874 
BIRD-LIFE. 
drooping head. The bird seemed to experience diffi¬ 
culty in standing, for, from standing, as if of necessity, 
it always relapsed into the position just described. As 
soon as the poor bird lost sight of the sea it appeared to 
lose heart altogether, and to become incapable of any 
effort of intelligence. Graba carried it on his open hand 
into the street, and at last to the sea-shore: before it 
smiled and rippled the creature’s beautiful home; the 
flashing waves called it to their embrace; and still the 
bird seemed to take no notice, and remained squatting on 
the hand. At last the naturalist tossed the bird high in 
the air: suddenly the wings were expanded, and off it 
darted away in a curve, turned its head to the wind, and 
flew on strong pinions to seek its sublime and mighty 
parent. 
The Stormy Petrel is neither snared nor otherwise made 
an object of the chase, as its body is too small and smells 
too strongly of train-oil to be fit for human food. It is no 
fable that if a wick be inserted into the dead bird’s body it 
can be used as a lamp. The naturalist alone seeks its 
capture. The Petrel is very difficult to catch, and then 
only on land. In vain may we seek to capture the little 
fellow with a hook and line from the ship’s deck: he will 
none of it, probably because the bait is not to his liking. 
To shoot him it is necessary to follow him in a rough 
sea in a boat, a proceeding which demands very good 
shooting; and on this account it is only remunerative to 
the naturalist to indulge in such sport. The latter is no 
very dangerous enemy to our graceful friend. The Petrel 
is not looked upon by him as a Jonah, devil, or witch, 
but as one of the rich flowers of the boundless ocean, 
which rejoices in its inmost soul over old Neptune, 
just as much as the sailor who calls the sea his home. 
