FROM LONDON TO TAMATAVE. 
5 
only a humble schoolmaster, just as one of our 
lady passengers put up her head to walk out on 
deck, entirely unconscious of the proximity of 
such a visitant. She speedily took in the posi¬ 
tion and her head, however, and beat a retreat, 
to the great disappointment doubtless of the 
wretched shark, who had now complete posses¬ 
sion of the poop-deck—crew, officers, and pas¬ 
sengers all having shown a remarkable unanimity 
in their desire to seek other and more remote 
points of vantage, whence they could witness 
without danger the eccentricities of their new 
“ find.” The whole scene was, however, brought 
to a summary close by a daring and reckless sea¬ 
man, who advanced upon the enemy armed with 
a wooden handspike. Watching his opportunity, 
he thrust his extemporised weapon into the open 
jaws of the creature, and by this simple method 
destroyed effectually all its powers of doing 
further injury. Shark cutlets are sometimes 
belauded, and are even said by some enthusiasts 
to be preferable to a beef-steak ; but having in a 
weak moment tasted shark, I prefer beef. One 
cannot help remarking the odd kind of sentiment 
which exists in the “foc’sle” and amongst the 
sailors for anything connected with the shark. 
The head or jaws are carefully preserved, the 
backbone is polished and converted into a walk¬ 
ing-stick, and the fins have also some peculiar 
