short time.
Captain Blunt was wise as regards savages, and he imparted his wisdom toOur heroes, Douglas and Leonard, at dinner one beautiful evening--justthe night before they reached the Sandwich Islands.
At New York they had bought large quantities of beads, also knives andhatchets, and these, or rather a portion of them, came in handy in theirintercourse with the natives.
They had already passed, on the wings of a favouring breeze, very manylittle islands, some mere coral reefs green-fringed with trees, lookingas if they were afloat in the sea or in the sky's blue. But althoughthey had seen natives both in canoes and on the beach they had made noattempt to communicate with the _Gloaming Star_.
Men were kept constantly in the chains, and when the water became tooshallow, or breakers ahead were seen frothing on a shallow green reef,her way was stopped and the course altered. By night they often castanchor.
I wish I had the power to describe in words a thousandth part of all thebeauty they saw about and around them in this enchanting ocean, in sky,on shore, and in the water itself. The marine gardens, with theirmany-coloured corals, their waving wealth of tinted seaweed, thestrange-shaped and curious fishes, the lovely medusae and marvellousshell-fish, some beautiful as a dream, others more hideous than anightmare; the bright inexpressible blue sky above, the azure oceanbeneath, patched here and there with sheets of green or grey, wherecloud shadows fell or where the banks shone through, and last, but notleast, the thousand isles, each more delightful to behold than another,all formed a scene, or series of scenes, that to cast eyes on but onceis to look back to with pleasure ever after.
I have it not on record at which of these islands our wanderers firstlanded. It was a large one, however, and, to commence with, they hadbut a cool reception.
For days they ventured no farther than the beach, so threatening was theaspect of the natives. But by degrees their confidence was won, thenall was hospitality, all was safety on the island, far into its veryinterior. Having once made friends with the white men, these poorsavages thought they had dropped from the sky, and vied with each otherin their kindness towards them. They brought them kids and fowl andfruit and flowers, and escorted them through the forests, to gloriousglens, across streams and little lovely lakes embowered in trees,festooned and hung with wild climbing flowers, and to cataracts whosewaters as they tumbled over the rocks made drowsy music in the summersunshine.
"Was nought around but images of rest, Sleep-soothing groves, and quiet lawns between, And flowery beds, that slumbrous influence cast From poppies breathed; and beds of pleasant green. Meanwhile unnumbered glittering streamlets played, And hurled everywhere their waters' sheen; That as they bickered through the sunny glade, Though restless still themselves, a lulling murmur made."
They stayed for months at the Sandwich Islands, and their residenceamong the wild natives exemplifies in a remarkable way two facts--first,that the influence of the white man over the savage is very great andvery potent; and secondly, that almost anything can be done by means ofkindness and sincerity. Our heroes were sincere, and these poor blackfolks were quick to perceive it.
It is but fair to Captain Blunt and his party to state that they did notleave the islands without telling its inhabitants the beautiful Biblicalstory of the world, of the creation, the fall, and of Redemption througha Saviour's love. And one never knows what good fruits may not be borneof a few seeds thus let fall even among darkened savages.
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And now we return to the scene of the first chapter of this book, wherewe left Leonard and Douglas pacing the storm-swept decks of the_Gloaming Star_, night falling, and the wind blowing high and cold fromoff the Antarctic ice.
They had sojourned and had many adventures among the snows of the far,far north, where in summer "_Daylight never shuts its eye_," and theywere now to have a peep at the other pole.
For days and days they cruised along the edge of the great icefieldshere, and very different they found them from anything they had everseen before. The edge of the main body was one vast indented glacier ofglittering crystal, rising sheer up from the ocean beneath it. From thetop of this enormous icy cliff an immense field of snow stretched awaysouthwards, rising, in some places, mountains high, so that they couldnot be certain that it was not actually land they were looking on. Theice-rocks shimmered in the sun's rays in all the colours of the rainbow,with a beauty that at times was dazzling to behold.
The detached icebergs that floated off this strange weird-looking coastwere less jagged than those of the North Pole. Very often they wereimmense square snow-clad blocks. They were nearly all very large. Herecomes floating along, slowly moving up and down, a good representationof a cathedral without a spire. Behind, a library of books piled oneabove the other, truly a Titanic collection, for every volume is aslarge as a church, yet the representation is faithful. But what comesbehind? A giant's head upreared above the black water; eyes and noseand all are perfect, and it is bigger than the Egyptian Sphinx, while inthe rear of this pyramids innumerable, and lo! as they pass these theycome upon--what? They may well ask what. A soldiers' camp, sureenough, larger than any at Aldershot. But there are no soldiers about,only the white and shapely tents all afloat on the deep dark sea.
A STRANGE CHANGE.
Yet in one week's time a wondrous change came over the spirit of thescene.
The great whales, the mighty sharks, and the huge sea-elephants, thatfor days they had seen tumbling and wallowing in the waters round thevessel, suddenly disappeared, and even the birds ceased to go whirlingand screaming through the air, and one evening they seemed sailing intothe blackness of darkness. There was a good breeze behind them, but asnight fell--and it came on before its time--so did the wind. And so theship lay becalmed, or nearly so. No one went to bed that night. Thedarkness was a darkness that could be felt; the air was close,sulphurous, oppressive, and at midnight the stillness was broken byexplosions of thunder so terrific as to appal the boldest heart onboard. Then the darkness was illuminated by one vast sheet of flame,that shot upwards from the horizon some miles inland among the ice,carrying with it smoke and steam and great boulders that burst in theair with a noise like the loudest artillery.
They were undoubtedly witnessing a volcanic eruption on a terribly grandscale.
All that night it continued, while the noise of the thunder and theexplosions grew louder and louder, and the flames and lightningincreased in vividness. When at last the clock hands pointed to thehour of daybreak it still was dark, as far as sunlight was concerned;the sea was perfectly calm, though every now and then strangely moved,so that the ship was shaken from stem to stern.
Ashes, too, began to fall till they lay inches deep on the deck, and itwas almost impossible to breathe. At the same time stones fell aroundthem, hissing and spurting and throwing up volumes of steam as theyreached the water.
It was an awful scene, a never-to-be-forgotten time.
But despite the want of wind, Captain Blunt determined not to be idle.Boats were got out, and the ship was slowly towed northwards direct.All that dark and fearful day, and even by the glare of volcanic fireson the dismal night that succeeded, the men rowed and rowed as for dearlife, and about nine o'clock next morning they saw the sun. It wasgleaming like a great crimson ball through the ash-laden air, but thereit was--the sun; and not a heart of all the crew was there that did notrejoice, not a soul, I'm sure, that did not breathe its thanks to HimWho rules on earth and sea.
ONCE MORE IN SUMMER SEAS.
This is a chapter of changes, the reader may say. From the dreary sceneI have just tried--in all too feeble language--to describe, wafted onthe wings of a favourable breeze, the _Gloaming Star_ sailed northwardand west, and ere many weeks had elapsed the good ship was once moresailing over summer seas, with the dangers they had escaped in theAntarctic regions dwelling in their minds only like dreams of yesterday.
Ah! but soft, sweet, and balmy was the breeze that now filled the sails,and wondrous were the curious creatures they saw day after day. Somemay think that when a ship is far away at sea, with no land nor sail insight, there can be little to look at and admire. But there _is_, fornature is everywhere in this bright world of ours, and real solitudenowhere.
Not a day now passed without strange birds coming about the ship.Sometimes these were evidently winged wanderers from some far-off land,that had been blown to sea by a gale, for they were sadly tired, andlooked woebegone as they alighted on the yards. Others were curious,dark birds of the swallow tribe. They alighted on the ship quite as amatter of business, and chirped little songs to the crew as they perchedaloft, as if thankful and joyous because of the rest. Then away theywent again, south or north as the case might be.
There were Cape pigeons, and great cormorants, and wild gannet-likebirds, that it was pleasant to watch as they descended from the clouds,swift almost as a