THE BEAUTIFUL LADDER. 
231 
“ * On the earth and on the sea man has at¬ 
tained to powers of locomotion with which, 
in strength, endurance, and in velocity, no ani¬ 
mal movement can compare. But the air is an 
element on which he cannot travel—an ocean 
which he cannot navigate. The birds of heaven 
are still his envy, and on the paths they tread 
he cannot follow. Float there he may, the sport 
of winds, buffeted and fearful, while his fickle 
gas is held under restraint; but to breast the 
winds at will, and to go whithersoever his rov¬ 
ing fancy may desire, are beyond man’s ability 
until God shall give him wings to soar higher 
than ever yet went flight of sun-dazed eagle.’ 
“ The sublimest triumph of wing-power is 
seen perhaps in the albatross, found often in 
mid-ocean, where it has been known to follow 
a ship for days and nights together, 
‘ The bird of the tireless wing.’ 
It moves even in the face of a strong gale with 
little or no effort of wing, and is supposed to 
have the power to sleep, resting on its out¬ 
spread feathers, while waves toss and break 
below. Stupid and almost helpless on deck or 
on shore, when its wings are outspread it can 
