Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1872-10-23
Mother Carey,s Chickens.

! We know what the swallow and
nightingale tell US when the April sun
shine brings them back to us, after the
dreary months of frost and snow
They tell us that the winter is past,
and that summer is coming, as bright
and as beautiful as it was last year.
And Mother Carey's Chickens. too,
have a story of then own, though it is
very different one.
The swallow is a bird of the home
stead; the nightingale of The woodland;
| but the home of these is far away upon
the sea. They know nothing of fields
and flowers; the song they sing, Gf a
song you choose to call IT'D is only a
/ long whistling note, with the echo of
the tempest in it. Their delight is ia
wind and storm, and it is amongst
these that their whole life is spent.
No bigger than our sparrows and
chaffinches, they brave the fercest
weather. The widest tempest is but
a summer breeze to them, and the bur-
ricane, which threatens the tossing ship
with destruction, causes them no ter
ror. YET they have no protection, save
the loving care Of that Great Creator
who has given them power almost to
walk upon the water. Aided by their
outstretched wings, they seem to run
up and down the waves now deep in
the hollow, now, upon the very crest,
with the foam dashing over them, never
pausiDg to take breath, never alight-
ing, never weary; and the same hand
which upheld Peter on the waters up
holds these little creatures amid all
dsngers which surround them, and
that is how they come by their real
name of Stormy Petrol, the meaning
of the word Petrol being "little Peter :"
Mother Carey's Chickens is the
peculiar name they are called by the
sailor; it sounds like pet name, but
am afraid, instead of being loved, they
are hated and feared by them, because
when they come they say that wind and
storm are sucre to ONE too. They are
seldom seen in the calm and sunshine,
but let the clouds gather, and a gloom
settle over the ocean waste, then, as if
by magic, forth spring the Stormy
Petrels, following in the wake of the
vessel in focks, and filling the air with
their cries.
The sailors think the Petrels bring
the storm, but as it is the approach of
the storm brings the Petrels, they
ought to be grateful to them for the
warning they give. They live upon
the small fishes and insects they col.
lcct as they run, as we'll as the oily
matter which floats on the surface of
the sea, so that their flesh becomes so
full Of oil that they are often shot by
the inhabitants eff nothern countries to
do duty as lamp. They run a piece
of cotton through their bodies to serve
as wick, and then it will burn as
brightly as candle. They also throw
up a kind of oil for the feeding of their
young.
But where are their nests and where
are the homes of these wanderers of the
sea2 They seem to live upon the foot
and the wing, and to know no rest save
the tossing, heaving waves It is only
at breeding times that they resort to
the shore, and there in the crevices of
the loneliest rocks each lays a SINGLE
egg. The egg is of beautiful pure
white, except that at the larger end
there IS a circle of pink clearly marked,
yet so faint and dreamy, it looks like
the reflection of some sunset cloud
hanging far away over the sea.
The birds are black, except band
of white on the upper part of the tail
feathers. They are found in every re-
gion; hot and cold seems all the same
to them, if they only can have the wa
ter to walk upon and the stormy wind
to watt them along.
All [ wish you and I could learn the
Petrel's secret! Life is very full of
storms and tempests; they may come
they will come-even to you. But if
we could only glide quietly through
them as they do, what happy thing it
would be. And we may do it, if Gods
peace is in our hearts. Then let the
waves beat and the winds rise, they will
not really harm us. they will only help
Us on our way, and we shall be calm
and still and trustful amid life's cares
and trials, as Mother Carey's Chickens
upon the oceans billows.-E1agIjsh
Magazine.