146 WITH THE SEA-LOVERS 



ward the coast of Africa, or, as Burroughs 

 felicitously puts it, " stand at the open door 

 of the continent and drink in the breath of 

 the morning of the world." 



Here, beside the mysterious great deep, 

 with its wonderful changing moods, presenting 

 a fresh picture every day ; with its marvelous 

 silent life beneath the surface, and its winged 

 lovers above ; with the delicious freshness of 

 its breath, and the soothing sound of its waves 

 ever beating against the rocks ; here, if any- 

 where, must one yield to Nature's absorbing 

 and inspiring influence. 



The daintiest sea-lover to present himself 

 in that Beloved Island on the Coast of Maine 

 is a sandpiper, " uttering his sweet and 

 mournful song." His feeding-place is the 

 shore, and his nest close by, somewhere in the 

 tangle of greenery that comes to the very 

 rocks of the coast. I knew it was there, be- 

 cause the birds made such an outcry when I 

 walked through, flying around my head with 

 pitiful and very unusual cries, " cries to 

 break one's heart," as Celia Thaxter says. 



This bird is endeared to all lovers of Mrs. 

 Thaxter by her warm love for him, as well 



