THE STORM PETREL. 271 



Nor is the turbaned follower of the prophet exempt from the 

 prejudices of the Christian, as he mutters the accustomed 

 ejaculation of his creed when he sees the u souls of the 

 Giaours"* wing their way across the waters of the Golden 

 Horn. And as they are never observed to rest upon 

 the Bosphorus, they have been denominated, " les ames 

 damnes," 



" The bird of Thrace 

 Whose pinion knows no resting place." 



The sailor reclines listlessly against the mast, looking un- 

 moved on the quivering bosom of the Atlantic, covered with 

 a thousand tints of the golden radiance of the declining sun ; 

 anon a glance at the black piled-up clouds in the " wind's 

 eve" is followed by the fastening of some loose rope. A slight 

 ripple near the stern, and a sudden phosphoric light through 

 the dark waters, give warning of the shark. Coolly and con- 

 fidently he is regarded by the mariner, possibly the relative 

 distance of " meum et tuum" passing in his u mind's eye." 

 A low sibilant cry, as if from beneath the stern, causes the 

 sailor to peer intently through the darkness to verify his 

 suspicions. Alas! too true, he dimly discerns the dreaded 

 petrel running upon the crested waters. Fearless before 

 of storm or shark, the mariner quails at the presence of a 

 bird. 



A sailor approaches and is hailed by the perturbed Jack : 

 " I say, Bill." " Well Jack, what is it?" " Did you see 

 them ?" " See who, what ?" " They are astern." " Who, 

 what's astern, man? speak out." Jack, in a low, decided 

 tone, answers, " Mother Carey's chickens." The courage of 

 the confident Bill oozes from his fingers' ends at the dreaded 

 words, and in an incredibly short time the worthy pair suc- 

 ceed to perfection in damping the energies of the entire 

 crew. 



Before lifting our voice against those prejudices, it must be 

 admitted that, to the unthinking mariner the appearance of 

 the petrel when perhaps a thousand miles from any land, ap- 

 parently untired, and seldom seen resting or eating, together 

 with its ominous colour, and as it is generally believed to ap- 



* A species of shore-bird frequenting the Bosphoms, and believed 

 by the Turks to be the souls of infidels condemned to wander so till 

 the day of judgment. 



