o write our letters, as, of course,
I was anxious to give an account of what had occurred to my kind friend.
Emily wished to write to Mrs Davenport, as did also Grace to her
mother. As there was not much time, we described our adventures as
briefly as possible. Mr Hooker had proposed to proceed through the
Java Seas to Singapore; while Captain Davenport had arranged, should he
be able to obtain a vessel, to go there by way of the Sooloo
Archipelago, round the north of Borneo. On returning on deck we saw a
great commotion on board the brig--all the sailors rushing aft, and
hauling away at a rope overboard. In a short time the snout of a huge
fish appeared above the water, struggling violently, and it seemed very
likely he would break away. "A shark! a shark!" cried our men. I had
scarcely supposed so enormous a creature existed. He was fully
twenty-six feet long, and looked capable of swallowing not only a man's
leg, but the whole of his body at a gulp. It made me shudder at the
thought of falling overboard, and I felt thankful that while struggling
in the water no such monster had found me out. "O Walter! how
terrible!" exclaimed Emily. The same idea seemed to have crossed her
mind. One of the officers stood, harpoon in hand, ready to strike the
creature as he was drawn up under the vessel's counter. A "whip" was
immediately rigged, and the crew hauling away, the shark, in spite of
his struggles, was hoisted up on deck. Scarcely had he reached it,
however, than we saw the crew scattering right and left; and it looked
as if he had taken the deck from them, so violent were the lashes he
gave with his tail as he floundered up and down, and turned and twisted
on every side. At length the most daring of the men returned aft, armed
with capstan bars and hatchets; but it was not till after many blows,
and jumping and leaping to get out of the way of the monster's tail,
that he was seen to lie quiet on the deck.

I then went in the boat with our despatches on board the brig. The
commander received me very politely, and undertook to deliver them. He
warned us to keep a sharp look-out for pirates, as our brig being only
slightly armed, they were very likely to attack us should we meet them.
He kindly offered me some slices of the shark; but I laughingly declined
the gift, saying that we were going on shore, where we might find plenty
of beef and mutton. He laughed, however, at that notion, and observed
that we we