hair
on top on his head; and, besides, he has the identical same way of
popping it on one side when he used to speak, and staring at you with
his little round eyes. Is he not like Mr Trotter, father?" and she
pointed out one especially jaunty little "parson" to his notice.

"Well, there is a little resemblance, certainly," said Mr Meldrum,
joining in Florry's laughter at the remark. "I don't suppose, though,
my dear, we'll ever see poor Mr Trotter or Allington again."

"Dear old Allington!" murmured Kate with a sigh; and, in a moment, her
memory flew back to the past, with all its sad associations.

The Cape pigeons were the prettiest of all the birds that visited the
ship, being very like the common wood pigeon in the shape of their head
and bill, but having webbed feet to suit their aquatic habits. They
were much plumper, too, than either the shearwaters or parsons--which
latter, by the way, unlike the fat cleric of popular opinion, were of
very slender and delicate proportions.

In the matter of plumage, the Cape pigeons were white and downy, with
the head and wings striped with brown like butterflies, a large species
of which they strongly resembled when flying away from the ship, with
their pinions spread.

But, of all the birds they saw, the albatross was the most wonderful to
observe. Not much larger than a goose in the size of its body, it had
enormous thin-edged wings, that enabled it to float about in the air, at
will apparently, without any perceptible motion, for hours at a stretch.
It seemed to direct its course by the slightest possible turning of its
body, so as to alter the inclination of its wings, which, extending out
straight and firm, bore the bird up or down, or away many miles off in a
second of time, in the most surprising manner.

The albatross floats, or skims along the air, but does not fly according
to our ideas, although it has an extraordinary power of launching itself
from enormous heights down to the level of the sea with the velocity of
lightning.

"Just like a white-winged messenger of light," as Kate Meldrum observed
in the hearing of Captain Dinks, "sent out from the angelic host above
on some divine mission to suffering humanity below!"

"Ah; that sounds very pretty, missy," said the captain; "but the
albatross' mission happens to be fish; and I fancy that spoils the
sentiment a bit!"

Eighteen days after passing the line, some seven weeks from her start,
the _Nancy Bel