394 Boobies and Penguins 



The unhappy matron, foreseeing the sacrifice of 

 her toil and her fledgelings' hunger, would strain every 

 nerve, her angular wings working furiously and her 

 whole body trembling with evident anxiety, in striking 

 contrast to the calm fateful approach of the black 

 descending shadow. But dodge as the Booby might, 

 exert herself as she would, there would come a time 

 when, like a thunderbolt, the hovering thief would 

 descend, his wings nearly closed and his tail wide- 

 spread. Then, alas ! poor Booby, there was nought 

 that she could do but drop her treasure and flee for 

 her life. And the graceful villain with one great swoop 

 would catch the fish ere it touched the water, and soar 

 sk5^ward again unconcernedly, as if it was part of the 

 appointed scheme of things that Booby should toil and 

 he should calmly reap the fruit of that toil. Booby 

 meanwhile was scouring the sea again in search of 

 the much-needed meal for her family, and with who 

 knows what ever-springing hope that next journey 

 she might evade the ravishers of her little ones' food. 



Such a sketch as I have endeavoured to give of 

 the life of the Booby may be accepted as applicable 

 to all these birds wherever they live. They are never 

 to be seen very far from land and never exterior to 

 the tropics, for warm weather is a necessity to them. 

 Their homely virtues, as will be seen, are many, if their 

 beauty and intelligence cannot be rated very high. 

 And, principally I think from a fellow-feeling for 

 common-place folk, I have dared to strain a point, 

 and include the essentially homely Booby in this 

 record of the statelier denizens of the deep-sea spaces 

 to which truly it does not belong, but still cannot be 

 reckoned as one of the familiar sea-birds to any others 

 but sailors. And for reasons which I am tired of 

 reiterating, even sailors, by reason of the displacement 



