XXX. -THE MARINER'S DREAM.

DIMOND.

IN slumbers of midnight the sailor boy lay :

His hammock* swung loose at the sport of the wind; But watch-worn and weary, his cares flew away, And visions of happiness danced o'er his mind.

He dreamed of his home, of his dear native bowers,
And pleasures that waited on life's merry morn;
While memory each scene gayly covered with flowers,
And restored every rose, but secreted its thorn.

Then Fancy her magical pinions spread wide,
And bade the young dreamer in ecstasy rise:
Now far, far behind him the green waters glide,
And the cot of his forefathers blesses his eyes.

The jessamine clambers in flowers o'er the thatch,
And the swallow chirps sweet from her nest in the wall;
All trembling with transport, he raises the latch,
And the voices of loved ones reply to his call.

A father bends o'er him with looks of delight;
His cheek is impearled with a mother's warm tear,
And the lips of the boy in a love kiss unite

With the lips of the maid whom his bosom holds dear.

The heart of the sleeper beats high in his breast;
Joy quickens his pulse; all his hardships seem o'er;
And a murmur of happiness steals through his rest
"O God, thou hast blessed me; I ask for no more."

Ah! whence is that flame which now glares on his eye? Ah! what is that sound which now bursts on his ear?

* Hammock, a kind of hanging bed suspended by hooks, used on board ships.

9*

'Tis the lightning's red glare painting hell on the sky! 'Tis the crashing of thunders, the groan of the sphere!

Amazement confronts him with images dire;

Wild winds and mad waves drive the vessel a-wreck ;
The masts fly in splinters, the shrouds are on fire.

Like mountains the billows tremendously swell;
In vain the lost wretch calls on mercy to save;
Unseen hands of spirits are ringing his knell,

And the death angel flaps his broad wing o'er the wave.

O sailor boy, woe to thy dream of delight!

In darkness dissolves the gay frostwork of bliss; Where now is the picture that Fancy touched bright, Thy parents' fond pressure and love's honeyed kiss?

O sailor-boy, sailor-boy, never again

Shall home, love, or kindred thy wishes repay; Unblessed and unhonored, down deep in the main, Full many a fathom, thy frame shall decay.

No tomb shall e'er plead to remembrance for thee,
Or redeem thy lost form from the merciless surge;
But the white foam of waves shall thy winding sheet be,
And winds, in the midnight of winter, thy dirge.

On a bed of green sea-flower thy limbs shall be laid;
Around thy white bones the red coral shall grow;
Of thy fair yellow locks threads of amber be made,
And every part suit to thy mansion below.

Days, months, years, and ages shall circle away,

And still the vast waters above thee shall roll; Earth loses thy pattern forever and aye:

O sailor boy, sailor boy, peace to thy soul!

And when of waste and loss,
That man can ne'er repair,
The dread inquiry meets my soul,
What shall it answer there?

XXXII. SURGICAL OPERATION ON A BEAR.

THE CHARM.

CALIFORNIA is hardly more celebrated for its gold than for its bears, seeing that the grisly bear of the Rocky Mountains is the largest, the most powerful, and the most ferocious of the whole tribe. There, amidst the vast wilds, wooded plains, and tangled copses of bough and underwood, which surround this range of mountains, he reigns as great a monarch as the lion of the sandy wastes of Africa. Though varying from every shade of gray to deep black, his fur, which is longer, finer, and more exuberant than others of his race, is always in some degree grizzled by an intermixture of long white hairs; whence the name of the species is derived.

*

Two out of the three young grisly bears in the Zoölogical Gardens had lost their sight from cataract,† a disease to which bears are extremely subject. Their value was greatly diminished by this cause; and as they were remarkably fine specimens "of their people and nation," Mr. Mitchell, the secretary of the society, was exceedingly anxious that no means of cure should be left untried. Mr. White Cooper was prevailed on to perform the perilous operation, which could only be attempted with the all-powerful aid of chloroform.

To administer this was the first step; and that was no easy matter. The young bear was by no means willing to undergo

*Zoology is that branch of natural history which treats of the structure and habits of animals. The Zoological Gardens are a place in London where wild animals of all kinds are kept.

Cataract, a disorder in the eye, in which the pupil is covered with a sort of film, obstructing the sight.

even a temporary separation from his brethren, who, safely immured within their sleeping den, scratched and tore at the door which divided them from their beloved brother, while he, in an agony of terror at this unwonted treatment, poured forth his soul in yells and roars of the most heart-rending description, in which chorus not only his distressed relatives most heartily joined, but every beast within hearing responded with the utmost power of voice with which nature had gifted it. The chetah,* in particular, was peculiarly affected, the odor of chloroform recalling to her remembrance the amputation of her own limb, under this same influence, not many months before; and she lifted up her voice in loud and prolonged tones of sympathy.

Like some bipeds of our acquaintance, Master Bruin cried out long before he was hurt; a strong leathern collar, with a chain attached, was buckled round his neck, and the chain having been passed round one of the front bars of the cage, two strong men proceeded to pull him up to it. It was this treatment which produced such loud and passionate expressions of grief. The juvenile patient was about the size of a young donkey, and his resistance was most determined, and for a good ten minutes he set their efforts at defiance; and ultimately it was only by the united strength of four men that he was placed in a position favorable to the application of chloroform.

Dr. Snow had undertaken the administration of this powerful agent, and he at first endeavored to hold a sponge to the bear's nose; but this would not do; it was only by fairly tying it to his muzzle that this point could be attained. The dropping of the paws one after the other, the gradual cessation of his roaring and struggles, soon showed that the fluid had taken effect. No time was lost; the sponge was removed, his head laid on a plank just outside the door of his den, and, in less time than we can tell the tale, the cataracts were thoroughly destroyed, and the patient drawn again within the precincts of his cage.

*Chetah, a species of leopard.