Year: 1866

hold Of one OF the great copper globes OF
the life buoy against which | had struck
my head while floating. but my hand
glided over it and it was gone but, with
grasping cry, made another dash at.
and my hand went through one of thc
loops, and then almost tainted as got
my arms over the two globes, rising and
falling with the waves, and my head and
and should ders well above water.


! don't know how long it was before I
seemed TO come to bit but rs aeon as
l did | got my handkerchief of, and LASH
ed myself right to the crUss-bar, no that
if | tainted or fell asleep could not sink
and then not feeling safe l got two or
three of the cards loose, and then lashed
myself again. and then fell into sort of
dreamy. wild s,upor, for it could not
be sleep; and only kept being reused up
from it now and then by some bigger
wave; when after getting rid of the
choking water my hand seemed to hang
again, and all was blank.


But the morning came at last, with tho
wind going down fast, though the water
rose and fell rs much as ever, with the
great waves seeming to chase me along as
] clung to the lie-buoy. | looked east,
and looked west, and all round the
horizon, but there was nothing in view
and my hear, sunk Gs the thought came
home that | was alone upon the great
ocean, having escaped one death 10 fall
into the jaws of another. Hundreds of
miles from land, without food or water,
with nothing but n scrap of tobacco but
| was thankful for that, which knew
would keep off hunger and thirst for
hours; and then, with the sea fast going
down, kept watching the sun rise high
er and higher in the unclouded sky.


Oh but it is solitary there, floating III
the midst of that vast ocean, with the
dull, sinking, hopeless feeling at ones
heart that it was but 10 be there for
few hours, and then


What was that


There had been soft rushing noise,
and a great shadow floating over me,
and then | saw that that it was a great
albatross with its huge eight feet long
wings. The huge bird swept down SO
close that it almost touched melville,
;,s in my horror shrieked aloud, and
plum, ed, and splashed the water, it slow
ly seemei to float away, almost without
motion Of its wings-li,ing and falling,
and gliding up and down over the long
crested waves till it was out of sight,
and breathed freely once more.


But was unnerved, and every now
AZ d then, after long look around to try
an make out sail, broke out in des-
pairing fit of horror, AMI could hardly
keep myself from shrieking, because I
flncied that sharks came, and all the
weary day gently rode over the waves,
with the burning sun pouring down upon
my head and seeming to dry up my
brains.


Then at last came the evening, when
the sun slowly dipped down into the sea
like a big ball OF glowing fire; and then,
one by one, the stars pceped out, till the
whole sky was like an arch Of dia-
nonds: and still through that dark night
| tioaicd on. now trying to pray, now
weakly c.y;ns and bcwailing my fate,
then d seem to doze off or while, but
only to keep waking with start in Il
state of horror, when it took me most of
ii minute TO collect my thoughts and
make out where | was. And then the
horror seemed hardly bit less as float
ed on half nunbed with the cold, and
praying once more for it to be day that
the warm sun might shine. upon me,
though | knew well enough that should
soon be glad enough again to have the
shade OF night to keep off the scorching
rays that had almost driven me mad with
heat and thirst.


But the day came again at last first
there was the pale light, then for time
the soft rosc color, and then flash after
flash of red, orange and gold, till at last
up rose the sun once more, turning se,,
and sky OF one gloriou, color, and sending
hope and light into my heart. was not
hopeful though for long, for all at once
one Of the great birds. and then another
and another, came llid'ng down upon me
with their silent motlonless wings, COM
ing so close As they clrcled round that
opened my knife and thought of a draught
Of the warm blood. and 50 great was NV
hunger that l snapped and ground my
teeth sivagely at the thought of feastin.
uron one of the tough f,hy carcas-es. And
il Sc med that they were thinking the
same of met for one of them came down
upon me unawares. and tore a piece of my
shirt with its long hoJk ended beak, tear
ing my flesh as 1t did so But | was on
the lookout next time, and seeing how
motionless | was, the birds grew bolder,
sSooping and sweeping by till there was
n rush and dash, and then was being
torn and blinded and beaten, while the
water toamed AMI boiled around from tho
buifetng of the wings OF the great alba
trOss; for as it swooped down and struck
at me with its beak. | seized hold of il,
and then began the struggle. Once |
thought | must let 60, for the bird tore at
me sayagely, and made the blood stream
down my neck and arms then as both
its wings were free il beat the air and wa.
ter; and holding on tightly by the grea,
web feet, was dragged rapidly over the
surface, while the birds companions