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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



" TO A GULL. 



u Soul of bereaved one, troubled and tossed, 

 Searching the sea for the one that was lost ; 

 Skimming the air or riding the wave, 

 Seeking forever that precious one's grave ; 

 Bird of the sea, is it true, is it true, 

 That the soul of some mourning one lives within you t 



" Whom art thou seeking, some brother or son 

 Who sank to his rest ere his voyage was done ? 

 Or was it a husband, or lover so brave 

 Who found an unmarked and untended grave ? 

 Bird of the sea, is it true, is it true, 

 That the sea holds the one who is dearest to you ? 



" Bird of the sea, when the dismal winds w T ail, 

 And the breast of the ocean is swept by the gale, 

 When the demons of storm in their tierce anger rave, 

 And you sink 'neath their wrath to a watery grave, 

 Bird of the sea, is it true, is it true, 

 That the loved and the lost you find waiting for you ? " 



To " those who go down to the sea in ships " it is most interesting 

 to watch the antics of the flock of gulls that follows a vessel, hour 



after hour, on the 

 watch for scraps of 

 food that may be 

 thrown into the sea. 

 The birds are sharp- 

 eyed and wise, and 

 not to be deceived 

 by anything short of 

 real crackers. A 

 traveler once tried to 

 cheat the gulls by 

 tossing out bits of 

 orange-peel and card- 

 board, but the birds 

 paid no attention 

 whatever until a 

 cracker was thrown 

 to them, when imme- 

 diately a wild rush was made and the cracker seized before it touched 

 the water. 



It has been thought by some that the gulls which follow a ship 

 all day return to the nearest land at night, and another flock appears 

 the next morning. Only recently an experiment was tried that dis- 



IIeriung Gull (Larus argentatus). 



