Year: 1878

grees, aud fell splashing on her
bosom.


The mate thought she was homesick.
and tried various means 10 divert the
lone maid, but all seemed TO be in vain
She was gratef full for his kindness and
for the presents which he made her !:
but whenever he addressed her in the
Language Of love, she returned but the
one uniform answer. with saddenet
countenance she looked away from her
interlocutor, far out upon the sea; as If
thinking Of her home and of those
whom she had left behind her.


At length we got into the low lati-
tudes. The weather was hot, and we
had several calm days.


One afternoon when the ship was
rolling about on the smooth pillows, and
the sails were idly Stating against the
masts, Our maiden proposed TO have
doubtless been scustomed from child.
mood. No objection was made, and
she plunged into the sea. She had
scarcely done so when large shark
was seen swimming towards her, bis
sharp fin cutting the watr and mark
ing the course which lie took.


Now was the time for the mate to
exhibit his chisalry Aiming him
self with lance. he leaped overheard,
swan u few strokes, which brought him
near the SHARK, and he then commenc-
ed awkwardly poking at him with the
lance.


When whalemen are engaged in cut
ting in whales, sharks are very plenty;
they come and bite off large pieces of
blubber, and the officers drive them off
by cutting through the backs Of their
necks with sharp spades. The boat
steerer who goes overheard to hook the
biubber is surrounded by sharks, so
that often they interfear with his work.
l have seen him push them aside with
his hands. never knew boatsteerer
to be bitten by u shark They prefer
the whales blubber to human flesh.


But the shark now pursuing the
island maid was one of the largest
kind, known as the bone shark, or man
eaters.


He paid little attention to the mate,
seeming to say. with young Hamlet.
Here's meat more attractive, as be
moved steadily on towards the young
girl.


She besought the mate TO give her
the lance, as, winding aud turuing in
small circles, she endcavored to avoid
the enemy, who became more and more
exasperated by her battling artifices
,ABut the mate, forgetting the girl.
accustomed to swim far out to sea,
must know better how to deal with
sharks than he did, continued, stupidly,
to make impotent thrusts at. the en-
emy, until the shark, suddenly plunged
was lost to view.


II was then that the maiden exhibit
ed trepijation. and struck out in a
straight line for the ship, swimming
with desperate energy. She had not
got far, however, before her head was
seen to sink beneath the waters, and
the spot where she went down was
crimsored with blood. The shark had
triumphed; but there can be no doubt
that if the mate had given her the lance
she would have used it successfully,
and the result would have been differ
ent. Ropes were thrown to the mate,
who came on bard desthly pale and
trembling in every joint. But no one
pitied him. The sailors grieved long
for the loss of their pet, and many
were the curses heaped upon the head
of the lover for not yielding up the
lance when she so earnestly requested
him to do So


That was the last of our Indian maid.
Thus, far from home and among strang-
ers, persisted the favorite Of our ships
company


But long afterwards sailors re-
turning form the Pacific Ocean told
strange stories of having touched at
Easter Island. where. among others
who swan off to them, was a tall,
young savage, whose eyes scanned not
only every one on board, but every
hole and Granny of the vessel, as if
searching for something that he had
lost. AT length be was missed from
among the visitors. and the crew OF the
ship he last boarded mentioned that he
bad become more like dead man
than live one-all worn to askelc-
toni


AS the sailors could talk to the
natives only by signs. they could get
no information about the missing young
Indian: but there can be little doubt
that he was the lover of our lost maiden
he of whom she thought when, turning
away from the proteststions of our
mate, she looked sadly and thought
fully over the tumbling seas, and drop
ped tear in memory of him whom
she was destined never to see more.