ide us, and as they fluttered into the air, we knocked down six
or seven of them, and caught a number more, that dropped into the boat.
Morton and Max, ambitious of larger game, devoted their attention to the
Albatross, and slashed and thrust furiously, at such as came within
reach of their cutlasses; which many of them did. Some darted under the
boat, instead of sheering round it; and one enormous fellow,
miscalculating in his haste our draught of water, must have scraped all
the fins off his back against the keel, as he performed this manoeuvre;
for the shock of the contact, caused the yawl to tremble from stem to
stern. But such was the marvellous celerity of their movements, that
though they came within easy striking distance, all the hostile
demonstrations of Max and Morton proved futile.

The Flying-fish which had been taken, were divided and apportioned with
scrupulous exactness, and devoured with very little ceremony. The only
dressing or preparation bestowed upon them, consisted simply in
stripping off the long shining pectoral fins, or wings, (they serve as
both), without paying much attention to such trifling matters as scales,
bones, and the lesser fins. Max, indeed, began to nibble rather
fastidiously at first, at this raw food, which a minute before had been
so full of life and activity; but his appetite improved as he proceeded,
and he at last so far got the better of his scruples, as to leave
nothing of his share except the tails, and very little even of those.
Hunger, in fact, made this repast, which would have been revolting under
ordinary circumstances, not only acceptable, but positively delicious.

Meantime, the dark mass of clouds in the north had extended itself, and
drawn nearer to us. Another tempest seemed to be gathering in the west,
while in the south, a violent thunder-storm appeared to be actually
raging: the lightning in that quarter was vivid and almost incessant,
but we could hear no thunder, the storm being still at a considerable
distance.

Immediately around us all was yet comparatively calm, but the heavy
clouds, gathering on three sides, seemed gradually converging towards a
common centre; a short abrupt cross sea, began to form, and the water
assumed a glistening inky hue. There was something peculiar and
striking in the appearance of the clouds surrounding us; they seemed to
rest upon the surface of the ocean, and towered upward like a dark wall
to the skies. Their upper