STORMY PETREL. 
149 
the Petrel is the dirge for those who have perished with 
her. 
But He who ‘rideth upon the wings of the wind,’ Svho 
stilleth the raging of the sea and the noise of his waves,’ 
‘the Lord who sitteth on high,—is mightier.’ He says unto 
the sea, ‘Peace! be still;’ ‘He speaks the word,’ and ‘there is 
a great calm.’ 
So yet once more in milder climates, leaving the dreariness 
of high northern latitudes for the glory of the serene night 
of the south, and the ceaseless breaking of the sea on an 
iron-bound coast for its soft moanings while gently laving 
the golden sands, ‘on fine calm evenings, after the smooth 
surface of the deep has put off the fiery glow imparted by 
the setting sun, and begins to assume the dull leaden tint 
of night, then the little Petrel may be seen scouring along 
upon the face of the sea; now he darts past the fisher’s boat 
as it is rowing along upon its homeward course; is seen for 
a moment as he flits among the lagging oars, and instantly 
disappears among the increasing gloom of approaching night. 
His motions are so rapid, his appearance so sudden, and he 
looks so extremely diminutive, that it is only a quick eye 
that will detect his approach at all.’ 
Soon the bright and glowing tints upon the distant hill 
tops shade into the gathering gloom; ‘now fades the glimmering 
landscape on the sight;’ and the fanciful outlines of the far-off 
clouds, gilded for a brief space longer with a gorgeous light 
given back from the ebbing glory of the setting sun, ‘too 
bright to last,’ melts away in like manner into the subdued 
hues that foreshadow the coming dusk; and then again, in 
her turn the shining moon enlivens the face of the deep, and 
a shimmering path along the rippling eddies of the tide, the 
true pattern of the ‘Field of the cloth of gold,’ marked off 
by the darkened waters on either side, shews the sombre 
figure of the Petrel as it flits across. 
Such are the scenes in which the Stormy Petrel acts its 
part. 
These birds rise with difficulty from the ground, owing to 
the great length of their wings, and run along some distance 
before they can get fairly under weigh. They use their hooked 
bills to assist them in climbing. They fly very swiftly, and 
in the most buoyant manner imaginable, and are often seen 
skimming from the top of one wave to another, dipping the 
