186 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 



aware of oui- imminent peril, and the tales that I had frequently- 

 heard of vessels perishing in this very spot, and in precisely such 

 a sea, recurred to my mind with some force, yet I could not but 

 feel a kind of secret and wild joy at finding myself in a situation 

 of such awful and magnificent grandeur. I thought of the lines 

 of Shelley, and repeated them to myself in a kind of ecstasy. 



" And see'st thou, and hear'st thou, 

 And fear'st thou, and fear'st thou, "■ 

 And ride we not free 

 O'er the terrible sea, 

 I and thou ?" 



In about twenty minutes we had escaped all the danger, and 

 found ourselves riding easily in a beautiful placid sea. We set 

 the sails, which had been shortened on the bar, and the gallant 

 vessel feeling the impulse of the wind, rushed aliead as if exulting 

 in the victory she had achieved. 



We saw, outside the bar, a great number of birds, of various 

 kinds — ducks of several species, two or three kinds of guillemots, 

 (U?'ia,) — shags, (PJialacrocorax,) among which was a splendid 

 new species,* brown albatross, (^Diomedea fusca,) the common 

 dusky pelican, (P. fuscus,) and numerous Pi'ocellariee, — also, 

 the beautiful marine animal, called Medusa. It is a cartilagi- 

 nous or gummy substance, flattish, and about the size of a man's 

 hand, with a tube projecting from it, expanded or flared out like 

 the end of a clarionet. Within the body, near the posterior part is 

 a large ovate ball, of a bright orange color, resembling the yolk 

 of an ess^. 



14^A.— There is to-day a heavy sea running, and we lands- 

 men are affording some merriment to the seasoned crew, by our 

 " lubberly" manner of " fetching away" in our attempts to walk 



* See appendix. 



