239 



THE GLLL. 



dulged ourselves, on this occasion, with the most 

 consolatory assurances that the same Hand which 

 had provided this solace to our distresses, would ex- 

 tricate us from the* dangers that surrounded us/' 



We come next to the numerous class of Gulls, 

 a class which the sailor is sure to find, wherever he 

 goes, whether under the burning sun of the tropical 

 regions, or the frozen icehergs of the Arctic circle, 

 and always bearing the same restless, noisy character. 



The^ Black-backed Gull. 



They have been named, and justly so, the scavengers 

 of the sea, for nothing comes amiss to their vora- 

 cious appetite: loathsome as may be the putrefying 

 carrion left on the beach, to the Gull it is just as 

 acceptable as a meal on the finest and freshest fish. 

 On either they will gorge almost to suffocation; and 

 in that state may be taken up torpid and insensible. 



