Chapter 19

9. The whale is now seen approaching the surface; the gurgling and bubbling water which rises, proclaims that he is near; his nose starts from the sea; the rushing spout is projected high and suddenly, from his agitation. The slack of the line is now coiled in the tubs, and those in the fast boat, haul themselves gently toward the whale. The boat-steerer places the headsman close to the fin of the trembling animal, who immediately buries his long lance in the vitals of the leviathan, while, at the same moment, those in one of the other boats, dart another harpoon into his opposite side. Then, _"Stern all!"_ is again vociferated, and the boats shoot rapidly away from the danger.

10. Mad with the agony which he endures from these fresh attacks, the infuriated "sea monster" rolls over and over, and coils an amazing length of line around him. He rears his enormous head, and, with wide-expanded jaws, snaps at every thing around him. He rushes at the boats with his head,--they are propelled before him with vast swiftness, and sometimes utterly destroyed.

11. He is lanced again,--and his pain appears more than he can bear. He throws himself, in his agony, completely out of his element; the boats are violently jerked, by which one of the lines is snapped asunder; at the same time the other boat is upset, and its crew are swimming for their lives. The whale is now free! he passes along the surface with remarkable swiftness, "going head out;" but the two boats that have not yet "fastened," and are fresh and free, now give chase.

12. The whale becomes exhausted from the blood which flows from his deep and dangerous wounds, and the two hundred fathoms of line belonging to the overturned boat, which he is dragging after him through the water, checks him in his course; his pursuers again overtake him, and another harpoon is darted and buried deeply in his flesh.

13. The fatal lance is, at length, given; the blood gushes from the nostrils of the unfortunate animal in a thick, black stream, which stains the clear blue water of the ocean to a considerable distance around the scene of the affray. The immense creature may now again endeavor to "sound," to escape from his unrelenting pursuers; but he is powerless. He soon rises to the surface, and passes slowly along until the death-pang seizes him, when his appearance is awful in the extreme.

14. Suffering from suffocation, or from the stoppage of some important organ, the whole strength of his enormous frame is set in motion, for a few seconds, when his convulsions throw him into a hundred different contortions of the most violent description, by which the sea is beaten into foam, and boats are sometimes crushed to atoms, with their crews.

15. But this violent action being soon over, the now unconscious animal passes rapidly along, describing in his rapid course the segment of a circle; this is his "flurry," which ends in his sudden dissolution. The mighty rencounter is finished. The gigantic animal rolls over on his side, and floats an inanimate mass on the surface of the crystal deep,--a victim to the tyranny and selfishness, as well as a wonderful proof of the _great power of the mind of man_.

QUESTIONS.--1. How are whales generally discovered? 2. Why do they come to the surface of the water? 3. How far do they sometimes descend in the ocean? 4. Describe the manner in which they are captured.

* * * * *

LESSON LXXVIII.

A'ER O NAUT, one who sails in the air. RE DOUB LED, repeated. MAG NIF I CENT, grand; splendid. EL' E VA TED, raised; excited. GON' DO LA, small boat. BE GIRT', surrounded. RO TA RY, turning; revolving. IN TEN' SI TY, extreme degree. A' ER OS TAT, air-balloon. IN TER MI NA BLE, boundless. VA' RI E GA TED, diversified; varied. VERG' ING, tending; inclining. OB LIQUE' LY, slantingly. RES PI RA' TION, act of breathing. ZE' NITH, point in the heavens directly over head. MAN' DI BLES, jaws. EU ROC' LY DON, tempestuous wind.

LEAVES FROM AN AERONAUT.

WILLIS GAYLORD CLARK.

1. My hour had now come, and I entered the car. With a singular taste, the band struck up, at this moment, the melting air of "Sweet Home." It almost overcame me. A thousand associations of youth, friends, of all that I must leave, rushed upon my mind. But I had no leisure for sentiment. A buzz ran through the assemblage; unnumbered hands were clapping, unnumbered hearts beating high; and _I_ was the cause. Every eye was upon me. There was pride in the thought.

2. "Let go!" was the word. The cheers redoubled; handkerchiefs waved from many a fair hand; bright faces beamed from every window, and on every side. One dash with my knife, and I rose aloft, a habitant of air. How magnificent was the sight which now burst upon me! How sublime were my sensations! I waved the flag of my country; the cheers of the multitude from a thousand housetops, reached me on the breeze; and a taste of the rarer atmosphere elevated my spirits into ecstasy.

3. The city, with a brilliant sunshine striking the spires and domes, now unfolded to view a sight incomparably beautiful. My gondola went easily upward, cleaving the depths of heaven like a vital thing. A diagram placed before you, on the table, could not permit you to trace more definitely than I now could, the streets, the highways, basins, wharves, and squares of the town. The hum of the city arose to my ear, as from a vast bee-hive; and I seemed the monarch-bee, directing the swarm.

4. I heard the rattling of carriages, the hearty _yo-heavo-s!_ of sailors from the docks that, begirt with spars, hemmed the city round. I was a spectator of all, yet aloof, and alone. Increasing stillness attended my way; and, at last, the murmurs of earth came to my ear like the vast vibrations of a bell. My car tilted and trembled, as I rose. A swift wind sometimes gave the balloon a rotary motion, which made me deathly sick for a moment; but strong emotion conquered all my physical ailings.

5. My brain ached with the intensity of my rapture. Human sounds had fainted from my ear. I was in the abyss of heaven, and _alone_ with my God. I could tell my direction by the sun on my left; and, as his rays played on the aerostat, it seemed only a bright bubble, wavering in the sky, and I, a suspended mote, hung by chance to its train. Looking below me, the distant Sound and Long Island appeared to the east; the bay lay to the south, sprinkled with shipping; under me, the city, girded with bright rivers and sparry forests.

6. The free wind was on my cheek, and in my locks; afar, the ocean rolled its long, blue waves, checkered with masses of shadow, and gushes of ruby sunlight; to the north and west, the interminable land, variegated like a map, dotted with purple, and green, and silver, faded to the eye. The atmosphere which I now breathed, seemed to dilate my heart at every breath. I uttered some audible expressions. My voice was weaker than the faintest sound of a reed. There was no object near to make it reverb or echo.

7. My barometer now denoted an immense hight; and, as I looked upward and around, the concave above seemed like a mighty waste of purple air, verging to blackness. Below, it was lighter; but a long, lurid bar of cloud stretched along the west, temporarily excluding the sun. The shadows rushed afar into the void, and a solemn, Sabbath twilight reigned around. I was now startled by a fluttering in my gondola. It was my carrier-pigeon. I had forgotten him entirely. I attached a string to his neck, with a label, announcing my hight, then nearly four miles, and the state of the barometer.

8. As he sat on the side of the car, and turned his tender eyes upon me in mute supplication, every feather shivering with apprehension, I felt that it was a guilty act to push him into the waste beneath. But it was done; he attempted to rise, but I out-sped him; he then fell obliquely, fluttering and moaning, till I lost him in the haze. My greatest altitude had not yet been reached. I was now five miles from _terra firma_. [Footnote: Solid earth.] I began to breathe with difficulty. The atmosphere was too rare for safe respiration.

9. I pulled my valve-cord to descend. It refused to obey my hand. For a moment I was horror-struck. What was to be done? If I ascended much higher, the balloon would explode. I threw over some tissue paper to test my progress. It is well known that this will _rise_ very swiftly. It _fell_, as if blown downward by a wind from the zenith. I was going upward like an arrow. I attempted to pray, but my parched lips could not move. I seized the cord again, with desperate energy. Blessed Heaven! it moved.

10. I threw out more tissue. It rose to me like a wing of joy. I was descending. Though far from sunset, it was now dark about me, except a track of blood-red haze in the direction of the sun. I encountered a strong current of wind; mist was about me; it lay like dew upon my coat. At last, a thick bar of vapor being past, what a scene was disclosed! A storm was sweeping through the sky, nearly a mile beneath; and I looked down upon an ocean of rainbows, rolling in indescribable grandeur, to the music of the thunder-peal, as it moaned afar and near, on the coming and dying wind.

11. A frightened eagle had ascended through the tempest, and sailed for minutes by my side, looking at me with panting weariness, and quivering mandibles, but with a dilated eye, whose keen iris flashed unsubdued. Proud emblem of my country! As he fanned me with his heavy wing, and looked with a human intelligence at the car, my pulse bounded with exulting rapture. Like the genius of my native land, he had risen above every storm, unfettered and FREE.

12. But my transports were soon at an end. He attempted to light on the balloon, and my heart sunk; I feared his huge claws would tear the silk. I pulled my cord; he rose, as I sank, and the blast swept him from my view in a moment. A flock of wild-fowl, beat by the storm, were coursing below, on bewildered pinions; and, as I was nearing them, I knew I was descending. A breaking rift now admitted the sun. The rainbows tossed and gleamed; chains of fleecy rack, shining in prismatic rays of gold, and purple, and emerald, "beautiful exceedingly," spread on every hand.

13. Vast curtains of clouds pavilioned the immensity, brighter than celestial roses; masses of mist were lifted on high, like strips of living fire, more radiant than the sun himself, when his glorious noontide culminates from the equator. A kind of aërial Euroclydon now smote my car, and three of the cords parted, which tilted my gondola to the side, filling me with terror. I caught the broken cords in my hand, but could not tie them.

14. The storm below was now rapidly passing away, and beneath its waving outline, to the south-east, I saw the ocean. Ships were speeding on their course, and their bright sails melting into distance; a rainbow hung afar; and the rolling anthems of the Atlantic came like celestial hymnings to my ear. Presently all was clear below me. The fresh air played around. I had taken a noble circuit; and my last view was better than the first, I was far over the bay, "afloating sweetly to the west." The city, colored by the last blaze of day, brightened remotely to the view.

15. Below, ships were hastening to and fro through the Narrows, and the far country lay smiling like an Eden. Bright rivers ran like ribbons of gold and silver, till they were lost in the vast inland, stretching beyond the view; the gilded mountains were flinging their purple shadows over many a vale; bays were blushing to the farewell day-beams; and now I was passing over a green island. I sailed to the mainland; saw the tall, old trees waving to the evening breeze; heard the rural lowing of herds, and the welcome sound of human voices; and, finally, sweeping over forest-tops and embowered villages, at last, descended with the sun, among a kind-hearted, surprised, and hospitable community, in as pretty a town as one could desire to see, "safe and well."

QUESTIONS.--1. What demonstrations were made by the people as the aeronaut began to ascend? 2. How did the city and other objects appear to him? 3. What could he hear? 4. Describe the appearance of the ocean. 5. What did he do with his carrier-pigeon? 6. How high did he ascend? 7. Describe his descent. 8. What is said about the eagle that came near him? 9. Describe the appearance of the clouds beneath him.

* * * * *

LESSON LXXIX.

BOUN' TY, charity; favor. FRU' GAL, prudent; economical. FLOUR' ISH ED, thrived; prospered. DIS CHARG' ED, performed. BREED' ING, education. EM BRAC' ED, accepted. MAIN TAIN' ED, supported. TRUDG' ED, traveled. BE GUIL' ED, amused. LE' GAL, lawful. TWAIN, two. BE WITCH' ING, charming. YOUNK' ER, lad; youngster. MED' I TA TIVE, thoughtful. PRO VOK' ED, (PRO, _forward, forth_; VOKED, _called_;) called forth; excited. IN CLUDE', (IN, _in_; CLUDE, _shut_;) shut in; inclose. IN SERT', (IN, _in_; SERT, _join, set_;) join, or set in; put in.

THE DAPPLE MARE.

JOHN G. SAXE.

1. "Once on a time," as ancient tales declare, There lived a farmer in a quiet dell In Massachusetts, but exactly where, Or when, is really more than I can tell,-- Except that quite above the public bounty, He lived within his means and Bristol county.

2. By patient labor and unceasing care, He earned, and so enjoyed, his daily bread; Contented always with his frugal fare, Ambition to be rich ne'er vexed his head; And thus unknown to envy, want, or wealth, He flourished long in comfort, peace, and health.

3. The gentle partner of his humble lot, The joy and jewel of his wedded life, Discharged the duties of his peaceful cot, Like a true woman and a faithful wife; Her mind improved by thought and useful reading, Kind words and gentle manners showed her breeding.

4. Grown old, at last, the farmer called his son, The youngest, (and the favorite I suppose,) And said,-- "I long have thought, my darling John, 'Tis time to bring my labors to a close; So now to toil I mean to bid adieu, And deed, my son, the homestead-farm to you."

5. The boy embraced the boon with vast delight, And promised, while their precious lives remained, He'd till and tend the farm from morn till night, And see his parents handsomely maintained; God help him, he would never fail to love, nor Do aught to grieve his gen'rous old gov'nor.

6. The farmer said,--"Well, let us now proceed, (You know there's always danger in delay,) And get 'Squire Robinson to write the deed; Come,--where's my staff?--we'll soon be on the way." But John replied, with tender, filial care, "You're old and weak--I'll catch the Dapple Mare."

7. The mare was saddled, and the old man got on, The boy on foot trudged cheerfully along, The while, to cheer his sire, the duteous son Beguiled the weary way with talk and song. Arrived, at length, they found the 'Squire at home, And quickly told him wherefore they had come.

8. The deed was writ in proper form of law, With many a "foresaid," "therefore," and "the same," And made throughout without mistake or flaw, To show that John had now a legal claim To all his father's land--conveyed, given, sold, Quit-claimed, et cetera,[Footnote 1]--to have and hold.

9. Their business done, they left the lawyer's door, Happier, perhaps, than when they entered there; And started off as they had done before,-- The son on foot, the father on the mare. But ere the twain a single mile had gone, A brilliant thought occurred to Master John.

10. Alas for truth!--alas for filial duty!-- Alas that Satan in the shape of pride, (His most bewitching form save that of beauty,) Whispered the lad--"My boy, you ought to ride!" "Get off!" exclaimed the younker--"'t isn't fair That you should always ride the Dapple Mare!"

11. The son was lusty, and the sire was old, And so, with many an oath and many a frown, The hapless father did as he was told; The man got off the steed, the boy got on, And rode away as fast as she could trot, And left his sire to trudge it home on foot!

12. That night, while seated round the kitchen fire The household sat, cheerful as if no word Or deed, provoked the injured father's ire, Or aught to make him sad had e'er occurred,-- Thus spoke he to his son: "We quite forgot, I think, t'include that little turnip lot!"

13. "I'm very sure, my son, it wouldn't hurt it," Calmly observed the meditative sire, "To take the deed, my lad, and just insert it;" Here the old man inserts it--_in the fire!_ Then cries aloud with most triumphant air, "Who now, my son, shall ride the Dapple Mare?"

[Footnote 1: And so forth.]

QUESTIONS.--1. What proposition did the father make to his son? 2. What did the son promise to do? 3. How did the son treat his father after he got the deed? 4. What did the old gentleman do?

* * * * *

LESSON LXXX.

HARD' I HOOD, bravery. MAIN TRUCK, small cap at the top of a flagstaff or masthead. A GHAST', horrified. GROUPS, clusters; crowds. PAL' LID, pale. LU' RID, dismal; gloomy. HUE, color. RIV' ET TED, firmly fixed. FOLD' ED, embraced; clasped.

A LEAP FOR LIFE.

GEORGE P. MORRIS.

1. Old Ironsides at anchor lay, (sl.) In the harbor of Mahon [Footnote 1]; A dead calm rested on the bay,-- The waves to sleep had gone,-- When little Jack,[Footnote 2] the captain's son, With gallant hardihood, Climbed shroud and spar,--and then upon The main-truck rose and stood!

2. A shudder ran through every vein,-- All eyes were turned on high! There stood the boy, with dizzy brain, Between the sea and sky! No hold had he above,--below, Alone he stood in air! At that far hight none dared to go,-- No aid could reach him there.

3. We gazed,--but not a man could speak; With horror all aghast, In groups, with pallid brow and cheek, We watched the quivering mast! The atmosphere grew thick and hot, And of a lurid hue, As, riveted unto the spot, Stood officers and crew.

4. The father came on deck. He gasped, "O God, Thy will be done!" Then suddenly a rifle grasped, And aimed it at his son! "Jump far out, boy, into the wave! Jump, or I fire!" he said. "That only chance your life can save: ('') Jump! jump, boy!" He obeyed.

5. He sank,--he rose,--he lived,--he moved,-- He for the ship struck out! On board we hailed the lad beloved With many a manly shout. His father drew, in silent joy, Those wet arms round his neck, Then folded to his heart the boy, And fainted on the deck!

[Footnote 1: MA HON', (_Ma hone_,) a sea-port town on the island of Minorca, in the Mediterranean Sea.]

[Footnote 2: A name commonly applied to a young sailor.]

QUESTIONS.--1. What did the captain's son do, on board the Ironsides? 2. Describe his situation. 3. What is said of the officers and crew? 4. What did the father say and do? 5. What did the boy do?

* * * * *

LESSON LXXXI.

COM MIN' GLE, mix or unite. PE DES' TRI AN, traveler on foot. PROM' I NENT, important. TRAG' lC, fatal; mournful. NAR RATE', tell; relate. YORE, olden time. WI' LY, craft; cunning. RE LENT' LESS, hard-hearted; cruel. WIG' WAM, Indian hut or cabin. EM BARK' ED, went aboard. TWANG, quick, sharp sound. SPA' CIOUS, large; capacious. WA' RI LY, cautiously. MYS TE' RI OUS LY, strangely. OM' IN OUS, foreboding ill. IM PLA' CA BLE, relentless. UN TRACE' A BLE, (UN, _not_; TRACE, _mark_; ABLE, _that can be_;) that can not be marked, or traced; not found out.

THE INDIAN BRIDE'S REVENGE.

L.M. STOWELL.

1. In the State of New York, where the dark, foaming waters of the Black River, after roaring and surging through many pleasant fields, beautiful groves, and dense woodlands, commingle with the clear, cold waters of Lake Ontario, the wandering pedestrian or the lone fisherman may see, resting upon a gravelly flat, the remains of an _old Indian canoe_, whose once beautiful proportions, now untraceable in its rottenness, bore a prominent part in the tragic event I am about to narrate.

2. Through these pleasant valleys, among the broken hills, and in the majestic forests, of yore, the wily Indian and his dusky mate, held undisputed possession; and many are the incidents, yet unwritten, of tragic and thrilling interest, that transpired around the red men's camp-fire, ere the white man disturbed their forest homes.

3. Si öus' ka, or the "Wild Flower," was the daughter of a powerful chief of the Onondagas, and the only being ever known to turn the relentless old chief from a savage purpose. Something of this influence was owing to her great beauty; but more to the gentleness of which that beauty was the emblem. Her downcast eye, her trembling lip, her quiet, submissive motion, all bespoke its language; and many were the young chieftains that sought to win her affections.

4. Among her admirers were two young chiefs of the Oneidas, with whom the Onondagas were on the most friendly terms. Si öus' ka's father, in order to cherish the friendly feeling of the two tribes, and, at the same time, strengthen his power, besought her to accept the more powerful chief, "Eagle Eye." He did not plead in vain; for she had long loved the young Oneida.

5. One bright sunny morning, in early spring, as the old chief was out hunting, the young Oneida crossed his path, upon which the old man advanced, and, laying his hand upon his shoulder, pointed to the dwelling of Si öus' ka. Not a word was spoken. The proud old man and the strong, young chief proceeded toward her wigwam, and entered together.

6. Si öus' ka was seated in one corner, engaged upon some fancy basket-work, and did not notice their approach until they had entered. The old chief looked upon her with an expression of love, which his stern countenance never wore except in her presence. "Siöus'ka," he said in a subdued tone, "Go to the wigwam of the Oneida, that your father's tribe may be strengthened, and many moons may shine upon their peace and prosperity."

7. There was mingled joy and modesty in the upward glance of the "Wild Flower" of the Onondagas, and, when the young chief saw the light of her mild eye suddenly and timidly vailed by its deeply-fringed lid, he knew that her love had lost none of its power. The marriage song was soon sung in the royal wigwam, in which the sweet voice of Siöus'ka was happily heard to mingle.

8. When the rejected chief of the Oneidas heard that the "Wild Flower" had mated with the "Eagle Eye," his wrath knew no bounds, and he secretly resolved upon revenge. Two years passed away, and, as yet, no good opportunity had arrived; for he dared not attack "Eagle Eye" in open conflict, for fear of his superior powers; and, assassin-like, he sought to give the blow unperceived.

9. At length, the spring came, and a number of the tribe prepared to visit Lake Ontario, on a fishing and hunting excursion. Among the number who went, were the "Eagle Eye," Siöus'ka, and their little boy. They were obliged to carry their light, birchen canoes from home, and these were packed with the necessary tackle, skins for beds, &c. The strong men of the party carried the canoes on their shoulders, and the women the smaller articles of furniture.