The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1872-01-12

Up above, the sun now went down,
as men say. 1t became like flaming
fire, and all the clouds glowed with
fiery color, each more splendid than
the other. "Now we shall get the
red light" said the polyps, "and can
see the thing better, if need be-"
"At it! at it!'' shouted the shark.
"At It! at it," said the sword-fish,
the whale and the eel. They rushed
forward, the shark foremost. But
ust as it was about to grip the wire,
the sword-fish out of pure politeness,
ran his saw right into the back of
the shark. 1t was q great mistake,
and the shark lost his strength for
biting. There was a hubbub down in
the mud. Great fishes and small,
sea-anemones and snnils rushed at
one another, mashed and squeezed in.
The cable lay quietly and attended to
its affairs, and that one ought to do.
The dark night brooded over them,
but the oceans millions upon mill
lions of living creatures lighted 1t |;
craw-fish, not so large as pin-head
gave out light. Some were so small
that it took q thousand to make one
pin-head, and yet they gave light. 1t
certainly is wonderful but that's the
way 1t is. J 'T" ,'1
These sea creatures looked at the
telegraph wire. whats that thing?n
they asked, land what isn't it9" Aye,
that was the question. HI
Then there came an old sea-cow.
Folks on the earth call its kind mer-
maid, or else norman. This was q
che, had tail and two short arms to
splash with, hanging breasts, and
seaweed sponge on her head, and that
was what she was proud of. A.''i' = a
"Win you have the society Of intel
ligent people" said she, 81 am the
only one down here that can give it.
But I ask in return for it perfectly Sc
cure pastorage on the bottom of the
sea for me and mine. lam fish, as
you see, and I am also an amphibious
animal--with practice. I am the wis.,
est COW in the sea. I know about ev-
erything that goes on down here, and
all that goes on above. That thing
you are pondering over is from above,
and Whatever plumps down from up
there is dead or comes to be dead and
powerless let it lie there for what it
is; it's only some invention of men"
''Now I think there is something
more to it." said the little fish.
"Hold your tongue, mackerel" said
the great sea cow.
ssStickleback p said the rest, and
that was even more insulting.
And the sea-cow explained to them
that this terrible thing, which to be
sure, had not given a single mutter,
was only some invention from dry land.
and it delivered little Grafton upon
the rottenness of men.
"They want to get hold of u.s." said
she. ''That is all they live for. They
stretch nets for us, and come with a
bait on q hook to catchus. That thing
there is some kind of big string which
they think We are going to bite at.
They are such stupids. We are not.
Only do not touch it, and it will shriv-
ell up and turn to dust and mud.
Everything that comes down from up
there is full of cracks and breaks-it is
good for nothing"
"Good for nothing!" said all the
creatures in the sea, and held fast to
the sea-cow's opinion, so as to have an
opinion. The little fish had its own
thoughts. "That exceedingly long,
thin serpent is perhaps the most won
derful fish in the ocean. I have feel
ing tits.
human folks, aud say 1T with knowl-
edge and assurance. 1t is the great
sea-serpent, long ago the theme OF
song and story. It was born, and
nourished, and sprang forth from
mems cunning, and was laid upon
the bottom Of the sea, stretching from
the eastern to the western land, bear
ing messages, quick as light flashes
to our earth. 1t grows in might and
in length, grows year.by year, through
all seas, round the world, beneath the
waves and lucid waters, where the
skipper looks down as If he sailed
through the transparent air, and sees
the transparent fish, brilliant fire
works of color. Down far down,
stretches the serpent, Midgsrd 8 snake
that bites Its own tail as it encircles
the eerth. Fish and shell beat upon
1t with their heads-they understood
not the thing-it is from above.
Mems thoughts in all languages course
through 1t noislessly. The serpent r.
science for good and evil, Midgard's
snake the most wonderful Of the
oceans wonders-our great sea-ser-
pent. F'