from
where the man was busy;--worked himself slowly along the slippery
surface, until within reach of his victim; knocked him off into the
water, and then sliding off himself, seized and devoured him."

Picking my way carefully among the sleepers, who covered the bottom of
the yawl, I sat down beside Browne in the stern, intending to share the
remainder of his watch. It was now long past midnight; fragments of
light clouds were scattered over the sky, frequently obscuring the moon;
and the few stars that were visible, twinkled faintly with a cold and
distant light. The Southern Cross, by far the most brilliant
constellation of that hemisphere, was conspicuous among the clusters of
feebler luminaries. Well has it been called "the glory of the southern
skies." Near the zenith, and second only to the Cross in brilliancy,
appeared the Northern Crown, consisting of seven large stars, so
disposed as to form the outline of two-thirds of an oval. Of the
familiar constellations of the northern hemisphere, scarcely one was
visible, except Orion, and the Pleiades.

At length the moon descended behind a bank of silvery clouds, piled up
along the horizon. The partial obscurity that ensued, only added to the
grandeur of the midnight scene, as we sat gazing silently abroad upon
the confused mass of swelling waters, stretching away into the gloom.
But if the scene was grand, it was also desolate; we two were perhaps
the only human beings, for many hundreds of miles, who looked forth upon
it. Our companions were wrapped in unconsciousness, and their deep and
regular breathing attested the soundness of their slumbers. As the
light failed more and more, and the shadows deepened, the sea began to
assume a beautiful and striking appearance, gleaming in places with a
bluish lambent light, and exhibiting, where the water was most agitated,
large luminous patches. Thin waves of flame curled over our bow, and
whenever a sea broke upon it, it seemed as though the boat was plunging
through surges of fire. A long brilliant line, thickly strewn on each
side, with little globules of the colour of burning coals, marked our
wake.

But the shark, which still followed close behind our keel, presented by
far the most singular and striking spectacle. He seemed to be
surrounded by a luminous medium; and his nose, his dorsal and side fins,
and his tail, each had attached to them slender jets of phosphoric fire.
Towards morning this brilliant