'H;J LEAVES FKOM THE BOOK O 



mast-head. And, as dusky shadows covered the sea, fresh, 

 sweet odors came from the distant island. Bright fires 

 oh, how welcome a sight ! were seen rising ; and even the 

 voices of men were heard in strange, unintelligible accents. 

 But what was that voice, which, all of a sudden, swelled 

 on the air, and like magic filled their minds with unutter- 

 able sorrow? Now it seemed to rise from the dark depth 

 by their "side, and now it came far and faint as from a 

 distant world. At one moment, it broke in fierce, fearful 

 cries, and then again it sank to such melancholy complain- 

 ing that anguish seized on their souls, and tears trickled 

 down their rugged and weather-beaten faces. They crossed 

 themselves ; they fell on their knees ; and even their fearless 

 leader implored the Lord on high, to spare their lives and to 

 guard their souls against the power of Satan ! 



Often were those deep, mournful sounds heard in those 

 distant waters, and many were the accounts that science 

 and superstition gave of the fearful "Voice of the Devil." 

 Or was it, as some fondly believed, even in our own age, 

 the mysterious utterance of the Spirit of Nature, dwelling 

 in our globe and in all the vast realms of creation 1 ? Later 

 days brought other explanations. There were enormous 

 gullies there, it was said, and narrow passes cut through the 

 gigantic mountains, so that the rushing of winds and the 

 roaring of waters, played on as an ^Eolian harp of colossal 

 size. 



Our day has, at last, torn the veil of superstition and fancy, 

 and replaced a tale of impossible wonders by facts of even 

 more marvellous beauty. There lives, near the shores of 

 Ceylon, a largo and most gorgeous shellfish. And when the 



