04 . NIMROD OF THE SEA; OR, 



" The next day, with wind north-west, we stood for the 

 cape, and saw no more of the ice-wall ; but the following 

 night we saw a bow of shooting lights, reaching a great dis- 

 tance across the sky, shooting and waving tender colors, now 

 opening and shutting like a fan, now lighted up with crim- 

 son fires. Oh, man alive ! you should see this glory of the 

 southern sky as we saw it that night, and you would dream, 

 with John, that you were looking into the gates of the New 

 Jerusalem ! I heard the old man say that these lights only 

 reflected the brilliancy of the crystal palaces, and the colors 

 of the bright waters of the sea beyond the shining wall." 



As Hinton concluded, some one recited from the " Antient 

 Mariner :" 



"The ice was here, the ice was there, 



The ice was all around ; 



It cracked and growled, and roared and howled, 

 Like voices in a swound. 



At length did cross the albatross, 



Thorough the fog it came ; 

 As if it had been a Christian soul, 



We hailed it in God's name. 



" It ate the food it ne'er had eat, 

 And round and round it flew ; 

 The ice did split in a thunder-h't, 

 The helmsman steered us through." 



This started a discussion among the savants about the 

 curious mistake the poet had made in attaching this su- 

 perstition of a protective guidance to the great albatross, 

 instead of to the little floating, skimming " Mother Carey's 

 chicken." 



"Why, you see," said Coffin, "the albatross carries such 

 a spread of sail that he's busy enough takin' care of himself 

 in a gale, and you find him huggin' close to the ship in good 

 weather only, and then he's lookin' for grub. But the worse 



