Amherst stood thunder-struck for a moment. But recollecting himself, he seized upon a lighted brand from the fire, and running towards the end of the cavern where the figure had disappeared, he climbed, with some difficulty, from one immense mass of fallen rock to another, to the height of thirty or forty feet, until he had nearly reached the roof, examining every part with the greatest attention, in the hope of being enabled to account upon rational principles for its escape. But all his endeavours were fruitless. Again his wonder was renewed and redoubled, and the more he reflected on the almost inaccessible ascent the creature had scaled, as it were, with wings, the more he was perplexed.

Baffled and vexed, he sat him down on one of the stones, and was musing on the unaccountable occurrences of the evening, when his thoughts were interrupted by the noise of a desperate struggle in the sleeping place, and the half-choked voice of Cleaver. His first idea was, that his friend had been attacked, perhaps by banditti, and he rushed headlong to the recess. There all his apprehensions were not only immediately

VOL. I.

B

removed, but were irresistibly converted into immoderate peals of laughter.

The Irishman had no sooner been shaken from his master, than the overwhelming dread he laboured under made him fly to the captain, who lay on his back like a great turtle, on the bed of stone he had selected, in that disturbed, though deep sort of sleep, resulting from repletion of stomach. Not contented with mere proximity, O'Gollochar griped him round the neck, and afterwards laid himself at length upon him, with all his weight, like a nightmare. But Cleaver's sleep was so profound, that although his breathing was affected almost to suffocation, he did not immediately awaken. When he was thus grappled by the terrified Cornelius, he was dreaming that his ship was sailing bravely before a gallant breeze, with every sail set, and going more knots than had ever been marked by log-line. Suddenly he

felt a shock, as if the prow had struck upon some sunken sand-bank, and then she gradually went down under him. A wide ocean surrounded him, and death stared him in the face. hastily attempted to prepare himself for swim

He

ming, but he could not move a hand nor a limb, and the water rose rapidly over the sinking vessel. A huge hairy monster, half man, half fish, of tremendous strength, and with eyes like brazen censers, emerged from the sea, and grasping him about the neck, was dragging him downwards with a weight like that of ten first-rate anchors. He already felt the stifling of the waves, with all the horrors of drowning, and in utter despair of life, he struggled so desperately with the foul fiend, that he rolled O'Gollochar and himself off the bench; when being awakened from his sleep, by the fall, but not from his dreadful dream, he began bellowing out, as well as the pressure upon his wind-pipe would permit, in notes resembling those of a half-stopped postman's horn, and at the same time buffetting with might and main the unfortunate Irishman, whose fear made him keep his hold like a bull-dog, notwithstanding the numerous thumps that rained upon him; so that, when Amherst reached the scene of action, they were tumbling one over the other on the ground in most ludicrous conflict, the eyes of both starting from their sockets, partly from the different terrors that possessed them, and

partly from the actual strangulation they were mutually inflicting and enduring. Amherst succeeded with some difficulty in relieving them from each other's grasp, and an explanation ensued.

The sailor was astonished with his friend's story, and could hardly be persuaded that it was not an illusion, and that he had not been dreaming as well as himself.

"Believe me, Amherst," said he, with all that gravity the subject demanded, "never doubt me lad, but these night-hags which have been riding us, have all been engendered by the quantity of cold food we so lately devoured, that could not choose but chill our stomachs, and cause a stagnation of the very blood in our veins. For my part, I never dream of Davy Jones but after a cold supper. Had we only had that beef-steak now I spoke of-had we, I say, had it juicy and hot, our stomachs would have been thereby cherished, and no such morbid affection, as our Doctor used to say, could have supervened. But I swear I shall make up for it at breakfast to-morrow, if there is a

decent inn to be found within the circuit of a morning's cruize.”

These words were hardly spoken, when they were alarmed by the voices of men entering the

outer cavern.

"These are, no doubt, the fishermen," said Amherst.

"It may be so," said Cleaver; "but look to your arms, and be on your guard, as we know not what sort of cocks the fishermen on these coasts may be."

They listened, for the speakers had not yet advanced so far as to be visible, but their conversation was carried on in a language intelligible to neither of the gentlemen. O'Gollochar, however, declared, at the first sound of it, that it was Irish, but with all that, he could make nothing out of it.

"Sure," whispered he, " isn't it mighty strange now, that it should be Irish that they are spaking, and I not comprehend a word at all that they are saying, when it is myself that not only talks it, but understands it too like a blackbird, ever sin' I was the size of a bane cod."

As the fire threw light into every nook of the