338 



The Albatross 



she succeeds so well that after six weeks or so tlie 

 youngster is bulkier than herself, looks, in fact, like 

 a large and almost shapeless, except for the head, 

 bundle of down, which retains its pristine snowy white- 

 ness so as to be almost dazzling. 



All this time it is almost helpless from its fatness 

 and the weakness of its legs. But presently wings 

 begin to sprout and feathers to appear. Soon it is 

 ready for its first lessons in flight, and tremblingly, 

 with tottering steps, it toddles after its mother to 

 the sea. No sooner is it launched upon this element, 

 than it seems to lose its ungainliness of outline, and 

 to develop with amazing rapidity those characteristics 

 which will presently raise it so far above the other 

 denizens of the free heavens. At last it has learned 

 to soar into its proper element, the sky ; fully fledged 

 and strong-winged, it takes its place among its fellows, 

 and its mother, her work done, spreads her mighty 

 wings and departs, to meet it knowingly no more. 



Hitherto I have spoken entirely of the Albatross, 

 the head of the family, but now we come to the other 

 two species with which I am acquainted. I do not 

 know the scientific names for them, have never been 

 able to ascertain them, but to sailors frequenting 

 the Southern Seas they are both very well known 

 by the names of Mollymauks or Mallemucks, and 

 Cape Hens. The first is an exceedingly beautiful 

 bird differing scarcely at all from the albatross, except 

 in point of size and a little more variety of marking. 

 It is also much more active, flapping its wings far 

 more frequently than does the albatross, and rising 

 from the water with much less effort and consequently 

 greater rapidity. 



I have been told that it is sometimes found in the 

 Far North, but I have never seen it there, so that 



