SENTIMENT. 75 



not say the comparison was detrimental 

 to the position I then occupied. I had 

 already imbibed a love for the profes- 

 sion, though the little I had seen was 

 of a very monotonous nature ; but I 

 felt pleased with the prospect it held 

 out of acquiring knowledge, if not dis- 

 tinction. My young ideas began to ex- 

 pand, and I contemplated the wonders 

 of creation in the vast extent of waters, 

 and in the magnificent brilliancy of 

 the heavens, with an ardent imagina- 

 tion. 



At one time I would lean over the 

 tafFrail, and gaze on the untiring, though 

 almost imperceptible, motion of an im- 

 mense shark, who followed in the 

 wake of our ship for several days and 

 nights, as if in expectation some acci- 

 dent might eventually reward his pa- 

 tience and perseverance, till at last he 

 would become the victim of his own 

 voracious nature, and gorge a hook 



