no part of the world
which gives the traveller a grander idea of
nature than Central America. No one who
has ever seen her glorious forests her pic
turcsque streams, and her forest-clad, cloud
capped mountains, has ever come back dis
appointed. AS far as | am individually
concerned, can say truly, that week of
the life one is obliged to adopt in the bush
is worth years of ordinary existence.
In the evening we embarked, taking, in
addition to our load of ripe nuts, number
of unripe ones, or, as they are called, jelly
nuts. With regard to these, the fluid they
contain is the most delicious drink | ever
came across, particularly if you add to the
liquor dash of old rum. 1t is the more
pleasant on account of its GOODNESS. for
even if the nuts are picked in the heat of
the day. the fluid is as cold as though it had
been iced. How Peter and l revelled in
this cocoa-nut sangaree how we laughed
at the dangers we had so narrowly escaped
or how many pipes we smoked, the reader
must not expect to know. All l shall say
with regard to our return is, that with a
fair breeze, after camping for the night in
Port Sal, we reached the ship i'll safety the
| next afternoon.