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struggle, I resigned him to his fate, fastened my. self to the cask by means of the lashings which secured it to the counter, and precipitated myself with it into the sea, without another moment's hesitation.

which I now held, to cut it loose from the counter, and to throw myself with it into the water. I attracted my brother's attention by signs, pointed to the floating barrels that came near us, and did everything in my power to make him understand what I was about to do. I thought at length that "The result was precisely what I hoped it might he comprehended my design; but, whether this be. As it is myself who now tell you this tale-as was the case or not, he shook his head despairingly, you see that I did escape-and as you are already and refused to move from his station by the ring- in possession of the mode in which this escape was bolt. It was impossible to reach him; the emer- effected, and must therefore anticipate all that I gency admitted of no delay; and so, with a bitter | have further to say-I will bring my story quickly

to a conclusion. It might have been an hour, or thereabouts, after my quitting the smack, when, having descended to a vast distance beneath me, it made three or four wild gyrations in rapid succession, and, bearing my loved brother with it, plunged headlong, at once and for ever, into the chaos of foam below. The barrel to which I was attached had sank very little farther than half the distance between the bottom of the gulf and the spot at which I leaped overboard, before a great change took place in the character of the whirlpool. The slope of the sides of the vast funnel became every moment less and less steep. The gyrations of the whirl grew gradually less and less violent. By degrees, the froth and the rainbow disappeared, and the bottom of the gulf seemed slowly to uprise. The sky was clear, the winds had gone down, and the

full moon was setting radiantly in the west, when I found myself on the surface of the ocean, in full view of the shores of Lofoden, and above the spot where the pool of the Moskoe-strom had been. It was the hour of the slack; but the sea still heaved in mountainous waves from the effects of the hurricane. I was borne violently into the channel of the Strom, and in a few minutes was hurried down the coast into the 'grounds' of the fishermen. A boat picked me up exhausted from fatigue, and (now that the danger was removed) speechless from the memory of its horror. Those who drew me on board were my old mates and daily companions; but they knew me no more than they would have known a traveller from the spirit-land. My hair, which had been raven-black the day before, was as white as you see it now."

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[THOMAS CAMPBELL, born at Glasgow, July 27, 1777. Educated at the University there. Died at Boulogne, June, 1844.]

A CHIEFTAIN to the Highlands bound,

Cries, "Boatman, do not tarry!

And I'll give thee a silver pound
To row us o'er the ferry."

"Now, who be ye would cross Lochgyle, This dark and stormy water?" "Oh! I'm the chief of Ulva's isle,

And this, Lord Ullin's daughter. "And fast before her father's men

Three days we've fled together;
For, should he find us in the glen,
My blood would stain the heather.
"His horsemen hard behind us ride;
Should they our steps discover,
Then who will cheer my bonny bride
When they have slain her lover?"

Out spoke the hardy island wight,
"I'll go, my chief-I'm ready:
It is not for your silver bright,
But for your winsome lady.

"And by my word, the bonny bird In danger shall not tarry;

So, though the waves are raging white,
I'll row you o'er the ferry."

By this the storm grew loud apace,
The water wraith was shrieking;
And in the scowl of heaven each face
Grew dark as they were speaking.

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FRIDAY AND THE BEAR.

FRIDAY AND THE

BEAR.

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[DANIEL DEFOE, born in Cripplegate, 1661. After having been in trade many years, he became an author, at first of political works, but afterwards of fiction. Died in April, 1731.]

BUT never was a fight managed so hardily, and in such a surprising manner, as that between Friday and the bear, which gave us all, though at first we were surprised and afraid for him, the greatest diversion imaginable.

My man Friday had delivered our guide, and when we came up to him, he was helping him off from his horse, for the man was both hurt and frightened, and indeed the last more than the first, when on a sudden we espied the bear come out of the wood, and a vast, monstrous one it was, the biggest by far that ever I saw. We were all a little surprised when we saw him; but when Friday saw him, it was easy to see joy and courage in the fellow's countenance. "Oh, oh, oh!" says Friday, three times, pointing to him; "oh, master! you give me te leave, me shakee te hand with him; me makee you good laugh."

I was surprised to see the fellow so pleased. "You fool!" said I, “he will eat you up."-" Eatee me up! eatee me up!" says Friday, twice over again; me eatee him up; me makee you good laugh; you all stay here, me show you good laugh." So down he sits, and gets his boots off in a moment, and puts on a pair of pumps (as we call the flat shoes they wear, and which he had in his pocket), gives my other servant his horse and with his gun away he flew, swift like the wind.

The bear was walking softly on, and offered to meddle with nobody, till Friday coming pretty near, calls to him, as if the bear could understand him, "Hark ye, hark ye," says Friday, "me speakee with you." We followed at a distance, for now being come down to the Gascony side of the mountains, we were entered a vast, great forest, where the country was plain and pretty open, though it had many trees in it scattered here and there. Friday, who had, as we say, the heels of the bear, came up with him quickly, and took up a great stone, and threw it at him, and hit him just on the head, but did him no more harm than if he had thrown it against a wall; but it answered Friday's end, for the rogue was so void of fear that he did it purely to make the bear follow him, and show us some laugh, as he called it. As soon as the bear felt the stone, and saw him, he turns about, and comes after him, taking very long strides, and shuffling on at a strange rate, so as would have put a horse to a middling gallop. Away runs Friday, and takes his course as if he ran towards us for help; so we all resolved to fire at once upon the bear, and deliver my man; though I was angry at him heartily for bringing the bear back upon us, when he was going about his own business another way; and especi

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ally I was angry that he had turned the bear upon us, and then run away; and I called out, "You dog!" said I, "is this your making us laugh? Come away, and take your horse, that we may shoot the creature." He heard me, and cried out, No shoot, no shoot; stand still, you get much laugh;" and as the nimble creature ran two feet for the beast's one, he turned on a sudden on one side of us, and seeing a great oak-tree fit for his purpose, he beckoned us to follow; and doubling his pace, he got nimbly up the tree, laying his gun down upon the ground, at about five or six yards from the bottom of the tree. The bear soon came to the tree, and we followed at a distance. The first thing he did, he stopped at the gun, smelled at it, but let it lie, and up he scrambles into the tree, climbing like a cat, though so monstrous heavy. I was amazed at the folly, as I thought it, of my man, and could rot for my life see anything to laugh at yet, till, seeing the bear get up the tree, we all rode near to him.

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When we came to the tree, there was Friday got out to the small end of a large limb of the tree, and the bear got about half way to him. As soon as the bear got out to that part where the limb of the tree was weaker-"Ha!" says he to us, now you see me teachee the bear dance; SO he began jumping and shaking the bough, at which the bear began to totter, but stood still, and began to look behind him, to see how he should get back; then, indeed, we did laugh heartily. But Friday had not done with him by a great deal; when seeing him stand still, he called out to him again, as if he had supposed the bear could speak English, "What, you no come farther? pray you come farther;" so he left jumping and shaking the bough; and the bear, just as if he had understood what he said, did come a little farther; then he began jumping again, and the bear stopped again. We thought now was a good time to knock him on the head, and called to Friday to stand still, and we would shoot the bear; but he cried out earnestly, "Oh, pray! oh, pray! no shoot! me shoot by-and-then;" he would have said byand-by.

However, to shorten the story, Friday danced so much, and the bear stood so ticklish, that we had laughing enough indeed, but still could not imagine what the fellow would do; for first we thought ho depended upon shaking the bear off; and we found the bear was too cunning for that too; for he would go out far enough to be thrown down, but clung fast with his great broad claws and feet, so that we could not imagine what would be the end of it, and what the jest would be at last.

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But Friday put us out of doubt quickly: for seeing the bear cling fast to the bough, and that he would not be persuaded to come any farther, "Well, well," says Friday, "you no come farther, me go; you no come to me, me come to you;" and upon this he went out to the smaller end of the bough where it would bend with his weight, and gently let himself down by it, sliding down the bough till he came near enough to jump down on his feet, and away he ran to his gun, took it up, and stood still. "Well," said I to him, "Friday, what will you do now? why don't you shoot him?"-"No shoot," says Friday, "no yet; me shoot now, me no kill; me stay, give you one more laugh: " and, indeed, so he did, as you will see presently; for when the bear saw his enemy gone, he came back from the bough where he stood, but did it very cautiously, looking behind him every step, and coming backward till he got into the body of the tree; then, with the same

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hinder end foremost, he came down the tree, grasping it with his claws, and moving one foot at a time, very leisurely. At this juncture, and just before he could set his hind feet upon the ground, Friday stepped up close to him, clapped the muzzle of his piece into his ear, and shot him dead as a stone. Then the rogue turned about to see if we did not laugh; and when he saw we were pleased by our looks, he began to laugh very loud. "So we kill bear in my country," says Friday. "So you kill them?" says I; "why, you have no guns."-"No," says he, "no gun, but shoot great much long arrow." This was a good diversion to us; but we were still in a wild place, and our guide very much hurt, and what to do we hardly knew; the howling of wolves ran much in my head; and, indeed, except the noise I once heard on the shore of Africa, of which I have said something already, I never heard anything that filled me with so much horror.

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ONE fine morning in May, I tuck the road from Inchegelagh, an' got up to the Cove safe an' sound. There I saw lots of ships with big broad boords fastened to ropes, every one ov them saying, "The first vessel for Quebec." Siz I to myself, "These are about to run for a wager; this one siz she'll be first, and that one siz she'll be first." At any rate, I pitched on one that was finely painted, and looked long and slender, like a corragh on the Shannon. When I wint on boord to ax the fare, who should come up out ov a hole but Ned Flinn, an ould townsman ov my own. Och, is it yoorself that's there, Ned?" siz I; "are you goin' to Amerrykey ?"

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"Why, an' to be shure," siz he; "I'm mate ov the ship."

we'll only want bread. Hadn't I betther go and pay my way?"

"You're time enough," says Ned; "I'll tell you when we're ready-leave the rest to me, Darby." "Och, tip us your fist," siz I; "you were always the broth ov a boy; for the sake of ould times, Ned, we must have a dhrop." So, my jewel, Ned brought me to where there was right good stuff. Many's the squeeze Ned gave my fist, telling me to leave it all to him, an' how comfortable he'd make me on the voyage. Day afther day we spint together, waitin' for the wind, till I found my pockets begin to grow very light. At last, says he to me, one day afther dinner

"Darby, the ship will be ready for sae on the morrow-you'd betther go on boord, an' pay your

"Meat! that's yer sort, Ned," says I; "then way." 15-VOL. I.

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