LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 C MIFOKNIA 
 
 SAN DIEGO
 

 
 A ROMANCE 
 
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 or 
 
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 f v ^,r>- ^ 
 
 C^^>W^<. A-- ^--5 /. 
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 
 
 BY 
 
 EUGENE BATCHELDER. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 JAMES FRENCH & COMPANY. 
 
 GALESBURG, ILL.: 
 HASTINGS AND FKENCH. 
 
 1857.
 
 Entered according to Art of Congress, in the year 1857, by 
 
 EUGENE BATCHELDER, 
 In the Clerk s Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 
 
 Stereotyped bj 
 
 HOBART i BOBBINS, 
 
 New England Tjpe ami Stereotype Fooodery,
 
 IS VERY RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 
 TO 
 
 WILLIAM EDGAR, ESQ., 
 
 AND THE GENTLEMEN OF 
 
 THE NEW YORK YACHT SQUADRON.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 " I fear these stubborn lines lack power to move ;" 
 
 Love s Labor s Lost, Act IV., Scene 3. 
 
 I. 
 
 IN serpentine mazes this story will stray, 
 To scare you by night, and alarm you by day ; 
 If you read it at eve, when the bat slowly flits, 
 It may possibly frighten you out of your wits, 
 And, unless you ve strong nerves, just throw 
 
 down the book, 
 And never once dare in its pages to look. 
 
 I promise you here, and I give you my word, 
 That though some of the scenes may seem vastly 
 
 absurd, 
 And you smile, but perhaps in the midst of 
 
 your grin,
 
 6 PREFACE. 
 
 If you re fishing, his snakeship will just take 
 
 you in ; 
 
 Or perchance, sitting safe on a sea-beaten rock, 
 And of such beasts as Sea-Serpents making a 
 
 moc"k, 
 
 And telling the ladies who sit by your side 
 That o er the blue waves you have sailed far and 
 
 wide, 
 
 Full many strange eights in the ocean have seen, 
 "But Sea-Serpents, bless me ! I m not quite 
 
 so green ! 
 
 Pontoppidan, 1 skippers, may say what they please ; 
 When they prove it, I 11 own that the moon is green 
 
 cheese," 
 
 Then just starting up from that wave rolling in, 
 You see first the back and then a great fin. 
 horror of horrors ! with red glaring eyes, 
 His head and some yards of his body will rise, 
 And seize you, and shake you, his fangs taste your 
 
 gore, 
 
 While you shriek, and the aid of the ladies im 
 plore, 
 
 And convulsively grasp at the rocks and the shore ; 
 But he s got you ; with joy he is wagging his tail ; 
 He holds you aloft : the ladies, all pale,
 
 PREFACE. 7 
 
 Are fainting and screaming, and tearing their hair ; 
 Your sister sits mute in an utter despair ; 
 Pair Fanny is lying quite cold on the rock, 
 And Mary, so sudden and dreadful the shock, 
 Has gone off in hysterics, while Alice the gay, 
 Half frightened to death, is running away. 
 
 II. 
 
 A moment, he s gone ! Deep, deep neath the 
 
 wave, 
 
 He will dine on you safe in his pearl-spangled cave, 
 While the lady you loved, and who sat by your side, 
 Has plunged from the rock and sunk neath the tide. 
 
 I told you, dear reader, how shocking t would be, 
 But that s nothing to what you will by and by see. 
 I don t like to be horrid, but, somehow or other, 
 I m convinced that this serpent is more than half- 
 brother 
 
 To a person whom I for the world would not men 
 tion, 
 
 Though I own in the last line that was my inten 
 tion; 
 
 Yet perhaps he is not, but still I believe 
 That the serpent who humbugged our good mother 
 Eve
 
 8 PREFACE. 
 
 Was at least second-cousin to this one, and he, 
 I fear, was n t much better than such beasts should 
 be. 
 
 in. 
 
 If you dare to go down to the beach all alone, 
 The ladies will tell what a hero you ve grown ; 
 Or if for a swim after tea you incline, 
 When the moon on the waves makes swimming 
 
 divine, 
 You will think how often I ve thought so 
 
 before ! 
 "If his Snakeship should come, why, my last 
 
 swim is o er; " 
 
 And though I can t prove it, I haven t a doubt 
 That some of those men who so boldly strike out 
 In the surf, and who never come up from the 
 
 waves, 
 
 Find something more fearful than watery graves. 
 However, the story that I m going to tell you 
 Is one that the bookstores won t soon again sell 
 
 you. 
 
 T will be funny and horrid, and horrid and funny, 
 And you 11 laughingly own that the worth of your 
 
 money
 
 PREFACE. 9 
 
 You ve had, for t will teach you this lesson, to 
 
 take 
 At the sea-side great care lest you re caught by 
 
 the snake ! 2 
 
 IV. 
 
 To the merchant, the sailor, and every one who 
 
 Goes down on the deep, or has business to do 
 
 Upon the great waters, to these let me say, 
 
 I think it quite likely the serpent in play 
 
 Has sunk many a ship on the wide heaving main, 
 
 And eat up the crew for fear they d explain 
 
 To the owners how twas, how it all came to 
 
 happen, 
 So he swallowed the Cook, and topped off with 
 
 the " Cap en." 
 
 Sometimes I believe, and sometimes I doubt, 
 If there is such a beast as I m writing about ; 
 Yet this I will leave to your own common sense, 
 For you are safe on this question to be on the 
 fence.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CANTO I . 
 
 PAGB 
 
 The Yacht Hope off Nahant, on her return from Newport, . 13 
 
 CANTO II . 
 
 The Visit to the Nahant Hotel, under peculiar Circum 
 stances. Bathing, Bowling, Billiards, interrupted. 
 Fight with a Whale 38 
 
 CANTO III. 
 
 The Lieutenant relates his Adventures in the North Sea. 
 A Sudden Surprise, 66
 
 12 CONTEXTS. 
 
 CANTO IV. 
 
 A Dinner Party. The Hope in Pursuit. Life at New 
 port. Life at Cambridge. The Frightened Proctor. 
 
 An Attack by the Students, 77 
 
 CANTO V. 
 
 Fancy Ball at Newport. New Costume. Picnic at 
 Gloucester. Great Excitement. Unexpected Guest. 
 
 Grand Fight on Land and Water, 104 
 
 NOTES, 141 
 
 REMARKS, 149 
 
 LETTERS AXD FACTS, 173
 
 CANTO I. 
 
 "The Ocean scarce spoke louder with his swell, 
 Than breathes his mimic murinurer in the shell." 
 
 BYUON, The Island, Canto II. 
 
 " Strange things come up to look at us, 
 The masters of the deep." 
 
 SONG, The Return of the Admiral. 
 
 Dm ce Ctmcn fceeb jeg e? nogen 33effecb, 
 3eg tjauer bam albrig meb Dgnene feeb, 
 Segterer e$ feller ben 2lere ; 
 
 ftienber jeg maufe, fern mt g l>ase fogt, 
 Prb jeg eg gtoer fanofaerbelig Wagt, 
 u maa ret forfacrbelig saere. 3. 
 
 PETER DASS S Description of Norland, A. D. 1749. 
 
 I. 
 
 THE stars on the tranquil sea are beaming ; 
 Each brilliant seems set in the depths 
 
 below, 
 
 As you lean o er the taffrail, idly dreaming 
 That the firmament shines where the bil 
 lows glow. 
 2
 
 14 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 n. 
 
 So silent the night, so calm, so fair, 
 
 So easy the yacht through the ocean 
 
 swung, 
 That you seemed to be sailing the seas of air, 
 
 In a patent balloon from a comet flung. 
 Four figures, enjoying their mild cigars, 
 
 On the quarter-deck in silence sat, 
 Too much engaged in watching the stars, 
 
 To care for a bit of pleasant chat. 
 The smoke that the idle smokers blew 
 
 Lazily round them slowly rolled, 
 Or, lingering, tinged with cerulean hue 
 
 The swinging mainsail s drooping fold. 
 Near them, a little abaft the hatch, 
 
 A group of ladies motionless lean 
 O er her painted sides, the stars to watch, 
 
 Perfectly charmed by the stilly scene. 
 "White was her deck, snow-white her sails, 
 
 That idly swung with the heaving swell, 
 Fitted to catch the summer gales, 
 
 Or the wind of the winter night repel ;
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 15 
 
 Beauteous the curve of her arrowy prow, 
 Which oft has danced through the seeth 
 ing foam, 
 
 Where the figure of Hope like a look-out now 
 Seemed watching the light that told of 
 home. 
 
 m. 
 
 Light were her spars, yet not too light 
 
 For the snowy cloud she sometimes spread, 
 When, swift as the soaring sea-bird s flight, 
 
 Away ! away ! from the fleet she fled. 
 Swift, swift, must the rapid yacht be, 
 That can catch the Hope, the Queen of the 
 
 Sea! 
 The trim-looking tar who stood at the wheel, 
 
 Watching the pennant which idly hung, 
 The spell of the twilight hour could feel, 
 
 And forgot the strain that he sometimes 
 
 sung. 
 Forward, the men a dashing set 
 
 On the heel of the bowsprit half reclined,
 
 16 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 Wishing a breeze would the ocean fret, 
 Yet still to their lot seemed half resigned. 
 
 They were off Nahant, and far away 
 As your eye could stretch, or the sailors 
 see, 
 
 The waters of our glorious bay 
 Held many a tall ship lazily ; 
 
 Ship, and boat, and schooner, and all, 
 
 Lazily rise, and lazily fall, 
 
 As slowly, gracefully, roll on roll, 
 
 The ocean heaves fron^pole to pole. 
 
 IV. 
 
 But see ! through the waves what cometh 
 
 here, 
 With its smoke, and flame, and glittering 
 
 light, 
 
 Like a demon burst loose from another sphere, 
 To career till morn through the shades of 
 
 night ? 
 
 On, on, like a king it walks the waves ! 
 See how its glare illumes the sky !
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 17 
 
 Neptune and all his hosts are slaves. 
 
 When the glorious steamer dashes by ! 
 Lightly, and brightly, on she speeds, 
 
 By the yacht becalmed, and the tall ship, 
 
 ah! 
 Little the calm or gale she heeds, 
 
 Away she shoots like a shooting star ! 
 This broke the spell. Enchanted they woke 
 
 From the slumberous stillness the hour 
 
 threw 
 Around them. Yet first the ladies spoke, 
 
 But that, you know, is nothing new. 
 
 v. 
 
 " This is the hour I truly love," 
 
 Said a musical voice in accents low ; 
 
 " So calm below, so clear above, 
 
 While the waves like burnished mirrors 
 glow ! 
 
 For 0, how still is the summer sea, 
 
 When the stars shine out and the sunset 
 
 fades, 
 
 2*
 
 18 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 Giving place, with its gorgeous drapery, 
 To the silver moon and the evening 
 
 shades ! " 
 " Ah, true, Miss Percy ! this charms you, 
 
 then?" 
 Said Hunt, as he stepped to the maiden s 
 
 side, 
 And tossed the cigar, that he smoked with 
 
 the men, 
 
 Into the gently heaving tide. 
 " Perchance for your sake I might bear 
 
 The sluggish calm, and the silent seas, 
 But 0, I had much rather dare 
 
 The mountain wave and the ringing 
 
 breeze ! 
 There s far more danger lingering here, 
 
 Than when, close-reefed, we are lying to ; 
 But, ladies, I would not cause a fear, 
 
 So, Forbes, we will have a song from you." 
 Dick Forbes could sing, and you may be sure 
 At Newport, where they for weeks had 
 been,
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 19 
 
 His light guitar and his songs from Moore 
 Had delighted the ladies and teased the 
 
 men. 
 
 With a nonchalant air his guitar he strung, 
 And this was the song that Dick Forbes 
 sung : 
 
 SONG.* 
 
 i. 
 When twilight dews are falling soft 
 
 Upon the rosy sea, 
 I watch the star whose beam so oft 
 
 Has lighted me to thee ; 
 And thou, too, on that orb so clear, 
 
 Ah ! dost thou gaze at even, 
 And think, though lost forever here, 
 
 Thou ; lt jet be mine in heaven? 
 
 n. 
 There s not a garden walk I tread, 
 
 There s not a flower I see, 
 But brings to mind some hope that s fled. 
 
 Some joy I ve lost with thee ; 
 
 * I3y Moore.
 
 20 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 And still I wish that hour was near, 
 When, friends and foes forgiven, 
 
 The pains, the ills, we ve wept through here, 
 May turn to smiles in heaven ! 
 
 0, soothing and sweet is the sounding strain 
 
 That Moore has wed to immortal verse ! 
 For songs so good we shall look in vain, 
 
 Although we are often bored with worse. 
 The song was o er. A strain arose 
 
 From the deck of a schooner floating near. 
 So still that hour of calm repose, 
 
 Each word sank deep on the listener s ear, 
 And, mingling with the manly tone, 
 
 A maiden s voice was gently heard : 
 Upfloating to their Father s throne, 
 
 This soft petition was preferred. 
 
 i. 
 Day unto day doth utter speech, 
 
 And night to night Thy voice makes known ; 
 Through all the earth, where thought may reach, 
 
 Is heard the glad and solemn tone,
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 21 
 
 And worlds, beyond the farthest star 
 
 Whose light hath reached the human eye, 
 
 Catch the high anthem from afar, 
 That rolls along immensity. 
 
 II. 
 holy Father, mid the calm 
 
 And stillness of the evening hour, 
 We, too, would lift our solemn psalm 
 
 To praise thy goodness and thy power ; 
 For over us, as over all, 
 
 Thy tender mercies still extend, 
 Nor vainly shall the contrite call 
 
 On thee, their Father and their Friend.* 
 
 Dick Forbes could sing nothing so good as 
 
 that, 
 
 So he tuned his guitar with a careless air, 
 And, sighing, declared the B string flat, 
 And wondered what inaid in the schooner 
 
 there, 
 
 Possessed such voice, such feeling and skill, 
 And who in the world the man was who 
 
 * "A Psalin of Night." W. II. Burleigh.
 
 22 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 Sang with the maid and kept time so ill ; 
 He was sure he could teach him a thing 
 
 or two. 
 "That s malice prepense," cried the gay 
 
 Miss Wood ; 
 
 " I never heard better time or tone ; 
 Excuse me, but pray, sir, be so good, 
 Ere you criticize others, to mend your 
 
 own." 
 
 Miss Wood was one of those fairies who can 
 Say whatever they choose in a certain 
 
 way; 
 When you gaze on her face, you are more 
 
 than man, 
 
 If you dare to dispute her magic sway. 
 Forbes felt all this, so he didn t speak, 
 
 For he knew in a minute again she d turn 
 And ask him to come some day next week, 
 That difficult passage in " Norma" to learn. 
 So he whistled an air, and tuned a string, 
 As Miss Wood approached and demanded 
 when
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 23 
 
 He was coming that little song to bring, 
 That he wrote for her in the woodland 
 
 glen. 
 " You would n t care if you heard it ? " 
 
 IS T o, 
 
 Do sing it." " Yes, some time, not to 
 night, 
 For I rather think I must go below ; 
 
 I ve a cold." " Well, really it must 
 
 be slight, 
 For you never before sung half so well 
 
 As you did just now in Twilight Dews. 
 You know, Miss Prince, and you, Miss Bell, 
 How well he sung, now don t refuse." 
 " But pray, Miss Wood, say how can I, 
 
 Who keep, as you say, such poor time, 
 To dare to please you even try, 
 
 For now you 11 scold both tune and 
 
 rhyme ? 
 
 Ah ! here s my sister ; she will do 
 Better than I should think of doing.
 
 24 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 I feel, like indigo, somewhat blue, 
 
 But Sue will sing without much suing." 
 Sue Forbes ! can pen and ink reveal 
 
 The lovely shapes that haunt the earth, 
 And through our morning visions steal, 
 
 With smiles of love and eyes of mirth ? 
 Can you picture the forms on the canvas 
 spread 
 
 At the International Rooms of Art, 
 Or draw figures with ink, either black or red, 
 
 That like these seem ready to speak or 
 
 start 
 
 From their gilded frames, and ask you to 
 take 
 
 A ticket in one of the raffles there, 
 Or tell you Miranda would blush to wake, 
 
 And find her bosom so cold and bare ? 
 Can you take the dome of the State House 
 down, 
 
 And wash it clean in the Fountain pond ; 
 Bring Bunker Hill Monument into town, 
 
 Or a comet secure from the eyes of Bond ?
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 25 
 
 Can you tell how many men there are 
 
 Go out of town ere the first of May, 
 Or why they had much rather by far 
 
 Their tax in the country than city pay ? 
 In short, can you tell why the old South End 
 
 Has gone up town two miles or so ? 
 Or how far Boston would extend, 
 
 Provided you d give it room to grow ? 
 Or when the new balloon will start, 
 
 That s bound for San Francisco s Bay, 
 Or when any true and noble heart 
 
 Will cease to honor Harry Clay ? 
 When you tell me this, to you I 11 tell 
 
 Some other things that are strange and 
 
 true, 
 But at present just imagine how well 
 
 Sue Forbes * would have sung this song 
 to you. 
 
 * " I cannot describe her, but wait for a while, 
 
 Till you find one face most fair ; 
 When that loved one s moments you strive to beguile, 
 And gaze on her features in hopes of a smile, 
 
 Imagine Sue Forbes is there " 
 
 8
 
 26 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 I. 
 There is no rest. The sky above us beaming 
 
 Sees angry storm-clouds scud athwart its face, 
 Old earth whirls on, with countless millions teem 
 ing, 
 
 Each jostling forward in the busy race. 
 There is no rest. Each past remembrance throng 
 ing, 
 
 Calls from our memory s chamber secret sighs, 
 While the dim future, with its heartfelt longing, 
 Seems crowded thick with awful mysteries. 
 
 II. 
 
 There is no rest. Our souls are but beginning 
 
 The lengthening race that they have here to run ; 
 Eternity s the earthly goal we re winning ; 
 
 Death is not rest, for life with death is won. 
 There is no rest. Forgetful and forgetting 
 
 That soul must be, that thinks to find it here. 
 Why e er regret what is beyond regretting, 
 
 That the true rest is in another sphere ? 
 
 Miss Wood and Miss Bell demanded again 
 That Forbes the promised song should 
 sing.
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 27 
 
 So Dick, who in truth was somewhat vain 
 And good-natured, swept each sounding 
 
 string ; 
 Then, humming a moment, he caught the 
 
 air, 
 And sang this song to the ladies there : 
 
 SONG. 
 
 I. 
 
 
 
 Give me the girl with courage strong 
 
 To curb the restive steed, 
 To cheer my heart with thrilling song, 
 
 When I of rest have need. 
 To care for me for something more 
 
 Than idle friends may know, 
 And love me better than before, 
 
 Should streams of sorrow flow. 
 
 IT. 
 And, ah ! should I this treasure find, 
 
 From selfish passions free, 
 A girl of frank, ingenuous mind, 
 
 Then what ought I to be ?
 
 28 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 I d be, 0, never doubt my word, 
 
 Could I my love discover 
 By billet-doux or carrier-bird, 
 
 I d be that maiden s lover. 
 
 " You whispered of danger even here," 
 Said Miss Percy, when the song was 
 
 done ; 
 
 " But what have I in this world to fear, 
 When so near the heart of my dearest 
 
 one? 
 Beside, dear Hunt, at the sunset hour, 
 
 I breathed a prayer to the God of all, 
 Who rules the world, that his eye of 
 
 power, 
 
 Which seeth even the sparrow s fall, 
 Would look with mercy on us to-night, 
 
 And save us safe from storm and harm. 
 I almost deemed, when the clouds grew 
 
 bright, 
 
 And the rainbow came, that this silent 
 calm
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 29 
 
 Was perhaps an answer to the prayer 
 That I in faith had breathed to Heaven ; 
 
 For I seemed to hear through the silent air 
 A spirit whisper, Your wish is giv 
 en! " 
 
 VI. 
 
 " Ah, Mary, long I ve known thy power; 
 
 Thy gentle heart can mine subdue ; 
 I own I thought, in the battle hour, 
 
 That perhaps I owed my life to you ; 
 For when, beneath San Juan s walls, 
 
 The shot and shells full thickly flew, 
 Too well my glancing mind recalls 
 
 How through the fight I thought of yon, 
 And you for me, fair lady mine, 
 
 Unknowing still my danger, here 
 Were bending humbly at the shrine, 
 
 Where, but for thee, perchance my bier 
 Had rested, but thy faith prevailed. 
 
 You know the rest. But who can know 
 What guards the sailor, when, unmailed, 
 3*
 
 60 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 He bares his bosom to the foe ? 
 In love s unwritten history 
 
 There is a sympathetic chain, 
 Links formed and forged in mystery, 
 
 That maids nor poets can explain. 
 
 VII. 
 
 I know your power, but cannot think 
 
 That even the winds and waves obey ; 
 Though t is said that the king of beasts 
 will shrink, 
 
 And turn from the path of a maid away ; 
 T is a fancy wild. But He who spread 
 
 The waters of the glorious sea 
 Has stilled them, you have often read 
 
 The miracle of Galilee. 
 T is true I spoke of danger near ; 
 
 I was thinking of stories strange and old, 
 That well might blanch the cheek with 
 fear, 
 
 By the ancient Skalds to the Vikings 
 told.
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 31 
 
 High up among the northern seas, 
 
 Where glittering icebergs coldly shine, 
 Their bards sang sagas wild like these, 
 
 While bearded sea-kings quaffed their 
 
 wine. 
 1 love right well their Runic lore, 
 
 And often in my boyhood s days 
 llave gathered from its ample store 
 
 Of mystic rites and stirring lays, 
 Wild legends of those stormy seas ; 
 
 Traditions strange, that stranger men, 
 Borne thither by the tide and breeze, 
 
 Have told, which then were told again 
 Unto their children, until years 
 
 Had made them seem almost divine, 
 Till e en a nation s hopes and fears 
 
 Bent humbly at tradition s shrine." 
 
 * But why to-night, dear Hunt, should you, 
 When all around is calm and still, 
 
 Look bluer than the ocean s blue, 
 Or feel this sense of coming ill ?
 
 32 A ROMANCE OP 
 
 VIII. 
 
 "Ah, Mary, have you never heard 
 
 Of a monster vast in the northern seas, 
 Who lives below when the waves are 
 
 stirred 
 By the dashing storm, or the ringing 
 
 breeze, 
 But, in the calm, when the storm is 
 
 done, 
 And the waves are still on the summer 
 
 sea, 
 Comes up to bask in the noontide sun, 
 
 And play on the tranquil ocean free ? 
 So monstrous his size, and so vast his 
 
 length, 
 
 Vessels and boats are naught to him ; 
 He laughs at the ship and her boasted 
 
 strength ; 
 He is king of the sea ; the fishes that 
 
 swim, 
 
 When they meet him, are frightened half 
 to death ;
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 33 
 
 He drives them before him in mighty 
 
 shoals ; 
 
 They flee till they re fairly out of breath. 
 When they see his eyes that blaze like 
 
 coals, 
 They wish for the shore, or the fisherman s 
 
 hook, 
 
 Or anything else they dreaded before, 
 And cast at the serpent a piteous look, 
 That might touch the heart of Agassiz. 
 
 But he 
 Only takes, from a school of a thousand 
 
 fishes, 
 For the school at Cambridge some two 
 
 or three, 
 And preserves them safe in fine glass 
 
 dishes. 
 Some day next week, if you please, 
 
 we 11 go 
 To Cambridge, where I have sometimes 
 
 been, 
 And see those fishes set in a row
 
 34 A ROMANCE OP 
 
 And converse with those grave and learned 
 men, 
 
 Who wield so well the glittering steel, 
 Chase savage foes from gloomy dens, 
 
 And make the world most truly feel 
 The might, the power of good steel pens ! 
 
 IX. 
 
 " Not so with the serpent. He eats up 
 Some twenty-five dozen of sharks for 
 
 dinner, 
 And after that on a man would sup, 
 
 Or seize a boat and the crew that s in 
 
 her; 
 He scares the dolphin, and frights the 
 
 whale ; 
 The sword-fish flees when he sees him 
 
 coming ; 
 The brave sea-lion himself turns pale, 
 
 And feels a fear that s quite benumbing. 
 All the huge creatures that swim in the 
 sea
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 35 
 
 Had rather by half keep out of his way. 
 In vain the small fry madly flee ; 
 
 He makes of them an easy prey. 
 Ah, Mary, I saw him once, when I 
 
 Made to the north that fearful trip, 
 I m glad you were not with me." " Why, 
 What nonsense you re talking ! " said 
 
 Captain Skip, 
 Who was walking the deck near where 
 
 they stood, 
 
 And happened some words to overhear 
 About the serpent, and what he could 
 
 Do in the way of inspiring fear. 
 Captain Skip was one of those bluff sort 
 
 of men 
 
 W 7 ho always say what they have to say. 
 Hunt felt t was no use to be angry then, 
 For he knew it was only the captain s 
 
 way. 
 "I know," says the captain, "they tell 
 
 strange tales 
 Of serpents vast in the briny deep,
 
 36 A ROMANCE OP 
 
 As long, perhaps, as two or three whales ; 
 
 If it s true, they must at the bottom 
 
 keep, 
 And only come up, say once in a while, 
 
 To see what s going on above. 
 It s enough to make a lobster smile, 
 
 To hear you telling the maid you love 
 There is any kind of danger here 
 
 From any such fabulous fish as this ; 
 I ve sailed the sea for many a year, 
 
 And never saw one. Nor do I wish 
 To see one ; for if such things be, 
 They are dangerous beasts most cer 
 tainly." 
 
 x. 
 
 "Well, captain," cried Hunt, "I was 
 
 going to tell 
 
 A little story of danger and fear, 
 Of what once some old North-traders 
 
 befell ; 
 I heard it when I was there in the year
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 37 
 
 Eighteen hundred and thirty-seven, 
 
 And I tell you the tale as t was told to 
 
 me. 
 T was sworn to by witnesses ten or eleven, 
 
 All men of undoubted veracity." 
 All on deck approached to hear 
 
 The tale which Hunt began to relate ; 
 Some of the crew stood respectfully near, 
 For they d anchored there at the hour 
 
 of eight ; 
 The sails were furled, for the trip was 
 
 through, 
 
 So of course the men had nothing to do. 
 But here, gentle reader, I 11 throw down 
 
 my pen ; 
 When I ve leisure, perhaps I 11 write 
 
 again, 
 
 That is, provided you care to read 
 A story written at railway speed. 
 4
 
 CANTO II. 
 
 " They continued to row on, till at length Eymer told Thor if they did 
 not stop, they would be in danger from the great serpent of Midgard. 
 " * * * * It is impossible to express the dreadful looks that the god darted 
 at the serpent, while the monster, raising his head, spouted out yenoin 
 upon him." 
 
 The Edda, XXVII. Fable. [The journey undertaken by Thor, to go to 
 fish for the great serpent.] 
 
 I. 
 
 BUT e er the Lieutenant tells his story, 
 
 I 11 tell you something he did n t know ; 
 That two men, that day, in a little dory, 
 
 Had seen the serpent swim to and fro, 
 Between Nahant and the beach at Lynn, 
 
 While two hundred men on the shore, at 
 
 least, 
 Were ready at any court to go in, 
 
 And swear that they had seen the beast. 
 Quite an exciting scene took place, 
 
 So I am told by those who saw it ;
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 39 
 
 Old and young in boats gave chase, 
 
 For a great reward had been offered for it. 
 
 " Out with the boats ! hurrah for the snake ! 
 
 Look ! look ! o er the sea his head he s 
 
 raising. 
 Whoever gets him his fortune will make, 
 
 And a blaze of glory he 11 end his days in. 
 Out with the boats ! it s something like 
 
 fishing, 
 
 To fish for a fish six hundred feet long ! 
 While some on the shore most devoutly were 
 
 wishing 
 
 That they had Thor s bait and his fish- 
 line strong, 
 With which he nearly caught the snake 
 
 Over two thousand years ago, 
 When Eymer thought it best to take 
 
 Care of his boat, with a single blow 
 He cut the line, and let him go. 4 
 
 Pull, my hearties, you in the boat 
 Where the bow-man poises the bright har 
 poon !
 
 40 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 Every man there, with his heart in his 
 
 throat, 
 
 Hopes to see fun with the serpent soon. 
 (Those men were Nantucket whalemen 
 
 old, 
 
 Who had sailed the sea both far and near, 
 And oft to their friends in Lynn had told 
 "What they d do if the serpent came that 
 
 year.) 
 Like lightning the steel from his sure 
 
 hand glances, 
 They ve struck him, three cheers for 
 
 those valiant men ! 
 See where the boat like a cockle-shell 
 
 dances 
 In the wake of the monster, as down to his 
 
 den 
 
 He rushes as fast as an arrow can fly 
 When sped from the string of a trusty 
 
 bow; 
 
 As swift as the eagle mounts the sky, 
 He plunges down to the depths below !
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 41 
 
 Every man, with his hair on end, 
 Held on to his oar in mute despair, 
 
 Thought of his mother, and some pre 
 tend 
 
 Each had to hold on to his neighbor s hair. 
 So fast the serpent flew through the 
 
 waves, 
 
 Though calm, it seemed to blow hard now; 
 Look out, my hearties, for watery graves, 
 If with his tail he staves your prow ! 
 
 Some in the boat were saying their 
 
 prayers, 
 
 Some were too much frightened to pray ; 
 While others thought they d sell him in 
 
 shares, 
 When they got him up to Boston Bay. 
 
 A Boston merchant, safe on the beach, 
 Was thinking how much he d bring on 
 
 " Change ; " 
 His daughter lost all power of speech 
 
 At a sight so most terrifically strange. 
 4*
 
 4:2 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 On flew the boat ; up caine the snake ; 
 But only a moment he stays above, 
 
 Just to see which course he d take, 
 And to give them a touching proof of love. 
 
 Away he shoots for the great hotel. 
 Blinded with rage, he does not see ; 
 
 Or, if he does, he knows right well 
 That all Nahant would certainly flee. 
 
 Should they see him coining right 
 
 ashore, 
 Every one there would run away ; 
 
 For, though he had often been there of 
 
 yore, 
 Lately he s -rather preferred to stray 
 
 On the less frequented shores of Maine. 
 Nor is it at all surprising he should ; 
 
 But it s rather droll to hear farmers 
 
 complain, 
 That, merely to cheer his solitude, 
 
 He knocks down their walls and rolls in 
 their grain ! 5
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 43 
 
 II. 
 
 On fled the snake, and swiftly flew 
 
 The boat behind through the dashing foam ; 
 There never was a more frightened crew ; 
 All of them wished themselves safe at 
 
 home. 
 One old sailor, Richard Rough, 
 
 Sung out " Avast there ! cut the line ! 
 Chasing whales is fun enough, 
 
 And catching serpents may be fine 
 Sport for those who like it ; but I 
 
 Am inclined to think, by his strength 
 
 and fuss, 
 
 That he does n t seem inclined to die ; 
 And though sport to him, t will be death 
 
 to us." 
 On fled the snake ; Solomon Soils 
 
 Looked over his shoulder, and said to 
 
 Brown, 
 " What would Kimball pay for one of those 
 
 coils 
 For his Museum up in Bostiny town ? "
 
 44 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 " Pooh ! Kimball ? he does n t want the 
 
 snake ; 
 
 He has one now, but it s stored away, 
 And it s only waiting its turn to take, 
 After the mermaid has had its day ; 
 
 But Barnum " "Cut the line!" 
 
 cried Rough, 
 
 Again ; "I say there ! cut the line ! " 
 But the man in the bow was of sterner 
 
 stuff, 
 And he meant to hold on till the sun s 
 
 decline. 
 Rough rushed to the bow, with his knife in 
 
 his hand, 
 " I 11 cut it! " he cried ; " t is our 
 
 only hope ! " 
 
 But he slipped, just how I don t understand, 
 And fell into the sea ; meanwhile the 
 
 rope 
 
 Held on to the snake, and away they fled, 
 Like a Cunard boat o er the waves of 
 blue,
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 45 
 
 When the serpent turned round and laugh 
 ingly said, 
 " To catch me you re altogether too 
 
 few ! " 
 
 At this a tremendous bound he made, 
 And started off as brisk as a linnet ; 
 To cut the line, too long they d delayed, 
 For the boat was over, and all that were 
 
 in it 
 
 Were lost, save one who held on to the keel ; 
 The snake didn t stop to observe the 
 
 disaster, 
 
 For he felt in his side the painful steel, 
 And so he clawed on for the shore the 
 
 faster. 
 
 At Nahant the ladies in nice blue dresses 
 Were bathing, not far from the cove near 
 
 the house ; 
 
 Just where the ocean the shore caresses, 
 The belles have come down their tresses 
 to souse.
 
 46 A EOMANCE OF 
 
 Softly the summer sun was playing 
 
 Over the calm and waveless sea, 
 Calmer far were those lovers straying 
 
 Under the shaded balcony. 
 Brightly those sherry cobblers glisten, 
 
 The bucks are drinking there at the bar ; 
 And while they drink, to this song they 
 listen, 
 
 Sung by a beau on his " light guitar." 
 
 i. 
 
 If charmed by thy witchery, loitering, I linger 
 Spell-bound, enchanted by beauty and song, 
 While Time, floating swiftly, denotes with his finger 
 That long hours have fled which have not 
 
 seemed long, 
 0, if the wand of the wizard could win me 
 
 Hours and moments that long since are o er, 
 My heart, answering true to the spirit within me, 
 Would ask the past moments passed with thee 
 of yore. 
 
 II. 
 
 Still, when I meet thee, thy lovely face glowing 
 With more than the grace that thy girlhood e er 
 knew.
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 47 
 
 While, from thy lips melodiously flowing, 
 
 I hear the loved song that I first heard from you ; 
 
 Then, revoking the wish I was just now expressing, 
 The wand of the wizard, how idle its powers, 
 
 Compared with the joy I feel in confessing 
 
 That thy song and thy smile have restored the 
 lost hours ! 
 
 Fair was the day, but fairer still 
 
 Those sylph -like forms in the summer 
 
 sea ; 
 Who could dream that aught of ill 
 
 Could mar their hour of revelry ? 
 Lightly they play with the glistening waves, 
 
 Or dive for the pearly pebbles and shells 
 Swept by the winds from ocean s caves. 
 
 But, hark ! do you hear those horrid 
 
 yells ? 
 On came the serpent right for the spot ! 
 
 Like lightning gleamed his glaring eyes. 
 He doubts if the ladies are mermaids or not ; 
 
 The man on the keel, with a wild sur 
 prise,
 
 48 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 Suspects they are, but he does not know ; 
 
 For, ever since the boat upset, 
 He s been tossed above and dragged below. 
 
 However, he shrieks, " Ho, look out 
 
 there ! get 
 Out of the way ! for heaven s sake fly! 
 
 Rush where you can ! if you linger, you 
 
 die!" 
 On came the snake, like a whirlwind blast ; 
 
 Over the waves he fairly leapt ; 
 In the surf a maiden stood aghast, 
 
 Over her quick the monster swept. 
 Heavens ! list to her frantic screams ! 
 
 " Father ! mother ! 0, help me ! 
 
 save ! 
 Albert, Albert ! " Little he deems 
 
 That his lady has met with a watery grave ! 
 Albert stood on a point of rocks ; 
 
 His trusty rifle gleamed in his hand ; 
 (He wore the neatest of hunting-frocks ; ) 
 
 He saw the snake making straight for 
 the land ;
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 49 
 
 And though in truth he was somewhat 
 alarmed, 
 
 Yet he took good aim and blazed away. 
 But the serpent bears a life that s charmed ; 
 
 And though Albert says to this very day 
 That he hit him, yet, ah ! I fear the fact is 
 That Albert was sadly out of practice. 
 
 m. 
 
 A mother was in the bathing-house there ; 
 
 Her little girl is safe by her side ; 
 They hear the shrieks that rend the air, 
 And the canvas door they open wide. 
 Up came the snake over the sand ; 
 
 The bathing-house there was just in his 
 
 course. 
 
 What can the strength of the serpent with 
 stand? 
 
 On he came, with resistless force, 
 Over the house, the mother and child. 
 On, right on, the Saurian sped ; 
 5
 
 50 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 What cared he for their outcries wild ? 
 For the mother and infant crushed and 
 
 dead? 
 On, right on, he scrambled along, 
 
 Up the bank, and over the rocks. 
 The boat held on, for the rope was strong ; 
 The man on the keel got some pretty 
 
 hard knocks, 
 
 As he tumbled off and rolled in the sand, 
 And thanked his stars he was safe on 
 
 land. 
 On flew the snake up to the door 
 
 Of the house where so many had talked 
 
 of him ; 
 
 But who ever thought or dreamed before 
 That he d really come, all cold and 
 
 grim, 
 As then he came crashing along, 
 
 O er the piazza, and into the hall, 
 Into the midst of the jolly throng ? 
 Untasted they let their goblets fall ;
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 51 
 
 Uprose a shriek of horror then ; 
 
 The serpent roared, and hissed, and 
 
 growled, 
 While some beaux and belles, say eight or 
 
 ten, 
 
 Who all the morning had merrily bowled 
 In the alleys, that moment were coming 
 
 in 
 
 At the other door, half wild wiih pleas 
 ure ; 
 Goodness, gracious ! how they spin 
 
 Out of his way ! while beyond all 
 
 measure 
 
 The ladies up stairs comfortably sitting, 
 Reading Longfellow s last new book, 
 Or else a purse for a lover knitting, 
 
 Are frightened ; they run to the window, 
 
 and look 
 To see what s the matter, and, screaming, 
 
 wonder 
 Whether it s fire or whether it s thunder.
 
 52 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 On rushed the snake, and, thundering after, 
 Came the boat with an awful crash, 
 
 That shook the house from cellar to rafter, 
 While boat and serpent together dash 
 
 Off to the left, and over the green 
 
 That lies the hotel and the ocean between. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Just on the slope, with its rough stone walls. 
 Stands the billiard saloon on the brink of 
 
 "the sea. 
 Some beaux from Boston were knocking 
 
 the balls 
 
 About on the boards right merrily ; 
 Little cared they for serpents or snakes ; 
 They were playing merely as gentlemen 
 
 do, 
 
 Not for the sake of winning the stakes, 
 But merely to see how sure and true 
 They could pocket a ball, when, with a 
 
 bound, 
 The serpent as swift as lightning came
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 53 
 
 Through the window, and crushed to the 
 
 ground 
 The men and tables, and stopped their 
 
 game ; 
 But he did n t stop, for out of the other 
 
 Swiftly he fled for the sea again, 
 And the boat, which stuck to him close 
 
 as a brother, 
 
 Came to the window, but there in twain 
 The rope that Rough with his knife would 
 
 have parted 
 Broke, two miles from the place whence he 
 
 started. 
 
 The serpent was gone. Out on the sea 
 They saw him swimming rapidly, 
 Saw him shaking his frightful mane, 
 And daring them to touch him again. 
 A fisherman tells the tale, t is said, 
 That he saw him at sunset, bloody and red, 
 Fighting alone with a massive whale, 
 Which he killed at last with a blow of his 
 tail. 
 
 5*
 
 54 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 Sad the scene and mournful the sight 
 The ladies saw at Nahant that night ; 
 Dead and drowned and wounded men 
 Were found wherever the snake had been. 
 Mournful, mournful ! Albert s heart 
 
 Was broken ; let the tear-drop start ; 
 
 i 
 
 Mourn with him the early doom 
 
 " Of beauty blossoming for the tomb." 
 
 0, how mournfully sound the waves, 
 
 When the truly loved are lost, 
 Murmuring in their hollow caves ! 
 
 When the feelings, tempest tossed, 
 As were Albert s, hopes to hear, 
 From every shell he holds at his ear, 
 Some message from Cora, or else to see 
 Her rise from the waves in her purity ! 
 
 All of Lynn came over to see 
 What had become of Rough and the rest ; 
 
 They heard this story of mystery, 
 And all went home extremely distressed. 
 And the man who owned the boat was very 
 Sad at the loss of the snake and the wherry.
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 55 
 
 Now all of this happened the very day 
 The Boston yacht came into the bay ; 
 Yet those on board the yacht had not heard 
 
 of it, 
 And some of my friends doubt every word 
 
 of it. 
 
 We left the lieutenant about to tell 
 The fearful tale of what befell 
 
 Some Northmen ! 
 A story more strange 
 
 Than the " Castle Otranto ; " * 
 And so we will let him 
 
 Begin the Canto 
 
 * By Horace Walpole.
 
 CANTO III. 
 
 First Naturalist. (After dinner.) " What ! the S-S-She-Sher-pent a-an 
 (hie) Ich(hic)thyosaurus ! Nonshe-ense ! " 
 
 Second Naturalist. " Who said Ich (hie) Ichthy-o-saurus ? I said a 
 (hie) Plesiu(luc)saurus plain enuff." PUSCH. 
 
 I. 
 
 " WELL, ladies," said Hunt, " some North- 
 traders bold, 
 
 Who over the seas in their galleys rolled, 
 Told of the serpent this tale to me, 
 When I was up in the Northern sea. 
 The captain here thinks it very absurd 
 That I should say a single word 
 About him ; but when the captain hears 
 That the serpent has the longest ears, 
 So long, that twenty-five miles, it is said, 
 He can hear, and up from his truckle-bed 
 He hurries as fast as he can swim, 
 To see who it is that talks of him
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WOULD. 57 
 
 (This in parentheses let me say : 
 If any think of fishing to-day, 
 
 I beg that especial care you will take, 
 That none of the party allude to the snake.") 
 " Pooh ! " said the captain ; "the longest 
 
 ears 
 
 Has he who believes, not he who hears." 
 The lieutenant s brow grew suddenly black 
 (You have seen a cloud come over the 
 
 skies) ; 
 
 But the captain was back on the other tack, 
 And, to calm the rage he had kindled, 
 cries, 
 
 II Now, Hunt, forgive me, and, ladies, you 
 Must pardon the word untimely sped ; 
 
 Believe me, till now I never knew 
 
 Such monstrous ears the monster had." 
 Captain Skip was rich ; just such men 
 You may meet on " Change" between two 
 
 and ten, 
 
 And those men often have a way 
 Of saying things they should n t say.
 
 58 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 Miss Wood looked up with her blandest 
 
 smile, 
 
 And begged that Hunt would go on. "Mean 
 while, 
 
 Captain Skip, I join your party, and doubt 
 If there is such a fish as he s talking about." 
 The lieutenant went on ; but little he knew 
 That the serpent was there, and listening too. 
 Under the yacht the serpent lay, 
 
 Thinking that Skip was a horrid old fel 
 low. 
 " I ve done some mischief, it s true, to- 
 
 . day, 
 
 But I d like to know if he s black or 
 yellow." 
 
 " These Northmen, in their dark ribbed 
 
 ship, 
 
 Were sailing up the Northern sea ; 
 It s not considered a pleasant trip, 
 
 If the Maelstrom chance to be under your 
 lee.
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 59 
 
 It was summer time ; but plenty of ice 
 Islands, with pinnacles tall and shattered, 
 
 Like crystal castles of strange device, 
 With bannered towers and battlements 
 battered, 
 
 Looking more like the castles built 
 In the air by your * easy sort of men 
 
 (Beautifully carved and massively gilt), 
 Who are just getting ready to move in, 
 when 
 
 Down they come to the earth again, 
 
 These o er the dark blue sea were scattered, 
 
 Where devils* and foxes howled and chat 
 tered ; 
 
 I ve watched them oft, as I stood in the 
 shrouds, 
 
 Till these crystal castles gleamed like 
 clouds." 
 
 " Faith," said the captain, " I in glad to 
 know 
 
 Where all these magnificent castles go ; 
 
 * See Note 6.
 
 60 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 I thought that from Wall Street they went 
 
 to the moon. 
 
 Well, give us a touch of the serpent soon." 
 " Pray do," said Miss Wood ; " for I long 
 
 to hear 
 
 How he chanced to have that wonderful ear. 
 What a very convenient ear it would be ! 
 I wish his Snakeship would lend it to me. 
 But perhaps he lives in a castle of air, 
 And he needs it when he s flying there." 
 Could Miss Wood and the captain have 
 
 looked through the wave, 
 They d have seen what a grin the Saurian 
 
 gave. 
 But the captain thought 0, how often 
 
 so tis 
 In life ! the serpent beneath his notice. 
 
 n. 
 
 " These islands," said Hunt, " are danger 
 ous things
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 61 
 
 To meet on the wide and desolate wave, 
 When ^Eolus takes off the top of his cave, 
 Setting the raging north wind free, 
 For a week or so of liberty. 
 These Northmen were still like their sires 
 
 of eld ; 
 
 Every sea has their tall ships held ; 
 Their ancestors fought for the bright red 
 
 gold; 
 
 These took it in trade, and bought and sold. 
 Now they were merrily dashing home, 
 With a spanking breeze, through the glit 
 tering foam. 
 Our two ships were alone on the sea, 
 
 But we sailed for a while in company. 
 We were off the coast of Norway then, 
 Some fifty miles from Bergen Bay, 
 And hoped full soon to reach it, when 
 The breeze one morning died away ; 
 So tranquil and calm that summer ocean, 
 You could half forget that the sea has 
 motion. 
 6
 
 62 
 
 There we lay ; the sea seemed dead ; 
 
 This quiet calm reminds me sadly 
 Of what the bold North-trader said 
 
 (He did not tell that story gladly). 
 Their ship was near, so near that we 
 
 Could in the silence faintly hear 
 Their songs of joyous revelry. 
 
 They sang the lagging hours to cheer. 
 0, who that ever sailed the sea, 
 
 And has been becalmed for a week or day, 
 Has not felt a throb of sympathy 
 
 For the stranger sail that near him lay ? 
 
 " T was noon. Our gallant frigate slept, 
 And, save the sound of the light guitar 
 Where the merry middies their revels kept, 
 
 While one sung songs, sung better far 
 By girls he d met at Newport parties 
 (A simple song may tell you ah, 
 How truly ! where that middy s heart is), 
 Naught broke the stillness of that hour, 
 For a calm at sea has a soothing power.
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 63 
 
 Some of us walked the quarter-deck, 
 Some in the cabin were writing, when, 
 
 Before a word or thought could check, 
 Rushing aft came the foremast men. 
 
 Every cheek was pale with fear. 
 Was it mutiny? did they mean to rise 
 
 And seize the ship ? 0, no. See here ! 
 Look quick ! I looked with wild surprise, 
 
 And saw, just over our larboard bow, 
 An awful creature, with horrid head, 
 
 So near, so very near our prow, 
 With eyes that glared so fierce, so red, 
 That I think, Miss Wood, if the captain 
 
 and you 
 
 Had been there, you d have been fright 
 ened too. 6 
 
 " Middies and crew rushed up from below, 
 Every one asking What s the matter? 
 
 They saw the frightful monster. 0, 
 Itow their teeth began to chatter ! 
 
 Storming on deck the captain came ;
 
 64 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 What means this ? what s the trouble 
 
 now? 
 To your stations ! Here those eyes of 
 
 flame, 
 
 Steadily staring over the bow, 
 Caught the captain s. Heavens ! he 
 
 cried, 
 
 And stood for a moment stupefied, 
 Only a moment ; ( Clear away 
 
 The forward guns, and give him a shot ! 
 Doggedly the men obey, 
 
 Though t was very clear they d rather 
 
 not. 
 
 4 Out with a boat ! I would like to know 
 What is it can frighten my sailors so ! 
 
 1 1 went in the boat ; there were men with 
 
 me, 
 Who had roved the earth and sailed the 
 
 feL/tL ----"- 
 
 All fortunes, climes, and shores had seen, 
 Through battle, fire, and shipwreck been,
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 65 
 
 Every desperate chance had braved, 
 Fought for their comrades when enslaved. 
 Old England thought her bloody flag, 
 
 That floated in its pride of place, 
 Might swoop upon our fleets, and drag 
 
 Our men to chains ; the deep disgrace 
 They sought to heap upon us then 
 
 We nobly spurned, as freemen should. 
 0, long shall they remember when 
 
 We on the seas our claims made good ! 
 For frightful wreck and anguished groan 
 Have long on History s page made known 
 
 How Hull s brave sailors stood. 
 We dimmed her gleaming cross in gore, 
 
 And taught her, though an infant yet, 
 That sons of sires who fought of yore 
 
 Had not forgot, but may forget. 
 Forgive me, but that fearful strife 
 Cost me a much-loved father s life ; 
 That war was fairly fought ; and when 
 Peace with its blessings came again, 
 
 0, who but iron men like these, 
 6*
 
 66 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 Who fought, but mourned both friend 
 
 and foe, 
 Could see our banner o er the seas 
 
 Borne freely as the winds that blow, 
 Or calm the warm emotion then 
 
 That burst from patriotic lips, 
 While listening nations wondered when 
 
 They heard the deeds of Yankee ships? 
 Those wars are o er, and never more 
 
 May earth or seas be cursed again 
 With, armies battling on the shore, 
 
 Or navies on the main. 
 Our soil is rich with glittering gold ; 
 
 Fair Glory is an empty dream ; 
 0, then keep bright the links unrolled, 
 
 That stretch where Albion s white cliffs 
 
 gleam ! 
 But if our hearts for glory glow, 
 
 If still we. wish to feed that flame, 
 Study the fields of Mexico, 
 
 Where TAYLOR won a deathless name.
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 67 
 
 " Honor to every patriot s soul, 
 
 Honor to every hero there, 
 Who dared, where battle s fires roll, 
 
 To die, to show what freemen dare ! 
 High honor to the storied brave ! 
 
 High honor to the Chief who led ! 
 But spurn ye, scorn the soulless slave, 
 
 Who dares defame the valiant dead ! 
 
 
 
 But not alone for those should we 
 Pour forth the tide of sympathy. 
 
 Let Beauty s blooming cheek grow dim. 
 For all who dared the desperate fight ; 
 
 But blush, blush deeper still, for him 
 Who dares not deem HIS COUNTRY right. 
 
 Yes, though I deeply war despise, 
 And hate it as a deadly sin, 
 
 The love of country still denies 
 The thought that foes the field should win. 
 
 Too much of this ! that war is past ; 
 0, may it truly be * our last !
 
 DO A ROMANCE OP 
 
 m. 
 11 My men were bold, for they were old ; 
 
 But one turned round and said to Ben, 
 This is a savage beast, I m told ; 
 
 I wish I was on board again. 
 I fought with Perry on the lakes ; 
 But hang me if I fight with snakes ! 
 We reconnoitred him, and he 
 
 Very leisurely eyed us keenly ; 
 He did n t seem disposed to flee, 
 
 But took our visit quite serenely. 
 Just then a boat the Northmen sent, 
 
 And, quickly to our frigate rowing, 
 Begged leave to tell to Captain Bent 
 
 Something that they thought worth his 
 
 knowing. 
 In fact, our captain wanted much 
 
 To ask the Northmen all about him ; 
 He never had believed in such 
 
 A fish, and even felt disposed to doubt him 
 Now, although before his eyes, 
 In glittering coils, the serpent lies.
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 69 
 
 " A signal came for our recall, 
 
 And we obeyed the order gladly ; 
 The Northmen told us they were all 
 
 Surprised to see us act so madly. 
 Are you aware, their captain said, 
 
 * This snake has power to sink or eat 
 
 you ? 
 Our sailors hold him in such dread, 
 
 That I have come here to entreat you 
 That you will let him go his way, 
 Nor stir his anger up to-day ; 7 
 For once, said he, a ship of mine 
 
 "Was sailing with another ship, 
 Not far from here, when eight or nine 
 
 Sea-serpents came, and stopped her trip ; 
 For one of them a savage beast 
 
 Leaped o er between her masts, and sunk 
 
 her ; 
 He was six hundred feet, at least, 
 
 In length, so swore her mate, Joe 
 
 Bunker. 
 
 The ship was lost, and only Joe 
 Escaped these Ormens 8 of the Soe.
 
 70 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 (^The serpent thought, beneath the yacht, 
 Well, that is droll, now, is it not ? 
 Besides, I think it s rather queer 
 That I should hear of it down here. ) 
 
 The mate declared, Had they cast some 
 
 castor 
 
 Out of the vessel into the sea, 
 They would not have met this dire dis 
 aster ; 
 
 For at that these serpents always flee. 9 
 At this the Northmen rose, and went on 
 Deck ; and though Captain Bent was bent 
 
 on 
 
 Giving the creature a shot, I own 
 I am glad he concluded to let him alone. 
 The Northmen left us, and rowed away ; 
 
 And at every stroke their oarsmen gave, 
 As they pulled in fear through the glitter 
 ing spray, 
 
 Aqua vitse and castor they threw in the 
 wave.
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 71 
 
 The men said he streaked off like a light 
 ning-bug ; 
 
 And, a breeze springing up, at six bells 
 next day 
 
 We anchored not far from Bergen Bay." 
 
 The lieutenant s story was over, and those 
 Who heard it prepared for their night s 
 
 repose ; 
 
 For, truth to tell, it was somewhat late, 
 And they, hoped to land in the morning at 
 
 eight. 
 Most of the party went bilow ; 
 
 Nearly all believed Hunt s story, 
 Except the captain and Miss Wood, so 
 The others left them alone in their glory. 
 They quietly sat and talked together, 
 The captain doubting very much whether 
 A sea-serpent ever swam in the sea ; 
 But list to the snake s soliloquy. 
 What a horrid monster that Skip must 
 
 be!
 
 1Z A ROMANCE OF 
 
 He 11 be caught by some of our family ; 
 One by one these doubting men 
 Drop yearly into our gloomy den. 
 Soe, that younger brother of mine, 
 Has done pretty well in the doubting line ; 
 He catches one now every evening at nine, 
 And at dinner he always declares him fine ; 
 He tells me he always feels stronger and 
 
 stouter, 
 
 After eating the most inveterate doubter. 
 To-day, to be sure, I killed quite a lot ; 
 I wonder if they were doubters or not ! 
 I really feel quite hungry ; it s plain 
 It is nearly time to feed again." 
 Just at this moment some wicked elf 
 Prompted the captain to say to Miss 
 
 Wood, 
 
 "I would not believe, if I saw him my 
 self! " 
 
 " Neither would I. It s rather too good 
 That st " Up, with a bound, the ser 
 pent came, 
 Rushing out of the silent sea,
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 73 
 
 His eyes like flashing meteor s flame ! 
 
 " Turn not those lovely eyes on me ! " 
 That was all Miss Wood could scream, 
 
 As he knocked her overboard into the 
 
 ocean, 
 And seized the captain ere he could dream 
 
 What had caused this awful commotion. 
 Into the waves the sailors leap ; 
 
 Into the sea the serpent is leaping ; 
 Some that watch, and some that sleep, 
 
 Never more shall wake from sleeping, 
 
 Never, till the last trump, sweeping 
 Over earth and over sea, 
 Wakes them to immortality. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Hunt was convinced, by the screaming that 
 
 followed, 
 That those who jumped over were instantly 
 
 swallowed. 
 The water flew over the yacht s white 
 
 deck ; 
 
 7
 
 74 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 Her foresail and boom were a perfect 
 
 wreck ; 
 
 Nothing was left for poor Hunt to do 
 But to hunt up the party, and muster the 
 
 crew. 
 Skip, and Miss Wood, and five others, not 
 
 found, 
 Were lost, and, of course, either eaten or 
 
 drowned ; 
 
 One a pert chambermaid, the ladies re 
 gret her, 
 Though they know that in Boston they 11 
 
 soon get a better, 
 When, to their wonder, this pearl beyond 
 
 price 
 
 Crawled out of an ice-bin, eating an ice. 
 Forbes grieved most for the gay Miss 
 
 Wood. 
 
 He loved her well ; her matchless orbs 
 He worshipped ; it was understood 
 
 She would some day be a match for 
 
 Forbes.
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 75 
 
 None on board slept more that night, 
 And, at the earliest dawn of light, 
 They were very glad to finish their jaunt 
 By getting ashore in their boats at Nahant. 
 They found Nahant in great confusion ; 
 
 Some were packing up to go away, 
 Others had come to the conclusion 
 
 That it was quite as safe to stay ; 
 Some were for getting up an expe- 
 
 Dition to go and catch the snake ; 
 Others were in a great perplexi- 
 
 Ty, and hardly knew just what to make 
 Of it. But Forbes, and Hunt, and Albert 
 
 said, 
 
 They d catch the serpent, alive or dead. 
 Hunt took the yacht direct to town, 
 
 Had her repaired, and, with four six- 
 pounders, 
 He hoisted sail again, to go down 
 
 To Nahant but not to fish for floun 
 ders. 
 Albert Prince and Forbes were ready,
 
 76 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 
 
 With a gallant crew from Nahant and 
 
 Lynn, t 
 All stout and true. The wind blew steady. 
 
 But I really can t stop to go in- 
 To particulars, nor to tell you how they 
 
 started, 
 
 How Miss Percy was left nearly broken 
 hearted, 
 
 And how Miss Bell sighed when Dick 
 Forbes departed.
 
 CANTO IV. 
 
 " In the blue depth of the waters, 
 
 Where the wave hath no strife, 
 Where the wind is a stranger, 
 And the Sea Snake hath life." 
 
 " They tell me that these serpents fling themselves in a wide circle round 
 a boat, so that the men are surrounded on all sides ; and that they will 
 sometimes raise up their frightful heads and snap a man out of a boat." 
 
 . PONTOPPIDAH, p. 196, sec. 4. 
 
 " They told me of a Sea-Serpent, or Snake, that lay quoiled up like a 
 cable upon a rock at Cape Ann." 
 
 From An Account of Two Voyages to New England, Anno Dom. 
 1638, by JOHS JOSSELYS, Gent. 
 
 I. 
 
 THERE is a rock in the middle of ocean 
 
 Wild, all desolate, rough, and bare ; 
 Round it the waves, in continual motion, 
 
 Burst on the shaggy sea-weed there. 
 Sometimes the men of our merchant ships, 
 
 Sailing o er the wondrous main, 
 See it, and tell, with frightened lips, 
 
 That on chart and atlas they ve looked 
 in vain 
 
 7*
 
 78 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 To find it ; but many a gallant bark, 
 
 Dashing over the ocean s foam, 
 Has found it, when the skies were dark, 
 And never more was welcomed home. 
 Lonely it stands in the gloomy wave, 
 The tombstone of many a sailor s grave. 
 T is the serpent s throne ; and there he 
 
 sat, 
 
 Looking so savage, so fierce, so grim, 
 That none of his courtiers dared to 
 
 chat; 
 Some were even afraid to look at him. 
 
 Two hundred feet of his monstrous length 
 Were coiled round the rock ; two hundred 
 
 more 
 Stood waving and bright, like a tower 
 
 of strength, 
 
 While he sang this song, with a hiss and a 
 roar. 
 
 SONG. 
 
 I am the Ichthyosaurian old ; 
 
 I lived in the world before the flood ;
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 79 
 
 * 
 I ve caught many a fisherman bold ; 
 
 Our tribe, though few, are of ancient blood. 
 Chick a chi long, chi long chi la la. 
 
 I am king of the heaving sea. 
 
 None dare dispute it ; far and near 
 The fishes all look up to me ; 
 
 I shall reign forever here. 
 
 Chick a chi long, chi long chi la la. 
 
 The devil-fish, 10 his prime minister, then 
 Approached, and humbly begged he d 
 
 step down 
 Into their little private den ; 
 
 He did so, but still, with a fearful frown, 
 He told the wolf-fish, his cook, a beginner, 
 Not to spoil the soup he was cooking for 
 dinner. 
 
 Let us look in at the serpent s den : 
 Grinning skulls of doubting men 
 Were ranged on one side, and on the other 
 Was sitting in state his imperial brother ;
 
 80 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 i 
 
 He had just ground a new-caught doubter 
 to powder, 
 
 And had made from his skull a ladle for 
 chowder. 
 
 Friendly their greeting, a snap and a 
 howl, 
 
 A social hiss and a kindly growl ; 
 
 Both of them laughed, and the devil-fish he 
 
 " Grinned a ghastly smile," from sympathy. 
 
 This den was just beneath the rock, 
 
 Where the huge waves break with a cease 
 less shock. 
 
 One by one the family came, 
 
 With bloody fangs and eyes of flame ; 
 
 However, they seemed quite ready to eat, 
 
 Each took at the table his usual seat. 
 
 They were served by horrid forms, 
 
 Born in darkness and cradled in storms ; 
 
 Monsters, that neath the dark blue waves 
 
 Live and die, in ocean s caves. 
 
 A dog-fish was lying under the table, 
 To eat the crumbs that tumbled there ;
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 81 
 
 The minister wanted to eat him ; he s able 
 To do so, but just at that time didn t 
 
 care 
 
 On etiquette so far to trample, 
 Unless his Highness should set the example. 
 The sharks outside smelt the steam of the 
 
 victuals, 
 They came in the kitchen and looked into 
 
 the kettles ; 
 
 But the serpent howled, and every one 
 Swam off, without getting so much as a 
 
 bone. 
 
 After dinner a school of whales 
 Came in and sung, and beat time with their 
 
 tails. 
 
 Several young kraken. of noble mien, 
 A mile and a quarter long at least, 
 Declared that there they d no more be seen, 
 If the whales were to sing at the close 
 
 of the feast. 
 
 Just at this moment a shout was heard ; 
 Soe was out of the den like a bird,
 
 82 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 And in less than a minute was back to 
 
 say 
 That " some men in a boat are coming this 
 
 way." 
 Now it chanced three days before, 
 
 That a gallant ship was burnt at morn- 
 
 They were a thousand miles from shore, 
 And the flames had given so brief a 
 
 warning, 
 
 That only one boat was saved, and she 
 With women and men (say twenty-three) 
 Was crowded, a wretched company. 
 In fact, they were getting short of provision 
 When they spied this rock ; and fields 
 
 Elysian 
 
 Ne er looked so fair to a poet s view, 
 As that rock to them, in the ocean blue. 
 They steered for the rock, and were coming 
 
 near, 
 When, looking down through the waters 
 
 clear,
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 83 
 
 They saw something swimming under the 
 
 sea, 
 And they wondered much what that fish 
 
 could be ; 
 Just then they saw, what filled them with 
 
 fear, 
 
 Six serpents dash round them in full career ; 
 They felt at the sight " considerably struck 
 
 up;" 
 But shipwrecked people must still keep 
 
 their pluck up. 
 The ladies at once began to cry ; 
 
 Some of the men felt disposed to mourn ; 
 And, had you been there, I doubt if I 
 Or you could have viewed these monsters 
 
 borne 
 
 By the waves about them, or ever believed 
 That men by such sights could be deceived. 
 Five or six sharks came up to see 
 If of any service they could be ; 
 The devil, dog-fish, whales, krakens and all, 
 Forsook for a while the banquet-hall.
 
 84 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 In spiral curve, and glittering ring, 
 
 The snakes their coils round that doomed 
 
 boat fling, 
 
 And almost before you could think or look, 
 One of the crew from the boat they took ; 
 That was our serpent, but Soe, his brother, 
 In a moment more had taken another. 
 The sharks, at this, went half mad with 
 
 glee, 
 
 And splashed about in the heaving sea ; 
 While the whales and the krakens rejoiced 
 
 beyond measure, 
 At whatever afforded their monarch such 
 
 pleasure, 
 And the devil-fish laughed, and looked on 
 
 at his leisure. 
 
 Soe turned to his brother, and wanted to bet 
 That in less than ten minutes he d all of 
 
 them get ; 
 
 And, then, to prove he was good as a better, 
 He came up neath the boat, and just over 
 set her.
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 85 
 
 All in a moment were eaten then. 
 
 So they went down to their banquet again, 
 
 And sat down and ate and drank like men. 
 
 ii. 
 
 They had not sat long, when their monarch 
 
 arose, 
 And said, "I feel the great need of 
 
 healthful diversion, 
 And have therefore decided, if no one 
 
 oppose, 
 To go off for some weeks on a sea-side 
 
 excursion. 
 
 The fact is, I think that the duties of state 
 Have somewhat enfeebled my vigor of 
 
 late. 
 I have therefore concluded to shut up my 
 
 house, 
 To throw off the purple, and put on a 
 
 blouse, 
 And for some weeks at least in the sea-surf 
 
 to souse. 
 8
 
 86 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 If any remain here, why, keep up my 
 
 court ; 
 
 My squids here will make you some excel 
 lent sport. 12 
 I shall start this evening, but hardly 
 
 know 
 
 To which of the beaches I d better go ; 
 Let me see," and here he took from a 
 
 heap 
 Of letters some circulars, nicely printed, 
 
 Sent by those clever men who keep 
 Hotels, in which it was more than hinted 
 That nothing would give them half so 
 
 much pleasure 
 As a visit from him for a month or week, 
 
 And hoped he d come, if he had leisure, 
 Health, strength, and fun at the beach to 
 
 seek. 
 He read them through with a careless 
 
 air, 
 And said, " They always bore me with 
 
 these ; 
 Yet I ve half a mind to go, I declare,
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 87 
 
 And teach them that I am King of the 
 
 Seas, 
 And should go if I chose though I was n t 
 
 invited ; 
 
 Yet I own it s pleasanter not to be slighted. 
 And now let me see, here s a bushel 
 
 or more 
 Notes from Newport, Nahant, and a few 
 
 from Nantasket, 
 Cape May, 12 and the Pool, and all along 
 
 shore ; 
 
 Will no one remove this notable basket ? 
 I shall go ; but as yet I cannot tell 
 
 where. 
 If a sparkling bay woos me, perchance I 
 
 shall linger ; 
 But give me good fishing, good food, and 
 
 good air, 
 And little I 11 care where fashion s gay 
 
 finger 
 
 May point ; for wherever I go or may 
 be,
 
 88 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 I am still the King, the King of the Sea ! 
 Among other notes there is one, I 
 
 observe, 
 For Commencement at Cambridge ; a 
 
 double L. D. 
 They intend to give me, which they 
 
 think I deserve 
 For my knowledge of Ichthyology. 
 
 I start this evening ; but ere I go 
 On this tour, which perhaps may be my last, 
 
 I wish all my subjects here below 
 To hurry and come to my rescue fast, 
 If they chance to hear me give the 
 
 growl 
 
 I always give when I get into danger ; 
 And then you must come with a rush and 
 
 a howl, 
 
 And bring with you every ocean ranger." 
 With this parting injunction his Majesty 
 
 started, 
 
 While his courtiers looked grave when their 
 monarch departed.
 
 w 
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 89 
 
 III. 
 
 Out on the sea, out on the sea, 
 
 The Hope is dashing merrily now, 
 With the harbor of Newport under her lee, 
 And the white spray flying over her 
 
 prow! 
 
 On ! on ! how she parts the seething wave ! 
 On ! on ! how she shoots through the 
 
 heaving tide ! 
 
 On ! on ! 0, what is a sight more brave 
 Than a white-winged bird on the waters 
 
 wide ? 
 Away she has fled, and the glittering 
 
 foam 
 Seems to give her proudly a welcome 
 
 home ; 
 
 Hunt and Forbes with Prince were seen 
 (As near the fort she rounded to, 
 
 And anchored), with dejected mien, 
 To row to land o er the waves of blue. 
 8*
 
 90 A ROMANCE OP 
 
 And had you been in the great saloon 
 Of the Ocean House, where of course 
 
 you ve been, 
 "Where they dance at morning, night, 
 
 and noon, 
 You would not have found them dancing 
 
 then ; 
 0, no, for they crowded round to 
 
 hear 
 
 This very tale that I ve been telling. 
 0, many a bright eye held a tear, 
 While many a breast with sorrow swelling, 
 Mourned for the beauteous, fair, and 
 
 good, 
 The loved, the lost, the gay Miss Wood ! 
 
 However deep our sorrow flows, 
 Perhaps our joy flows deeper ; 
 
 Say, who grieves most for secret woes, 
 The silent or the weeper ? 
 
 They told, besides, that they had been 
 On a cruise to find the cruel snake,
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 91 
 
 And had come to Newport for aid and 
 
 men, 
 
 And hoped that all would a crusade make 
 To catch him. " And so we will ! " 
 
 cried all ; 
 " But wait till after the fancy ball." 
 
 IV. 
 
 There is a class, tis rapidly increasing 
 Within this empire that we proudly 
 
 hold,- 
 
 Who, toiling on, with labor never ceasing, 
 Have won at last in heaps the glittering 
 
 gold ; 
 These go to Newport. There you find 
 
 assembled 
 Bright eyes ; wealth, beauty, genius, 
 
 fashion ; 
 Fair belles, before whose wit some men 
 
 have trembled, 
 
 And sought in vain to soothe love s 
 gentle passion,
 
 92 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 Until at last, by sympathy grown tender, 
 They at the altar mutually surrender. 
 Newport was now in great commotion ; 
 
 Each tide of passion, love, and feeling, 
 Each hope that ruffles life s dull ocean, 
 
 Was there revealed. 0, what reveal^ 
 
 ings 
 Those fifteen chandeliers could make, 
 
 That deck that gorgeous banquet hall, 
 Could you their depositions take 
 
 Of what they heard at last year s ball ! 
 Soft sighs, and softer speeches breathed 
 
 In willing ears beneath that dome, 
 "While gorgeous dress, with diamonds 
 wreathed, 
 
 Outshone the carnival at Rome. 
 And beauty thronged from far and near 
 
 To catch some little gleam of fame, 
 To have it whispered in her ear, 
 
 " My dear Miss A., I see your name 
 Is mentioned in to-day s Gazette ; 
 
 And what is more, most charming beauty,
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 93 
 
 Tis said that you eclipsed your set, 
 
 And won from all especial duty." 
 Brave days ! and bravely looked each 
 guest. 
 
 0, long keep bright this pageant show, 
 Where NORTH and SOUTH, and EAST and 
 WEST, 
 
 From Montreal to Mexico, 
 May meet, but not as sometimes met 
 
 At Washington, they talk and FIGHT 
 O er party schemes, and groan and fret 
 
 To make right wrong, and wrong seem 
 
 right. 
 If folly sometimes thither strays, 
 
 T is lost in fashion s brilliant blaze ; 
 And I have often doubted whether 
 
 This Union, framed with sword and pen, 
 Would have of late years held together, 
 
 Had no such place as Newport been. 
 Well, all was here in great confusion ; 
 
 And beaux and belles and fond mammas
 
 94 A ROMANCE OP 
 
 Had made some matches whose conclusion. 
 
 Was sure, provided dear papa s 
 Consent, and cash, and blessing granted, 
 Should give the bliss for which they panted. 
 The ball would soon take place, and that 
 Of course filled all the morning chat ; 
 The sail, the dance, the dashing ride, 
 Were half forgotten, while with pride 
 Each belle within her own dear room 
 Dons veil and jacket, cap and plume, 
 And doubts, and doubts, and doubts again, 
 About that costume and this train, 
 And wonders if she cannot get 
 Something that s more distingue yet. 
 She who would never " be a nun " 
 Decides that evening to be one, 
 And win that beau, if she can win him, 
 Who has such life and small talk in him. 
 Bohemian girls, and gypsies too, 
 Were every entry dashing through 
 To ask a lady or mamma 
 About this jewel or that star.
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 95 
 
 Down stairs, just then, those veteran 
 smokers 
 
 Forgot to smoke ; 
 While George and Ben, those jolly jokers, 
 
 Forgot to joke, 
 And Congressmen, poor party croakers, 
 
 Forgot to croak. 
 The dear, delightful fancy ball 
 Engaged both young and old and all. 
 In other times Dick Forbes had been 
 
 Within his element ; but now 
 He sat apart, nor cared for men. 
 
 With downcast eyes and gloomy brow 
 He seized his harp, and woke a strain ; 
 
 But not of joy or gladsome mirth 
 He sang, for 0, he felt how vain, 
 
 How fleeting, are the joys of earth ! 
 
 SONG. 
 
 I. 
 
 If all the world were happy, 
 If every one was blest,
 
 96 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 If all were free from misery, 
 
 From trouble and unrest, 
 If the mind were free from sorrow, 
 
 The body free from pain, 
 Death a double pang would borrow ; 
 
 But now, " to die is gain." 
 
 II. 
 If the sunny skies of childhood 
 
 Were to float forever near, 
 If the leaves that deck the wildvvood 
 
 Were never to be sere, 
 If joys in troops descended 
 
 To gild life s barren plain, 
 Who would wish this fair world ended, m 
 
 Or would feel " to die is gain " ? 
 
 Albert Prince caught the sad refrain, 
 Arid he turned to Forbes and gently said, 
 
 " I truly feel to die were gain, 
 Could I follow where my Cora fled ; 
 
 But at present I hope to live, and take 
 
 Before I die that fearful snake." 
 
 Newport never before nor since
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 97 
 
 Held two such sad and gloomy men 
 As Richard Forbes and Albert Prince, 
 
 Nor soon shall see their like again. 
 So let us leave them, and follow the wake, 
 For a moment, of this most horrible snake. 
 
 v. 
 
 Out on the sea, out on the sea, 
 The snake is swimming happy and free ; 
 He s left Cape Ann with every sense bent 
 On reaching Cambridge by Commencement. 
 He shoots along, while every wave 
 Its phosphorescent brightness gave ; 
 And now old Boston s outer light 
 Gleamed on his eye serenely bright. 
 He passed the forts, and left the bay ; 
 Up by Long Wharf he held his way, 
 Gained the mouth of our own Charles River, 
 Saw the lights of East Cambridge quiver ; 
 The pedestrians on the bridge all shiver, 
 And wonder what t is that splashes the 
 water, 
 
 9
 
 98 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 While the serpent swims on, with his mind 
 
 bent on slaughter. 
 Next he came where, o er the tide, 
 West Boston Bridge throws its arches wide, 
 And there he paused a moment to wonder 
 Whether he d better go over or under. 
 Two Sophs just then were driving out, 
 With echoing song and ringing shout, 
 Each passer-by in choice Greek hailing, 
 When at the moment o er the railing 
 The serpent stuck his awful mug ; he 
 Startled the horses, they turned the buggy 
 Over, and left each frightened student 
 Wondering what could be imprudent 
 Enough to stop them on that highway, 
 And mourning much that they d have to 
 
 pay 
 
 For a runaway team and a broken railing ; 
 For they found next day that no prevailing 
 Of theirs on the watchmen could make them 
 aware
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 99 
 
 That they had met with the sea-serpent 
 
 there. 
 
 Quietly up the river he swum ; 
 Cambridge little guessed what a guest had 
 
 come. 
 He heard the boat-club s rollicking chorus, 
 
 And listened with joy to the jolly stave, 
 As they sang, "Put off, while full be 
 fore us 
 
 Hope s beacon shines to cheer the brave ! " 
 Out of the silent river he crept, 
 
 And hied him away to the college yard ; 
 A proctor s eye, that never slept, 
 
 Caught his, and said, " May I be tarred 
 And feathered if some of the Freshmen class 
 
 Are not building a bonfire there to-night ! 
 See how that lamp illumes the grass ! 
 
 I must reconnoitre and set things right." 
 The proctor has donned his darkest cloak, 
 
 And sallied out in the midnight damp ; 
 No sound save his tread the silence broke,
 
 100 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 But brighter and brighter flamed the 
 
 lamp, 
 Till, horror of horrors ! there burst on his 
 
 view 
 
 Something or other, he hardly knew what ; 
 And instead of one lamp, there now seemed 
 
 two. 
 Still, as if charmed, he moved towards 
 
 the spot ; 
 
 He now gets a glimpse of the hideous mass : 
 " A string of tar-barrels strung in the 
 
 grass, 
 
 And these two lamps to set them blazing ; 
 By George ! Now this is quite amazing." 
 
 He raised his cane with his right hand high, 
 And struck a blow at the monster s eye. 
 The serpent at this gave a fearful bound, 
 
 Dashing the proctor far away, 
 Who exclaimed, the moment he came to 
 the ground, 
 
 " I shall report you, sir, to-day !
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 101 
 
 Yes, sir, I 11 report you to the Presideat ; 
 
 And whether you re student now, or resi 
 dent 
 
 Graduate, nothing, I fear, from your fate 
 can excuse you, 
 
 And naught can redeem from the hate that 
 pursues you." 
 
 Nor was the proctor aware in the mood 
 
 Potential he would himself be pursued. 
 
 The Saurian rose with an angry hiss. 
 
 0, woe betide that proctor then ! 
 He ne er before met foe like this, 
 
 And ne er shall meet such foe again. 
 The serpent has got him fast by the leg ; 
 
 Mercy ! list to his fearful screams ! 
 It s vain for mercy from him to beg. 
 
 Some students, nodding over their themes, 
 
 Start, yawn, and stretch, and relapse into 
 
 dreams. 
 The snake, however, turned to flee, 
 
 Leaving the proctor, as he thought, 
 dead, 
 
 Q#
 
 102 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 And then climbed up in Liberty Tree, 
 And a tract on Ichthyology read. 
 
 VI. 
 
 The students, next morning, going to 
 prayers, 
 
 Found the snake coiled up on the chapel 
 stairs ; 
 
 And not far off from Gore Hall, t is said, 
 
 The proctor lay quite bloody and dead, 
 
 As they thought ; but, when they called a 
 doctor, 
 
 They found life lingered within the proc 
 tor. 
 
 To be sure, his leg was nearly bitten 
 Off, and the hand that holds the pen 
 
 "Would ne er look well save a glove or 
 mitten 
 
 Were wrapped around it ; still, what then 
 
 Could be done was done. Ware and Mor 
 ton 
 
 Came from Boston the leg to shorten ;
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 103 
 
 Morton gave first a dose of ether, 
 
 And he s the first who ever gave it ; 
 Nor sinful man, nor woman either, 
 
 Had had it as they freely have it 
 Now, had not our gallant Morton, 
 Mid jeers and sneers, in silence wrought on, 
 Until he fairly taught the nation 
 " There s pleasure in an amputation." 
 Besides, in Washington they say, 
 Morton has fairly won the day ; 
 In spite of this, there is a faction 
 Who blindly worship Dr. Jackson. 
 Well, all the professors, students, and men 
 In Cambridge, fought with the serpent 
 
 then; 
 However, his Snakeship at last got off, 
 
 Scrambled down street and into the tide, 
 Knocked down a shed on the college wharf, 
 
 Killing two men at their work inside. 
 The serpent swims hastily down the Charles, 
 And at every bridge he growls and snarls.
 
 CANTO V. 
 
 " Apem. What a coil s here ! " 
 
 Timon of Athens, Act I. Scene 2. 
 
 " Tit. If the winds rage, doth not the sea wax mad, 
 
 Threatening the welkin with his big-swollen face f 
 And wilt thou have a reason for this coil ? " 
 
 Titus Andronicus, Act III. Scene 1. 
 
 " Stands a maiden, on the morrow, 
 
 Musing by the wave-beat strand, 
 Half in hope and half in sorrow, 
 Tracing words upon the sand. 
 1 Shall I ever then behold him 
 Who hath been my life so long " 
 
 JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. 
 
 " And listen to the harp and horn, 
 And see the waltzers near and far ; 
 The lamps and flowers are bright as yet." 
 
 N. P. WILLIS. 
 
 " Trin. A strange fish ! Were I in 
 
 England now (as once I was), and 
 
 Had but this fish painted, 
 
 * * * There would this monster make a man." 
 
 Tempest, Act II. 
 
 " It s nothing but a porpoise, sir, that s been a swimming past, 
 Out spoke the ancient fisherman ; now bring me my harpoon ! 
 I 11 get into my fishing-boat, and fix the fellow soon. " 
 
 0. W. HOLMES. 
 
 These things beheld in dismay the crowd on the shore and on ship 
 board." 
 
 H. W. LONGFELLOW.
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 105 
 
 I. 
 
 OUT on the sea, out on the sea, 
 The serpent is loafing lazily, 
 Wondering if poor pigmy men 
 Will dare to fight with him again, 
 
 And thinking what he had better do 
 With his precious self for the rest of the 
 week, 
 
 Wondering much if anything new 
 Has turned up at Newport, where thousands 
 seek 
 
 Fashion and fun, or health and quiet, 
 
 With good sea air, and good fish diet. 
 "At all events I 11 go down and see 
 If the beaux and belles have forgotten me." 
 He arrives at Newport ; with vast sur 
 prise 
 
 He sees the Hope moored quietly there. 
 At first, he almost doubts his eyes ; 
 
 He gave her a most amazing stare, 
 And thought it strange that yacht should 
 be
 
 106 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 There, that he meant to have sunk in the 
 
 sea. 
 Now this was the night of the fancy 
 
 ball,- 
 
 That dear, delightful, brilliant time, 
 And every one there, both great and 
 
 small, 
 Had decided to make the affair sublime 
 
 And so they did. Hark ! the strains 
 Of the Steyerrnarkische band arise, 
 
 From that gay saloon, while Turks and 
 
 Banes, 
 
 With Jews, and Monks, and gay Paul Prys, 
 Counts, Druids, Sibyls, Lords, and 
 
 Sprites, 
 Medoras, Corsairs, Conrads, Brides, 
 
 Auroras with their captive knights, 
 Draw near. Mirth, love, and joy presides, 
 As gathering in their pride they pour 
 Through lighted hall and corridor. 
 0, bright are the hues of the high Alpine 
 snows.
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 107 
 
 When they flash back the sun from far 
 
 up the mountain ! 
 
 Kefreshing and cool is the blush of the rose 
 That bends in its purity over the foun 
 tain ; 
 
 Warm are the blushes that mantle the cheek 
 Of the maid, as she curbs her palfrey s 
 
 proud prancing ; 
 Pure are the pearls that the sea-divers 
 
 seek 
 Where the waves of the far Eastern 
 
 ocean are glancing ; 
 Fair are the blossoms that brighten the 
 
 trees, 
 Blue are the waters that sparkle beneath 
 
 them ; 
 Sweet are the songs of the birds on the 
 
 breeze ; 
 Bright gleam their sabres when heroes 
 
 unsheathe them ; 
 
 So blushing, bright, fair, pure, gentle, and 
 mild,
 
 108 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 Came earth s fairest flowers in throngs ; 
 
 and the bloom 
 Of each cheek seemed to glow with new 
 
 joy as it smiled, 
 Forgetful of sadness, care, sorrow, and 
 
 gloom. 
 As they moved through the dance, in their 
 
 warm beauty blushing, 
 Their eyes sparkled bright as a moon 
 lit-tipped wave, 
 While the laugh and the song, so rich in 
 
 its gushing, 
 Was richer than gem in old earth s 
 
 deepest cave. 
 Eorbes sighed as he gazed, and, in lost 
 
 admiration, 
 
 He deemed it might be some deep magi 
 cal spell 
 That had stole o er his spirits in gentle 
 
 gradation, 
 
 How he feared it would vanish words 
 never can tell.
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 109 
 
 If they spoke, their dear words (will beaux 
 
 ever forget them ?) 
 Fell harmonious and sweet from each 
 
 musical tongue, 
 While their lips, and the pearls that so 
 
 radiantly lit them, 
 Breathed soft as the harp by angel 
 
 hands strung. 
 
 0, tell us where else are nymphs so en 
 chanting ! 
 What scenes from the past can fond 
 
 memory call, 
 That like these the day-dreams of belles 
 
 are still haunting, 
 When in fancy they float through the 
 
 gay Newport ball ? 
 One lady from the "Empire State," 
 
 With yellow jacket, cap and boots, 
 With mirthful eye, and air elate, 
 
 The palm with many a belle disputes 
 Another from those " classic shades," 
 10
 
 110 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 Where knowledge bursts spontaneous 
 
 forth, 
 
 Outshines in beauty all the maids 
 That gather from the wealthy North. 
 
 Here Love with Night and morning came, 
 With Shepherds, Gypsies, Nuns, and 
 Princes, 
 
 To light in every breast a flame, 
 
 That, burning brightly, soon convinces 
 
 Soldiers, Sailors, Cavalieros, 
 
 That Love can vanquish even heroes. 
 
 They were dancing merrily there, 
 
 When the serpent came and looked in at 
 
 the casement ; 
 
 He had never before seen aught so fair. 
 He was struck at once with a wild 
 
 amazement, 
 
 And declared he never could understand 
 How they got up such splendid affairs on 
 land,
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. Ill 
 
 And vowed that a very costly beaver 
 
 He d send to-morrow to Mr. Weaver. 
 
 At that window, beneath the shade of the 
 
 curtain, 
 
 Two lovers, a Knight and a Gypsy, sat ; 
 That lovers like such nooks is certain, 
 If you please, see " The Fable for Crit 
 ics "* for that; 
 
 And it s equally true that a cosey chat 
 Is vastly more agreeable and pleasant 
 When there s no disagreeable third party 
 
 present. 
 They supposed, of course, they were quite 
 
 alone, 
 
 As much alone as a couple can be, 
 Where some eight or nine hundred people 
 
 are thrown 
 
 Together for mirth and revelry. 
 They heard the bugle s call the tone 
 
 That bids hurrying waltzers gather fast ; 
 But still they chose to sit alone, 
 
 * By James Russell Lowell.
 
 112 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 Nor cared for the dancers flitting past. 
 They were talking of happy hours gone by, 
 
 And of happy days in years to coine, 
 When they saw through the glass a flaming 
 
 eye, 
 That struck them at once with terror 
 
 dumb. 
 He came through the window ; the Gypsy 
 
 and Knight 
 
 Screamed, as they ran in terror away. 
 Some of the ladies fainted with fright, 
 While others thought it " part of the 
 
 play;" 
 
 For they knew that De Jonge was so cun 
 ning and clever 
 
 He could get up a snake, or the deuce, or 
 whatever 
 
 Strange costume you liked or wanted to 
 wear ; 
 
 But they never once dreamed the Sea- 
 Serpent was there.
 
 fc 
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 113 
 
 However, when something like five hun 
 dred feet 
 
 Had uncoiled through the window, they 
 felt slightly queer, 
 
 And decided the costume was far more 
 
 complete 
 
 Than anything else they had met with 
 this year. 
 
 The serpent immediately saw, with sur 
 prise, 
 
 That they thought it was only a clever 
 disguise ; 
 
 So he stepped up and asked a young Ve 
 nus to dance ; 
 
 But she swooned, and was borne from the 
 hall in a trance. 
 
 At this there arose a most awful commo 
 tion ; 
 
 Some jumped out of windows, some van 
 ished through doors ; 
 
 The snake now wished himself back in the 
 ocean,
 
 114 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 And sincerely the loss of his partner 
 
 deplores. 
 One man, who had come in his no-top 
 
 wagon, 
 In the dress of the Knight who fought 
 
 with the Dragon, 
 
 Drove off with speed from the coining fray, 
 And was never more seen, so the gos 
 sips say ; 
 
 Something caught him along the road, 
 And the horse went off with a lighter load. 
 Meanwhile, a fearful fight went on ; 
 
 Officers rushed for their pistols ; others, 
 Including many a Duke and Don, 
 
 Rushed to their sweethearts or their 
 
 mothers. 
 Shot, and shouts of wild dismay, 
 
 Usurped the place of mirth and laugh 
 ter ; 
 The serpent flees as best he may, 
 
 While all of Newport follows after. 
 This was a regular break-neck chase.
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 115 
 
 " The devil take the hindmost " now 
 Was still the cry ; but, in this race, 
 
 The serpent, who had caused the row, 
 Decided he would quite reverse 
 
 The maxim so he swiftly wheeled, 
 And caught the first; and what was worse, 
 
 The fog and night so far concealed 
 The snake, that those who were rushing on 
 
 To catch him very soon were caught, 
 And quickly eaten, one by one. 
 
 The crowd behind them only thought 
 That they had vanished in the gloom, 
 Nor knew they of their living tomb. 
 
 On came the crowd with cheer and shout ; 
 
 But they saw the serpent stand at bay, 
 And quickly they faced to the right about, 
 
 And ran as fast the other way. 
 The serpent did not care to pursue them ; 
 He only meant with his looks to subdue 
 them ;
 
 116 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 So he quietly turned to that wave-washed 
 
 beach, 
 And in less than a minute was out of their 
 
 reach. 
 
 n. 
 
 After the ball there are very few stay, 
 
 When it s really fairly over, 
 Although I would rather advise them to, 
 
 For then you truly " live in clover." 
 The servants, having less to do, 
 Devote themselves with zeal to you ; 
 And, besides the usual loaves and fishes, 
 You get the best of the nicest dishes. 
 Therefore, if wise, you had better stay ; 
 It s only the snobs that go away 
 Next morning, or the next day after, 
 Unless, perhaps, a bill, or draft, or 
 Note, that s been for some months due, 
 You re obliged to pay next day at two 
 Then go ; protested notes are matters 
 
 That very rarely bother beaux.
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 117 
 
 They pay their tailors and their hatters, 
 
 But how they do it no one knows. 
 " Last noon beheld them full of lusty life; 
 Last eve, in Beauty s circle proudly gay ; 
 The midnight brought the signal-sound of 
 
 strife ; 
 The morn, the marshalling in arms ; the 
 
 day" 
 Saw twenty yachts go dashing down the 
 
 bay, 
 
 While far behind fair Newport s towers 
 lay. 
 
 Out on the sea, out on the sea, 
 
 The fleet is dashing merrily. 
 
 All had decided at once to go 
 
 With Hunt in pursuit of the common foe ; 
 
 He has command ; Forbes and Prince 
 
 Haggard and sad with grim despair 
 Are with him. They have been brothers 
 since 
 
 They lost their loves in that sad affair
 
 118 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 At Nahant, and now they are going 
 there. 
 
 They arrived ; and as the fleet drew near, 
 
 Miss Percy descried Hunt s signal-flag, 
 And hurried off at once to the pier ; 
 
 While many a group, on cliff and crag, 
 With fluttering dress and gypsy bonnets, 
 
 And parasols that shaded brows 
 Worthy of even Petrarch s sonnets, 
 
 The dread of bucks and hostile cows, 
 Stood with their streaming shawls and 
 
 veils, 
 
 And courted, with their beaux, the gales. 
 Just then, with " sail and signal spread," 
 
 A gallant ship, with crowded deck, 
 Before the freshening breezes fled, 
 
 Unmindful of the storm or wreck. 
 They were bound for the glittering land of 
 gold, 
 
 Where our western summits kiss the 
 sky;
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD." 119 
 
 And they loudly sang, as they onward 
 
 rolled, 
 This song to a popular melody : 
 
 CALIFORNIA SONG. 
 I. 
 
 We sail our gallant vessel 
 
 Careers before the blast, 
 Yet " swifter than the thoughts of love " 
 
 Come visions of the past. 
 Fast, fast thy shores, New England, 
 
 Are fading through our tears, 
 Yet warm the lovely landscape 
 
 That busy memory rears. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Pledge, brothers, pledge, 
 While, circled hand in hand, 
 
 We swear that our good bark shall bear 
 True patriots to that strand. 
 
 II. 
 
 No, not to found an empire 
 We seek our western strand ;
 
 120 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 When we spy its piercing mountains, 
 
 We but hail our native land ; 
 For there our banner waveth, 
 
 And we only seek to bind 
 Another link of Union 
 
 With the thirty here entwined. 
 
 III. 
 Can we give up the glory 
 
 Our valiant fathers gave, 
 When they sought on Plymouth s holy rock 
 
 A refuge from the wave ? 
 Long kept they faith with England, 
 
 And many sorrows bore ; 
 For 0, they loved their "father land," 
 
 That distant, happy shore ! 
 
 IV. 
 No, dreamers of ambition, 
 
 Who " go with hearts elate 
 To build another empire, 
 
 To found another state," 
 Ye little know the workings 
 
 Of the stern New England mind.
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 121 
 
 If ye hope to see the people 
 To your busy schemes resigned. 
 
 v. 
 
 " To found another empire," 
 
 Ah ! but it still shall be 
 An offshoot of the parent stem, 
 
 A scion of the tree ; 
 To set another brilliant 
 
 In the azure of our flag, 
 That long shall float in splendor 
 
 From shore and lofty crag. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Avaunt ! ye idle dreamers, 
 
 Who think that men must be 
 Divided by a river, 
 
 Or embittered by a sea ! 
 We will teach the world a lesson 
 
 That we freemen ne er forget; 
 Howe er asunder driven, 
 
 We re a band of brothers yet. 
 11
 
 122 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Pledge, brothers, pledge, 
 
 While, circled hand in hand, 
 We swear that our good bark shall bear 
 
 True patriots to that strand. 
 
 On sped the ship, the song was o er, 
 As Hunt and his party reached the shore. 
 Mine host was delighted, of course, to see 
 Such hosts of brilliant company. 
 Yet dance nor revel, mirth nor song, 
 
 Nor aught that cheers life s gloomy way, 
 Nor love that binds with fetters strong, 
 
 Could " bribe them for delay." 
 Sue Forbes may vainly tune her lute, 
 
 Miss Percy bid them stay ; 
 For Hunt declares, and none dispute 
 
 The will that all obey, 
 That when the dawn shall gild the east 
 
 The signal will be given, 
 And every yacht must sail at least 
 
 By six or half-past seven.
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 123 
 
 For they have heard that in the bay 
 
 Of Gloucester the serpent is, 
 And they must sail at once away ; 
 
 Their hope of him so fervent is, 
 That, though Sue Forbes would gladly keep 
 
 Prince with the beaux that throng her, 
 His heart is on the raging deep, 
 
 Nor dares he linger longer. 
 So swiftly from her glancing eyes 
 
 Love s hurtling arrows shoot, 
 You love, although your tongue denies 
 
 To plead the tender suit. 
 So Prince admired ; still surprise 
 
 And sorrow kept him mute. 
 
 m. 
 
 Sue Forbes, although it s out of date 
 
 To keep an album, kept one, 
 From which she learned that cruel fate 
 
 Might rend all hearts except one 
 Heart, and that of course was hers ; 
 
 That never should be broken,
 
 124 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 Until hot Hottentots wear furs, 
 Or truth by beaux be spoken. 
 
 This album then, with playful air, 
 
 She gave at once to Prince ; 
 He took it with an absent stare, 
 
 That truly would convince 
 The merest looker-on that he 
 
 Was wrapt in gloomy revery. 
 He was her brother s truest friend, 
 
 She was her brother s only sister ; 
 She begged that he would condescend 
 
 (And how could Prince resist her ?) 
 To write her something ere he sailed ; 
 Nor need I say that Sue prevailed. 
 That night, as in his lonely room 
 
 He sat preparing for the morrow, 
 His brow forgot its usual gloom, 
 
 His mind forgot its usual sorrow ; 
 He looks upon the waning moon, 
 
 He gazes on the heaving deep ;
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 125 
 
 Then takes with trembling hand his pen, 
 And writes these lines while others sleep. 
 
 TO YOU. 
 
 I. 
 
 Forgetful and forgetting 
 
 As the hearts of men may be, 
 No heart, without regretting, 
 
 Could forever part from thee. 
 Deem not, that, in redeeming 
 
 A promise made by me, 
 I shine of my own beaming, 
 
 For the light is caught from thee. 
 
 II. 
 The hidden art of hiding 
 
 Within the glittering glass 
 Fair tints, that, still abiding, 
 
 Detain us as we pass, 
 Is lost ; but ah ! the losing 
 
 Is of little loss to you, 
 Each mirror of your choosing 
 
 Reflects a warmer hue. 
 11*
 
 126 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 III. 
 
 Reflected and reflective, 
 Through life in beauty go, 
 
 And may each gay perspective 
 Some more brilliant vista show. 
 
 Next morning, at the break of day, 
 
 The signal-gun was duly fired, 
 And every yacht got under way. 
 
 The wind blew fresh, and all desired 
 To be at Gloucester by noon, 
 
 And so they were. Just off the port, 
 And with their glasses, very soon, 
 
 They saw the windmill, and the fort, 
 Here, as the breeze more gently blew, 
 At Hunt s command, some yachts laid to, 
 While some stood off and on, to see 
 And hunt his Snakeship s Majesty. 
 At Gloucester the sons of Mars 
 
 . Received that day a Boston phalanx ; 
 They much admired the hardy tars, 
 
 And much of time was lost in gay pranks
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 127 
 
 The morning had been passed in shooting 
 
 At targets on the ocean floating, 
 And o er their chowder were disputing 
 
 These gallant soldiers, whether boating, 
 Sailing, gunning, walking, riding, 
 
 Or what, that gives brave young men 
 
 pleasure, 
 Had best be done ; and each, deciding 
 
 As suited best his time and leisure, 
 Had settled what he d like to do, 
 And each resolved to " put it through." 
 Their camp was just upon the cliff 
 
 That rises just beyond the beach ; 
 And if you have not been there, if 
 
 You wish to go, you soon can reach 
 It by walking or by driving ; 
 The breeze you have there is reviving. 
 There tent, and flag, and glittering gun, 
 
 And well-stacked muskets standing nigh, 
 Proclaim their martial duties done, 
 
 Save where the sentries silently
 
 128 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 Pace with firm step their weary round, 
 To guard this jolly camping-ground. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Meanwhile the yachts were standing on 
 
 "When, bearing down from Ten-Pound 
 
 Island, 
 They saw (the breeze was nearly gone) 
 
 A sight that made some sigh for dry land. 
 It was the serpent, fiercely raging. 
 
 On he came, with mighty strength ; 
 You d hardly call his air engaging, 
 
 If you should see him at full length. 
 On he came ; Hunt s orders ran 
 
 Swift through the fleet and o er the 
 
 waters, 
 " The world expects no valiant man 
 
 Will ever give that monster quarters." 
 Each yacht for action clears her deck ; 
 
 Hunt gets his best bow-chasers ready ; 
 He thinks a little grape might check 
 
 His Snakeship, if both true and steady.
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 129 
 
 Like Bragg, the iron shower they pour, 
 And give him still "a little more." 
 
 See, from the Hope a smoky wreath 
 Is curling round her arrowy prow, 
 
 And gleams the flashing fire beneath ; 
 The ball is fairly opened now ! 
 
 Just o er his head those grape-shot 
 
 swept, 
 And one just grazed him near his mane ; 
 
 At this in terror up he leaped, 
 Some sixty feet ; with calm disdain 
 
 He gazed on this array of yachts ; 
 But, while he stood there still and shining, 
 
 There came at least some fifteen shots, 
 That taught him there was more design in 
 
 Man than he had lately thought of, 
 
 Nor was he yet to be made naught of. 
 Round and through him shot and ball 
 
 Hissed, and he hissed back, then, growl 
 ing, 
 Plunged into the sea, while all 
 
 The ocean trembled with his howling.
 
 130 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 Then, 0, then, you should have seen, 
 
 How, thronging round him from below, 
 His courtiers came, while some fifteen 
 
 Thousand serpents made a show 
 Of grinning heads, and flashing tails, 
 
 Wild, tossing manes, and hideous eyes ! 
 The sight o er every doubt prevails, 
 
 And fills Hunt s party with surprise. 
 However, nobly they stand to their guns, 
 
 And blaze away hotly left and right ; 
 For they know full well that he who runs 
 
 Will never hear the last of the fight. 
 Bloody then grew the water there ; 
 
 Many a serpent bites the ocean ; 
 While one old tar was heard to swear, 
 
 That he before had " had no notion, 
 That there were half so many snakes 
 
 At sea," then, hitching up his trou 
 sers, 
 Trie very best of aim he takes, 
 
 And nearly kills two jolly rousers. 
 Where all fought well t is hard to say
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 131 
 
 Who fought the best ; but no one knew 
 Who aimed the shot, so fierce the fray, 
 
 That cut one serpent right in two. 
 One yacht was very hard beset 
 
 By forty serpents all together ; 
 And ere two salts had time to bet 
 
 Or guess how she the storm would 
 
 weather, 
 
 The yacht was over in the water, 
 While blushed the waves with mutual 
 
 slaughter. 
 
 Hunt, Forbes, and Prince were fighting 
 hard, 
 
 When they observed this new disaster. 
 Hunt saw for guns they d no regard, 
 
 And so he thought he d try if castor 
 Would drive them to their depths below, 
 
 And therefore ordered all on board 
 To leave their guns, and quickly throw 
 
 This drug, which he with care had 
 
 stored, 
 Into the waves. His men obey,
 
 132 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 And, swifter than the god of day, 
 The serpents stream like light away. 
 
 v. 
 
 The soldiers still were at their chowder 
 And with them were their wives and 
 mothers ; 
 
 They heard the guns and smelt the powder ; 
 But thinking that their Gloucester broth 
 ers 
 
 A grand salute for them were firing, 
 
 They sat and ate with zeal untiring. 
 
 It chanced now that our wounded snake, 
 Hit by a spent ball on the head, 
 
 That, for the moment seemed to make 
 
 g 
 
 Him careless how or where he fled, 
 Came like an arrow to the spot, 
 
 Uncalled, as comes the bride in Zampa, 
 And, rushing right among the lot, 
 
 Produced a most prodigious scamper. 
 With head high raised, and bristling mane, 
 
 And open jaws that spouted foam.
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 133 
 
 And angry eyes that gleamed with pain. 
 
 And tail that lashed his ocean home, 
 With rushing bound he left the sea, 
 And plunged among the company ! 
 Children, soldiers, maids, and men, 
 
 Mothers, sweethearts, all, pell-mell, 
 Run as they ne er ran till then ; 
 
 Some, stumbling in their hurry, fell ; 
 While some, transfixed with silent terror, 
 
 Sat still, nor were they much in error, 
 Because his Snakeship, passing these, 
 
 Pushed madly after those that ran ; 
 The sentinels the moment seize, 
 
 And taking aim as Yankees can, 
 They fire, and hit him near the eye, 
 
 And blind him so he cannot see ; 
 Now t is the serpent s turn to fly 
 
 From soldiers who no longer flee. 
 He turns to fly, but, eyesight gone, 
 
 And smarting still with many a wound, 
 Cut up with shot, on land forlorn, 
 
 He writhed with rage along the ground. 
 12
 
 134 A ROMANCE OP 
 
 Meanwhile, the soldiers bravely form 
 
 Between him and the rocky shore, 
 And from their blazing ranks a storm 
 
 Of well-aimed bullets swiftly pour. 
 From the camp, their cannon blazing, 
 
 Eain upon him shot and ball ; 
 Oft they hit him ; his amazing 
 
 Strength seems conqueror over all. 
 Onward to the sea he charges, 
 
 Borne by instinct or by chance ; 
 Every heart with fear enlarges, 
 
 Lest they lose him. They advance, 
 And boldly with their swords attack 
 
 him, 
 And stab, and pierce, and hew, and hack 
 
 him ! 
 Onward to the cliff he drags his 
 
 Body ; weaker seems he now ; 
 Steepest there of all the crags tis ; 
 
 He is just upon its brow. 
 Down he plunges towards the main, 
 Where he ne er shall swim again ;
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 135 
 
 For half on sea and half on land, 
 He dies upon that rocky strand. 
 
 VI. 
 
 "Victory ! " the soldiers scream, 
 
 Loud their shout is echoed back 
 From where Hunt s pennons gayly stream ; 
 
 For he has watched their fierce attack. 
 Then all the fleet sent men to see 
 And measure their late enemy. 
 They found that he was near six hundred 
 
 Feet in length, and quite as large round 
 As any hogshead ; much they wondered ; 
 
 But here they heard an angry sound 
 Of many men disputing loudly ; 
 
 For all who have been in the fight 
 Claim, and assert their claim right proudly, 
 
 That all shall have an equal right 
 To share the proceeds of the capture ; 
 
 And blows occurred. But Hunt pro 
 poses
 
 136 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 A plan which all receive with rapture ; 
 
 It is, that they should just count noses, 
 And choose at once a smart committee, 
 
 And they would settle it of course ; 
 (They settle all things now) t is fit three 
 
 Heads should rule, instead of force. 
 T is done ; the chairman makes report, 
 
 To end dispute and further clamor, 
 " It s been decided by the court 
 
 To bring his Snakeship to the hammer, 
 And sell him to the highest bidder, 
 
 And share the proceeds here directly." 
 Now this seemed fair, and all consider 
 
 About his worth most circumspectly. 
 Prince bid him off for a cool thousand ; 
 
 Had him stuffed ( twas the first one 
 
 done) , 
 Shipped him, he arrived at Cowes, and 
 
 Had him sent for show to London.
 
 I 
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 137 
 
 vn. 
 
 "When they heard the news in Boston, 
 
 They rang the bells a week ; 
 And the people were so jolly there 
 
 That they could hardly speak 
 Of aught beside the fact that he, 
 
 The serpent, had been caught, 
 And wondered who that Prince might be, 
 
 Who had the monster bought ; 
 Because, you know, the Boston folks 
 
 As well as all the nation, 
 Mark, learn, read, well digest the man 
 
 Who makes a " speculation ! " 
 
 But hold ! we gallop on too fast. 
 
 This was done, but at Nahant 
 The yachts next day their anchors cast, 
 
 Returned in triumph from their jaunt. 
 With booming gun and martial strain, 
 They wake the echoes there again, 
 12*
 
 138 A ROMANCE OF 
 
 While all crowd round to hail and see 
 
 The gainers of this victory, 
 
 One yacht was gone, alas ! and they 
 
 Who manned her in that desperate fight, 
 The young, the true, the brave, the gay, 
 
 Were not forgotten there that night ; 
 They "cry, remembrance saddening o er 
 each brow, 
 
 How had the brave who fell exulted 
 now !" 
 
 \ 
 
 That evening, it was marked by all, 
 
 Sue Forbes was gayer than before, 
 For Prince was there to grace the ball ; 
 
 But ere that brilliant ball was o er, 
 They wandered to a balcony 
 That overhung the moon-lit sea. 
 Albert Prince in truth was sad, 
 
 But still " not without hope his sor 
 row; " 
 For Sue Forbes smile was ever glad, 
 
 And sober -men full often borrow
 
 THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. 139 
 
 Love from girls with auburn tresses, 
 And pay them after their addresses. 
 
 Dick Forbes observed the fair Miss Bell 
 Eeceived him with some slight confu 
 sion. 
 
 Ah, Love, thy deeds t were vain to tell ! 
 But I have come to this conclusion : 
 
 The saddest hearts within thy snares 
 
 Are often taken unawares. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Next morning Hunt went up to town, 
 
 And with him went a jovial party ; 
 He only followed his renown, 
 
 His friends there gave a welcome hearty. 
 And, I am told, some six months later, 
 
 Say about Christmas or New Year, 
 An artiste who knows how to cater 
 
 For all our brilliant soirees here, 
 Was seen, one morn, on "Beacon-street, 
 
 To enter at a mansion splendid,
 
 140 A ROMANCE. 
 
 Where all the world, that eve, would greet 
 
 Three brides, which twice three hundred 
 
 men did. 
 " And all went merry as a marriage bell ; " 
 
 But who they were t is yours to guess, 
 For I must bid these rhymes farewell. 
 
 Yet may I venture to transgress 
 On patience long since gone, to say, 
 
 That when the dark and gloomy night 
 Has ushered in your wedding-day, 
 
 0, may it be calm, clear, and bright, 
 With no Sea-Serpent to invade 
 
 And bear away the heart s best treasure ! 
 In sea-side cot or rural glade 
 
 0, may you live a life of pleasure, 
 As truly as our heroes three 
 Lived with their brides in harmony !
 
 NOTES. 
 
 NOTE 1. (PAGE 8.) 
 
 PONTOPPIDAN, a bishop of Bergen, in Norway, 
 who wrote in the year 1*751, says, page 195, sec. 
 4 : " The Soe-Ormen, the sea-snake, serpens 
 marinus magnus, called by some in this country 
 the Aaale-Tuft, is a wonderful and terrible sea- 
 monster, which extremely deserves to be taken 
 notice of by those who are curious to look into 
 the works of the Creator." 
 
 NOTE 2. (PACK 11.) 
 
 " In Tlllands parish there is a lake, of a mid 
 dling size, which is said to have in it these 
 snakes ; and the lake Store Mios, in Ilede- 
 marken, is long and deep enough for the largest 
 ships. 
 
 " 01. Magnus, Lib. XXI. Cap. xvii., Petr. 
 Undalinus, in his description of Norway, Cap. 
 vii. p. 36, and John Ramus, P. III. p. 82, affirm, 
 that there are quantities of large snakes in these 
 waters, one of which was seen to reach from
 
 142 NOTES. 
 
 Oens Land to Kongs Landct ; this I 11 leave on 
 their authority, and only observe that, if it is 
 true, the relation is mixed with fables, witchcraft, 
 and omens, which should be exploded." Pox- 
 TOPPIDAN, Natural History of Norway, sec. 3, p. 39. 
 
 NOTE 3. (PAGE 13.) 
 
 The first verse, being translated literally, runs 
 thus : 
 
 " The great sea-snake s the subject of my verse ; 
 For, though my eyes have never yet beheld him, 
 Nor ever shall desire the hideous sight, 
 Yet many accounts of men of truth unstained, 
 Whose every word I firmly do believe, 
 Show it to be a very frightful monster." 
 
 NOTE 4. (PAGE 39.) 
 
 The best account we have of the great serpent 
 of Midgard, is in the work entitled "The Edda, 
 or Ancient Icelandic (or Runic) Mythology." 
 This book is, perhaps, as old as the Book of Job, 
 or the writings of the Prophet Isaiah. 
 
 "THE EDDA, XXVII. FABLE. 
 
 " Of the Journey undertaken by the God Thor, the Hercules 
 of the Danish, Gods, to goto fish for the Great Serpent. 
 
 " It is impossible to express the dreadful looks 
 that the god darted at the Serpent, whilst the
 
 NOTES. 143 
 
 monster, raising bis . head, spouted out venom 
 upon him. In the mean time, the Giant Eymer, 
 seeing, with affright, the water enter his bark on 
 all sides, cut, with his knife, the string of his 
 fishing-line, just as Thor was going to strike the 
 Serpent with his mace. Upon this, the monster 
 fell down again to the bottom of the sea." 
 
 NOTE 5. (PAGE 42.) 
 
 There is a farmer in Damariscotta, Maine, who 
 really thinks that the Sea-Serpent knocks down 
 his walls, and rolls in his grain ! 
 
 NOTE 6. (PAGE 63.) 
 
 Captain Sturgis, of the Cutter Hamilton, in 
 forms rne, that, while the cutter was off Boston 
 Light a few years since, on a calm day in mid 
 summer, he was suddenly startled, while sitting 
 in his cabin, by hearing a great noise on deck ; 
 he ran up, and found the men on the quarter 
 deck, all of them looking extremely frightened. 
 He at once demanded the cause of the disturb 
 ance. Some exclaimed, "The cutter is going 
 ashore, sir 1 " Others said, " There is a strange 
 monster close aboard of us forward ; a serpent, 
 or something else." The gallant captain saw 
 that his men were unusually alarmed, and there 
 fore ran forward directly ; be there saw something
 
 144 NOTES. 
 
 like a great snake, but only for an instant, for he 
 dived down just as the captain reached the bow. 
 On page 42, the lieutenant, talking of ice 
 islands, says, " Where devils and foxes howled 
 and chattered." I find, in "An Account of Two 
 Voyages to New England, Anno. Dom. 1638, by 
 John Joselyn, Gent.," that he mentions seeing 
 icebergs on the sea, with foxes and devils on 
 them. Rather a cold place for devils ; but per 
 haps they were of the Scandinavian breed. He 
 might have seen seals, and taken them for some 
 thing else. Such a story is mere nonsense, a 
 traveller s tale, fit only for romances. 
 
 NOTE 7. (PAGE 69.) 
 
 Job xli. 9, 10 : " Behold, the hope of him is 
 in vain : shall not one be cast down even at the 
 eight of him ? None is so fierce that dare stir 
 him up : who, then, is able to stand before me ? " 
 
 NOTE 8. (PAGE 69.) 
 
 " These Ormens of the Soe." Or, " these snakes 
 of the sea"; "the Soe Ormen" ; "the Sea- 
 Snake." 
 
 The Linnsean Society of New England received 
 the following testimony, in the year 1817, with 
 regard to these serpents leaping into vessels, 
 from a resident of one of the islands in the Bay
 
 NOTES. 145 
 
 of Penobscot, Maine, who declared that he had 
 often seen a marine monster of this description, 
 which was as large as a sloop s boom, and about 
 sixty or seventy feet long. He asserted that, 
 about the year 1780, as a schooner was lying at 
 the mouth of the river, or in the bay, one of these 
 enormous creatures leaped over it between the 
 masts ; the men ran into the hold for fright, and 
 the weight of the serpent sunk the vessel, which 
 was of eighteen tons burthen, "one streak," or 
 plank. 
 
 I give next the statement of Pontoppidan on 
 this subject : 
 
 " The next question," says he, in sec. 8, page 
 202, of his valuable work, " is, whether they do 
 mankind any injury, and in what manner they 
 hurt the human species. Arndt Bernsen, in his 
 account of the fertility of Denmark and Norway, 
 page 308, affirms that they do ; and says, that 
 the sea-snake often sinks both men and boats. 
 The North-traders inform me of what has fre 
 quently happened with them, namely, that the 
 sea-snake has raised itself up, and thrown itself 
 suddenly across a boat, and sometimes even 
 across a vessel of some hundred tons burthen, and 
 by its weight lias sunk it down to the bottom." 
 
 NOTE 9. (PAGE TO.) 
 
 " Of late, our fishermen have found the way, in 
 the warm summer months, of providing them-
 
 146 NOTES. 
 
 selves with castor, which they always carry with 
 them when they go far out to sea ; they shut it 
 up in a hole in the stern, and, if at any time they 
 are particularly apprehensive of meeting with a 
 sea-snake, they throw a little of it overboard ; 
 for by frequent experience they know of a cer 
 tainty that it always avoids this drug." PONTOP- 
 PIDAN, Natural History of Norway, sec. 8, p. 203. 
 On page 50, I say, "Aqua vitce and castor they 
 threw in the wave." Aqua vitas may do, but I 
 should have said assafoetida ; for, Pontoppidan 
 says, sec. 8, page 204, "An eminent apothe 
 cary here has informed me, that, instead of cas 
 tor, o,ur fishermen provide themselves with noth 
 ing but assafoetida ; for, if what they carry have 
 but a strong smell, it has the same effect upon 
 those sea-snakes ; besides, assafoetida comes at a 
 lower price than castor." 
 
 NOTE 10. (PAGE 79.) 
 
 The Devil-Fish is one of the ugliest fishes in 
 the sea. At this dinner-party given by the Ser 
 pent, I have endeavored to introduce only such 
 fish as are the most hostile to each other. We 
 sometimes see queerly-assorted dinner-parties on 
 land ; those, however, are not usually intentional. 
 The sharks, not belonging to the aristocratic cir 
 cle in which the Serpent circulates, were not 
 invited. The Wolf-Fish, as its name implies, eats
 
 NOTES. 147 
 
 everything it can get. And, in Storer s Report 
 of the Fishes of Massachusetts, page 69, I find 
 that "this ferocious species is captured about 
 rocky ledges at all seasons of the year," and that 
 " its hideous appearance renders it an object of 
 disgust." 
 
 NOTE 11. (PAGE 86.) 
 
 "My squids here will make you some excellent 
 sport." The Squid (the Indian Remora, or Suck 
 ing-Fish, ) is found in Boston Bay. (See " Storer s 
 Fishes of Massachusetts," page 153.) 
 
 In a book on fishes, printed in Dublin, Ireland, 
 in 1820, I find the following account : " The 
 Indians of Jamaica and Cuba formerly used the 
 Sucking-Fish in the catching of other fishes, 
 somewhat in the same manner as hawks are 
 employed by a falconer in seizing birds." 
 
 NOTE 12. (PAGE 87.) 
 
 "Gape May and the Pool," &c. The Pool 
 (better known, perhaps, as Winter Harbor) is a 
 deep and safe harbor, near the mouth of Saco 
 River, and about nine miles from the two flourish 
 ing towns of Saco and Biddeford, Maine.
 
 SOME REMARKS 
 BY THE AUTHOR 
 
 I SHALL endeavor, in this division of my 
 subject, to give only the best authenticated 
 facts with regard to this monster, and only 
 those letters that are entirely worthy of 
 respect and confidence, both from the high 
 reputation that their authors enjoy, and 
 also from the fact, that these men, who 
 appear to testify, are the very men who, 
 in our courts, would command, from their 
 position and their practical knowledge, the 
 greatest attention. 
 
 The writer of an article in the Westmin 
 ster Review, who seems to have no doubt 
 in his own mind as to the existence of this 
 animal, says with great truth : 
 
 " It seems to us that the witnesses called 
 on behalf of the Sea-Serpent, afford the 
 very best evidence that could be wished. 
 13*
 
 150 REMARKS. 
 
 The majority of our professors and curators 
 would not know a whale from a porpoise, 
 a porpoise from a shark, a shark from an 
 ichthyosaurus, if they beheld these creat 
 ures in their native element ; it is when 
 beasts are stuffed with straw, or reduced 
 to skeletons, or when fragments of their 
 bones are placed under the compound mi 
 croscope, that the knowledge of them 
 among these savans begins and ends ; but 
 the mariner, the whaler, the harpooner, 
 the porpoise-shooter, the practical fisher 
 man, these know the creatures of the 
 deep from each other, and can pronounce 
 with wonderful exactitude if they see but 
 the smallest portion above the water ; they 
 are the men whose sight is sharpened by 
 use, whose book is nature, whose knowl 
 edge is practical, and whose evidence on 
 such a subject is far better than any other. 
 The men who go down to the sea in ships 
 are they of whom we must inquire its 
 wonders. They, indeed, may see a school 
 of porpoises following each other, head to 
 tail ; they may watch their gambols, and
 
 REMARKS. 151 
 
 haply single out a big one for a trial of the 
 harpoon or the rifle ; but no seaman would 
 mistake them for anything else. 
 
 " In all our inquiries, we must have re 
 gard to the capacity of a witness for giving 
 information. Even the microscope, the 
 secret-revealing implement of the learned, 
 requires a kind of education on the part of 
 the beholder. Doubtless the mariner, who 
 first peeped through the wonder-working 
 tube, would arrive at conclusions as erro 
 neous as the learned fool who comments on 
 the creatures of the deep ; but he surely 
 would not venture to print his blunders, or 
 pass off his crude observations as worthy 
 the attention of the world. And yet our 
 savans are forever doing this, and forever 
 giving opinions on subjects which they 
 cannot understand ; promulgating hypoth 
 eses founded on imagined facts ; drawing 
 ideal pictures of nature, and reasoning on 
 them as truths ; throwing aside realities 
 for fictions ; and hermetically sealing their 
 eyes, and closing their ears, against the 
 entrance of information, because informa-
 
 152 REMARKS. 
 
 tion itself is supposed to clash with pre 
 conceived opinions, to interfere with hy 
 potheses to which they are pledged, and, 
 in fine, to damage their claim to the exclu 
 sive disposal of scientific knowledge. Their 
 object is to represent all matters as they 
 would have them, without any reference to 
 what they are." 
 
 The following letter of Louis Agassiz, 
 LL. D., Professor of Zoology and Geology 
 in the Lawrence Scientific School of the 
 University at Cambridge, together with 
 part of a lecture delivered in Philadelphia 
 during the last winter, is at least evidence 
 that this distinguished savan does not keep 
 his eyes " hermetically sealed," or his ears 
 closed against the entrance of informa 
 tion." 
 
 " EUGENE BATCHELDER, ESQ. 
 
 "DEAR SIR: I return my thanks for 
 the papers communicated about the exist 
 ence of the so-called Sea-Serpent. Though 
 I am not at all disposed to endorse all the 
 reports current upon this animal, from the
 
 REMARKS. 153 
 
 evidence I have received I can no longer 
 doubt the existence of some large marine 
 reptile, allied to Ichthyosaurus and Plesio- 
 saurus, yet unknown to naturalists. The 
 facts mentioned to me by eye-witnesses 
 have led me into an investigation of the 
 probable relations of the great Sea-Monster, 
 and I have recently expressed my opinion 
 upon this subject, in connection with other 
 matters, in a lecture delivered in Philadel 
 phia last winter, of which I inclose a re 
 port, of which you may make any use you 
 please. The general character of this con 
 tinent, with its paleozoic types still alive, 
 renders this supposition very probable. 
 " With high regard, 
 
 " Respectfully yours, 
 
 " L. AGASSIZ. 
 " CAMBRIDGE, 15 June, 1849." 
 
 EXTRACT FROM THE THIRTEENTH LECTURE OF 
 PROFESSOR AGASSIZ, 
 
 DELIVERED IN PHILADELPHIA, TUESDAY EVENING, MARCH 
 
 20TII, 1849. 
 
 " There is satisfactory evidence that, 
 during the deposition of the lowest strata,
 
 154 REMARKS. 
 
 there were no extensive continents. In 
 deed, there are, in the coal strata of Great 
 Britain, France, and other countries, indica 
 tions of there having been groups of small 
 islands, gradually increasing by successive 
 deposits, and combining to form continents. 
 In what is usually called the Old World 
 there are no indications of large islands in 
 the earliest periods. America, so far from 
 being a New World, is the oldest continent. 
 Even before the deposition of the coal, 
 North America had nearly its present out 
 line, the coal basins being great inland 
 
 seas ; while it is probable that, at this 
 
 s 
 
 time, the whole of the Old World was only 
 a group of small islands. 
 
 A number of interesting facts have 
 been ascertained in regard to the animals 
 and plants which exist in different portions 
 of the globe ; these differing considerably, 
 according to their latitude and longitude. 
 In the arctic regions of Asia, Europe, and 
 America, there is an astonishing uniformity 
 in the plants and animals. As we proceed 
 toward the temperate zone, there is a
 
 REMARKS. 155 
 
 greater diversity. In the tropics we find 
 the animals and plants of different countries 
 to be entirely of a different character ; and, 
 as we proceed towards the southern pole, 
 we do not find that they resume their uni 
 formity. We find, also, various countries 
 characterized by peculiar species of ani 
 mals as well as plants ; a very remarkable 
 peculiarity in this distribution is the fact 
 that both the animals and plants now found 
 in this country are related to those belong 
 ing to earlier geological periods of Europe. 
 The walnut, cypress, and other trees of 
 this country, are only found in a fossil 
 state in Europe. Among animals, also, the 
 snapping- turtle, the large frogs and sala 
 manders of this country, occur only as 
 fossils in Europe. Again, the genus of 
 fish called Lepidostas, of which the gar- 
 pike found in America is a species, does 
 not resemble the recent European fossils, 
 but those c-f the old Oolitic period. These 
 facts indicate that this continent has not 
 undergone the same successive changes as 
 the Old World. There the changes are
 
 156 REMARKS. 
 
 comparatively recent, and the upheaving 
 of mountains and formation of valleys have 
 put an end to many animals of which we 
 find living representatives on the continent 
 of North America. 
 
 "Among the fossils of Europe of the 
 period during which the gar-pike existed 
 there, and when the Ichthyosauri and Ple- 
 siosauri existed also, there were also sharks 
 with flat teeth, such as are found now on 
 the south-west coast of New Holland. I 
 have asked myself, in connection with this 
 subject, whether there is not such an ani 
 mal as the Sea-Serpent. There are many 
 who will doubt the existence of such a 
 creature until it can be brought under the 
 dissecting-knife ; but it has been seen by 
 so many on whom we may rely, that it is 
 wrong to doubt any longer. The truth is, 
 however, that if a naturalist had to sketch 
 the outlines of an Ichthyosaurus or Plesio- 
 saurus from the remains we have of them, 
 he would make a drawing very similar to 
 the Sea-Serpent as it has been described. 
 There is reason to think that the parts are
 
 REMARKS. 157 
 
 soft and perishable, but I still consider it 
 probable that it will be the good fortune of 
 some person on the coast of Norway or 
 North America to find a living representa 
 tive of this type of reptile, which is 
 thought to have died out." 
 
 The following extract from a letter from 
 one of the most distinguished merchants 
 of Boston is worthy of the highest consid 
 eration : 
 
 " EUGENE BATCHELDER, ESQ. 
 
 "BOSTON, April 26, 1849. 
 "DEAR SIR: I have never had any 
 doubt of the existence of the Sea-Serpent 
 since the morning he was seen off Nahant 
 by old Martial Prince, through his famous 
 mast-head spy-glass. For, within the next 
 two hours, I conversed with Mr. Samuel 
 Cabot, and Mr. Daniel P. Parker, I think, 
 and one or more persons beside, who had 
 spent a part of that morning in witnessing 
 its movements. In addition, Col. Harris, 
 the commander at Fort Independence, told 
 me that the creature had been seen by a 
 14
 
 158 REMARKS. 
 
 number of his soldiers while standing sen 
 try in the early dawn, some time before 
 this show at Nahant ; and Col. Harris be 
 lieved it as firmly as though the creature 
 were drawn up before us in State-street, 
 where we then were. 
 
 " I again say, I have never, from that 
 day to this, had a doubt of the Sea-Ser 
 pent s existence. The revival of the stories 
 will bring out many facts, that will place 
 the matter before our people in such a light 
 as will make them as much ashamed to 
 doubt, as they formerly were to believe in 
 its existence. 
 
 " Yours truly, 
 
 "AMOS LAWRENCE."* 
 
 Before giving any more letters or facts 
 on this subject, I wish to introduce one or 
 two passages from the Bible, where the 
 word leviathan occurs, about which theolo 
 gians and naturalists have had so many 
 warm discussions. I shall, therefore, begin 
 
 * This letter is also published in The Life of Amos Lawrence.
 
 REMARKS. 159 
 
 with the Book of Job ; for, says Bishop 
 Lowth, " That the Book of Job is the most 
 ancient of all the sacred books is, I think, 
 manifest by the subject, the language, the 
 general character, and evert from the ob 
 scurity of the work. It savors altogether 
 of the antique, insomuch that whosoever 
 would suppose it written after the Baby 
 lonish captivity, would fall little short of 
 the error of Hardoiun, who ascribed the 
 golden verses of Virgil and Horace to the 
 iron age -of monkish pedantry and super 
 stition." Dr. Hale supposed Job to have 
 lived about the year 2130 B. C. Job, 
 therefore, being the first one of the inspired 
 writers that mentions the leviathan, I shall 
 commence with him, and give afterwards 
 the other passages where the leviathan is 
 noticed in the Old Testament. 
 
 Job, Chapter xli. 1 : " Canst thou 
 draw out leviathan with a hook? or his 
 tongue with a cord which thou lettest 
 down?" 
 
 Now, we are very gravely assured by 
 Townsend, in a note on the margin, that 
 "this is a whale, or a whirlpool*"
 
 160 REMARKS. 
 
 What man, in his right mind, could ever 
 think of drawing out a whirlpool with a 
 cord? Who ever heard of a whirlpool 
 with a tongue ? The note goes on to say, 
 "The leviathan here described is, in the 
 opinion of Bochart, the crocodile." Who 
 ever heard of a, crocodile living in the ocean/ 
 But the note declares, finally, "The 
 description suits no other amphibious ani 
 mal at present known." Now, as I intend 
 to make a few comments on this note, and 
 also on this forty-first chapter of Job, I in 
 troduce it here, that all may, if they will, 
 be convinced that a leviathan is not, at 
 least, a whirlpool. 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 !. Canst thou draw out leviathan with a hook? or 
 his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down ? 
 
 2. Canst thou put a hook into his nose ? or 
 bore his jaw through with a thorn ? 
 
 3. Will he make many supplications unto thee ? 
 will he speak soft words unto thee ? 
 
 4. Will he make a covenant with thee ? wilt 
 thou take him for a servant forever ? 
 
 5. Wilt thou play with him as with a bird ? or 
 wilt thou bind him for thy maidens? 
 
 6. Shall thy companions make a banquet of 
 him ? shall they part him among the merchants ?
 
 REMARKS. 161 
 
 7. Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons ? 
 or his head with fish-spears ? 
 
 8. Lay thine hand upon him, remember the 
 battle, do no more. 
 
 9. Behold, the hope of him is in vain ; shall not 
 one be cast down even at the sight of him ( 
 
 10. None is so fierce that dare stir him up : 
 who then is able to stand before me? 
 
 11. Who hath prevented me that 1 should repay 
 him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is 
 mine. 
 
 12. I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, 
 nor his comely proportion. 
 
 13. Who can discover the face of his garment ? 
 or who can come to him with his double bridle ? 
 
 14. Who can open the doors of his face ? his 
 teeth are terrible round about. 
 
 15. His scales are his pride, shut up together 
 as with a close seal. 
 
 16. One js so near to another, that no air can 
 come between them. 
 
 17. They are joined one to another, they stick 
 together, that they cannot be sundered. 
 
 18. By his neesings a light doth shine, and his 
 eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. 
 
 19. Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and 
 sparks of fire leap out. 
 
 20. Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of 
 a seething-pot or caldron. 
 
 21. His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth 
 out of his mouth. 
 
 22. In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow 
 is turned into joy before him. 
 
 23. The flakes of his flesh are joined together : 
 they are firm in themselves : they cannot be 
 moved. 
 
 14*
 
 162 REMARKS. 
 
 24. His heart is as firm as a stone, yea, as hard 
 as a piece of the nether millstone. 
 
 25. When he raiseth up himself, the mighty 
 are afraid : by reason of breaking they purify 
 themselves. 
 
 26. The sword of him that layeth at him can 
 not hold ; the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon. 
 
 27. He esteeineth iron as straw, and brass as 
 rotten wood. 
 
 28. The arrow cannot make him flee ; sling- 
 stones are turned with him into stubble. 
 
 29. Darts are counted as stubble ; he laugheth 
 at the shaking of a spear. 
 
 30. Sharp stones are under him ; he spreadeth 
 sharp-pointed things upon the mire. 
 
 31. He maketh the deep to boil like a pot ; he 
 maketh the sea like a pot of ointment. 
 
 32. He maketh a path to shine after him ; one 
 would think the deep to be hoary. 
 
 33. Upon earth there is not his like, who is 
 made without fear. 
 
 34. He beholdeth all high things ; he is a king 
 over all the children of pride. 
 
 And, in the first place, what is the defi 
 nition of the Hebrew word leviathan ? If 
 you look in Gesenius s Hebrew and Eng 
 lish Lexicon, you will find it to be as fol 
 lows : " LEVIATHAN. An animal wreathed, 
 gathering itself in folds." Here, I presume, 
 the commentators will say, with their usual 
 ingenuity in such cases, that perhaps this 
 animal is of the sheep kind, and must
 
 REMARKS. 163 
 
 therefore be gathered in folds. But, alas 
 for such sheepish commentators ! the next 
 definition would destroy their theory at 
 once: "LEVIATHAN. A Serpent, espe 
 cially a large one." So Isaiah xxvii. 1 : 
 "In that day the Lord, with his sore, and 
 great, and strong sword, shall punish levi 
 athan the piercing serpent, even leviathan 
 that crooked serpent ; and he shall slay 
 the dragon that is in the sea." 
 
 It may be said that this verse refers to 
 the 20th chapter, 1st verse (which see). 
 If so, then this serpent of the sea is indeed 
 (what I have long suspected might be the 
 fact) the devil. But let us go on with our 
 definition. 
 
 " 2. Spec. The crocodile, Job xli. 25, 
 etc. 3. A sea-monster, Ps. civ. 26." I 
 insert this passage, also : 
 
 23. Man goeth forth unto his work, and to his 
 labor until the evening. 
 
 24. LORD, how manifold are thy works ! in 
 wisdom hast thou made them all ; the earth is 
 full of thy- riches ; 
 
 25. So t.s this great and wide sea, wherein are 
 things creeping innumerable, both small and great 
 beasts.
 
 164 REMARKS. 
 
 26. There go the ships ; there is that leviathan, 
 whom thou hast made to play therein. 
 
 27. These wait all upon thee, that thou mayst 
 give them their meat in due season. 
 
 28. That thou givest them they gather : thou 
 openest thy hand, they are filled with good. 
 
 King David, it seems, did not think it a 
 ship, or a whirlpool. It would certainly 
 be an interesting sight to see a whirlpool 
 or a ship eating meat? The definition, 
 again, regards this passage in the sense of 
 a cruel enemy (as this serpent is undoubt 
 edly far more cruel than the whale), and re 
 fers us to Ps. Ixxiv. 14, Isaiah li. 9, Ezra 
 xxix. 3, xxxii. 2, 3. Bochart Ilieroz., P. II. 
 Lib.V. cap. xvi., xviii. Here we must pause 
 a moment to see what Pontoppidan, the 
 Bishop of Bergen, says with regard to these 
 passages of Scripture, and also what is his 
 opinion with regard to what Bochart says 
 on this subject, which he gives in section 
 9, p. 106, of his Natural History of Nor 
 way, as follows : 
 
 " The supposition that the Sea-Snake 
 answers the description of the leviathan 
 better than any other animal yet known,
 
 REMARKS. 165 
 
 and may be understood by the leviathan, 
 or the crooked serpent (Isaiah xxvii. 1) 
 that shall slay the dragon that is in the 
 sea, or that it may be the long serpent 
 mentioned in Job xxvi. 13, is not without 
 some foundation." 
 
 I insert here the 12th and 13th verses 
 from that chapter : 
 
 He divideth the sea with his power, 
 and by his understanding he smite th through 
 the proud. By his spirit he hath garnished 
 the heavens ; his hand hath formed the 
 crooked serpent." 
 
 Again, Pontoppidan says, in the same 
 place : " That it is the Pier tiny -Serpent, or 
 the Boom-serpent (serpens vectis, according 
 to some authors), is not improbable ; for 
 they often lie stretched out before a creek, 
 like a boom, to block the passage. If Bo- 
 chart had had any knowledge of this crea 
 ture, which is very little known anywhere 
 but in the North, he probably would not 
 have taken the whale to be the leviathan. 
 * Cetum Hebrsei iisdem nominibus appellant 
 quibus Draconem, nempe, Thannin et Le-
 
 166 REMARKS. 
 
 viathan, ant ob formee similitudinem, aut 
 ratione molis, et quia cetus in aquatilibus 
 tantum prrcstat, quantum in reptilibus prses- 
 tant virtute Dracones. (Hierozoic, Lib. 
 I. cap. vi. p. 45.) The similitude of shape 
 which writers urge betwixt the whale and 
 the dragon, is what I cannot find out ; nor 
 can I discover how this author (whom I 
 otherwise esteem as one of the most learned 
 men the world ever produced) comes to 
 say in the same place, Balsenam multi vo- 
 lunt. ideo dici rrn crD Serpentem vectis 
 (Isaiah xxvii. 1), quod ab uno maris extreme 
 ad alterum, vectis instar, attingat. This 
 does not at all agree with the whale, which 
 is usually but fifty, seventy, or at most, 
 eighty feet in length ; at least not near so 
 well as with the Sea-Snake." Here Pon- 
 toppidan states that the length of the Sea- 
 Serpent is variously estimated, by fisher 
 men and others, to be from one hundred 
 to two hundred feet, and he informs us 
 that some fishermen think him six hun 
 dred feet long. He thinks that two or 
 more of these snakes follow each other in
 
 HEM ARKS. 167 
 
 a line, as they have been seen to extend 
 to great lengths. And then he observes 
 further, that, "what the word of God 
 says, in the place already cited, of the 
 leviathan, namely, that it is both a Pole- 
 serpent and a Crooked-serpent, that is, he 
 is soon bent in a curve, and soon stretched 
 again in a straight line, agrees perfectly 
 with this Sea-snake, according to what 
 has already been said." 
 
 But I must go on with the definition. 
 The next meaning given is "to roll, Germ. 
 r alien t to wind," &c. I also find, in a more 
 critical lexicon, byGuilelmus Gesenius, that 
 this word, leviathan, is defined in Latin as 
 follows ; " (Animal) flexum, in spiras con- 
 volutum. 1. serpens, &c. 2. spec, croc- 
 odilus. (Job xl. 25, &c.) 3. qusevis bel- 
 lua magna aquatilis. (Ps. civ. 26.) [This 
 passage I have already given.] Eaque pro 
 hoste attroce. (Ps. Ixxiv. 13 and 14.)" I 
 insert these two verses also : " Thou didst 
 divide the sea by thy strength : thou 
 breakest the heads of the dragons in the 
 waters. Thou breakest the heads of levi-
 
 168 REMARKS. 
 
 athan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat 
 to the people inhabiting the wilderness." 
 Now it can hardly be presumed that the 
 children of Israel were to eat either drag 
 ons, serpents, or crocodiles ; in fact, these 
 verses cannot be taken literally, for we are 
 referred by the commentator to the 14th 
 chapter of Numbers, where Joshua tells 
 the children of Israel that they shall pre 
 vail over the Hittites, the Jebusites, and 
 the Amorites, in the 9th verse. " Only 
 rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear 
 ye the people of the land : for they are 
 bread for us : their defence is departed 
 from them, and the Lord is with us : fear 
 them not." Now, nobody supposes that the 
 children of Israel were cannibals, and that 
 they meant to eat the Ilittites, the Jebu 
 sites, and the Amorites for bread, any more 
 than they were to eat the crocodile, the 
 dragon, or the leviathan for meat. The 
 Bible simply means to tell us here, that the 
 people of the land flowing with milk and 
 honey would be destroyed by them, as the 
 hosts of Pharaoh were destroyed in the
 
 REMARKS. 169 
 
 Red Sea, or the same as the Lord broke 
 " the heads of leviathan in pieces." But 
 to conclude this argument, I shall insist 
 that the leviathan cannot be a crocodile, 
 because crocodiles only swim in fresh water, 
 arid the leviathan is usually mentioned as 
 swimming in the sea. But commentators 
 say that the sea means in some cases the 
 river Nile, and, as there were plenty of 
 crocodiles in the Nile, and the 41st chapter 
 of Job, 30th verse, declares that the*levia- 
 than comes on shore, therefore the levia 
 than is a crocodile. Well, it is a comfort 
 to find that we are no longer contending 
 with a whale or a whirlpool ; for I presume 
 that it is very rare to meet with either the 
 one or the other on shore. Commentators 
 (even the most learned) seem to be a little 
 in doubt as to the true meaning of this 
 word leviathan. The best Hebrew scholars 
 are well aware that it means a serpent, for 
 this is the first definition given in the He 
 brew lexicon ; yet they have decided not 
 to translate the word in the text, but to let 
 it stand almost in the original Hebrew, that 
 15
 
 1YO BEMARKS. 
 
 people may speculate on its true meaning ; 
 or have been satisfied by giving a note or 
 two, sometimes filled with the most various 
 learning, but too often so absurd as to call 
 into play the tongue of satire, or the keen 
 shafts of ridicule. I must tell a story in 
 this connection, and I am done ; for, driven 
 as I am by commentators from the sea to 
 the river, which they contend is the sea, 
 and therefore decide that they must have a 
 leviathan in the river also (a wish on their 
 part perfectly natural), I intend to gratify 
 them by giving them a well-authenticated 
 serpent, in a river in Egypt, that will an 
 swer the description in Job far better than 
 the crocodile. 
 
 "Diodorus Siculus, Lib. III., relates of 
 a serpent in Egypt, sixty feet long, which, 
 though but small in comparison of those we 
 have been speaking of, yet was in appear 
 ance too large to be caught and carried 
 alive to Alexandria, to be presented to 
 King Ptolemy the Second. This great 
 prince was eminent for his curiosity. He 
 was desirous of seeing everything that was
 
 KEMARKS. 171 
 
 strange or scarce. Those that brought him 
 elephants, or any other uncommon animals, 
 were liberally rewarded. By this means 
 the Greeks became acquainted with many 
 things that were before utterly unknown 
 to them. Such a laudable curiosity, and 
 so noble a spirit in a king, to reward all 
 those that contributed to please and instruct 
 him, prevailed upon a company of hunts 
 men to attempt to bring him the aforesaid 
 great serpent, which LIVED CHIEFLY in the 
 WATER, but strayed ashore from its proper 
 element a considerable distance every day, 
 to make a prey of the farmers cattle for 
 his subsistence. Their first attack, which 
 was very vigorous, failed, as the historian 
 says, and cost about twenty of them their 
 lives ; but, as the rest grew more experi 
 enced by this loss, they would not relin 
 quish their enterprise, being in hopes of 
 receiving a greater reward in case they 
 should succeed. They conquered it at last 
 by making a large net, of very strong ropes, 
 and watching their opportunity when the 
 creature went out in search of prey ; then
 
 172 REMARKS. 
 
 they stopped up the way it usually took in 
 its return, and made a kind of defile, 
 through which it was obliged to pass. At 
 the end of this they placed the net, and 
 drove the monster into it. When they had 
 thus secured it, they carried it to the king, 
 who gave them a reward suited to the 
 strangeness of the creature and the hazard 
 of their enterprise. The serpent was saved 
 to be a sight for strangers who visited 
 Ptolemy s court, and had every day a large 
 allowance of proper food." PONTOPPIDAN, 
 Natural History of Norway, sec. 10, page 
 209. 
 
 Now, may not this be the leviathan men 
 tioned in the Book of Job ? 
 
 E. B. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE, 1857.
 
 LETTERS, FACTS, AND EXTRACTS FROM 
 NEWSPAPERS. 
 
 181?. 
 
 BOSTON, August 18. 
 
 MONSTROUS SERPENT. We have seen several 
 letters from Gloucester, which describe a prodi 
 gious snake that has made its appearance in Cape 
 Ann harbor. It was first seen at some distance 
 from shore by some fishermen, ten or twelve days 
 ago ; but it was then generally believed to be the 
 creature of the imagination, and of the family 
 
 " Of that huge snake tremendous, curled, 
 Whose monstrous circle girds the world." 
 
 But he has since come within the harbor of 
 Gloucester, and has been seen by hundreds of 
 people. He is declared by some persons, who 
 approached within ten or fifteen yards of him, to 
 be sixty or seventy feet in length ; round, and of 
 the diameter of a barrel. Others state his length 
 variously, from fifty to one hundred feet. His 
 motions are serpentine, extremely varied, and 
 exceedingly rapid. He turns himself completely 
 round almost instantaneously. He sometimes 
 15*
 
 174 LETTERS AND EXTRACTS. 
 
 darts forward with his head out of water, at the 
 rate of a mile in three minutes, leaving a wake 
 behind him of half a mile in length. Ilis head, as 
 large as the head of a horse, is shaped somewhat 
 like that of a large dog, is raised about eight feet 
 out of water, arid is partly white, the other part 
 black. He appears to be full of joints, and resem 
 bles a string of buoys on a net-rope, as set in the 
 water to catch herring. Others describe him as 
 like a string of water-casks. His back is black. 
 Various attempts have been made, without suc 
 cess, to take him. Four boats went out oil 
 Thursday, filled with adventurous sailors and 
 experienced gunners, armed with muskets, har 
 poons, &c. Three muskets were discharged at 
 him from a distance of thirty feet ; two balls were 
 thought to strike his head, but without effect. 
 He immediately after plunged into the water, and 
 disappeared for a short time, after which he 
 moved off to the outer harbor, and was seen no 
 more that night. A number of persons are em 
 ployed in making a net of cod-lines, of sufficient 
 strength and size to take him. It is conjectured 
 that he has resorted to this harbor for the purpose 
 of preying upon a very numerous shoal of her 
 rings, which have lately appeared there. If he 
 has been instrumental, as is supposed, in driving 
 these herring into the harbor, he has rendered an 
 essential service to the town.
 
 LETTERS AND EXTRACTS. 175 
 
 THE editor of the New York Gazette " gravely " 
 affects to doubt the existence of the sea-monster 
 on our coast. Perhaps he has yet to learn that 
 it is as much the part of folly to doubt, in the face 
 of abundant and unquestionable evidence, as it is 
 to listen with credulity to vague and improbable 
 rumors. 
 
 1820. 
 
 SALEM, August 11. 
 
 A SEA-SERPENT. In our last paper we men 
 tioned the receht appearance of the Sea-Serpent 
 at Phillips Beach, and at the same time stated 
 to the public the sources of our information and 
 the grounds of our belief. The Register, in a sum 
 mary and dogmatical style, attempts to discredit 
 our statement ; our assertions are, however, con 
 troverted only by the authority of some anony 
 mous "friend." But, as the public cannot be 
 expected to pin its faith on the bold assertions 
 of any editor or " friend," facts only are entitled 
 to attention. 
 
 Since our last, inquiries have again been made 
 of the persons whom we named, and they have 
 now confirmed by solemn depositions the state 
 ment we published. Messrs. Lewis, King, Rey 
 nolds, and Ingalls, are men of intelligence and 
 credibility ; when they relate what they aver 
 they saw, we believe them. 
 
 In the opinion of some, however, to be incred-
 
 176 LETTERS AND EXTRACTS. 
 
 ulous is to be wise. The subject, we are aware, 
 is interesting to the public, especially to natural 
 ists ; and, wishing not to trifle with what is 
 serious, we have taken the pains to put in an 
 authentic shape the information we have gath 
 ered, which we now publish. Gazette. 
 
 I, Andrew Reynolds, of Lynn, of lawful age, 
 depose arid say, That, on Saturday, the fifth 
 day of August, inst., about one o clock, ?. M., I 
 discovered in the water near Phillips Beach, at 
 Swampscot, an animal different from any that I 
 had ever seen before ; he was lying on the sur 
 face of the water, which was at that time very 
 smooth, and appeared to be about fifty or sixty 
 feet long. 
 
 Jona. B. Lewis, and Benj. King, who work in 
 the same shop with me, also saw him ; and we 
 took a boat and rowed towards him ; we ap 
 proached within about thirty yards of him, and 
 had a very distinct view of him. lie had a head 
 about two feet long, and shaped somewhat like 
 an egg, which he carried out of the water when 
 he was moving. There were several protuber 
 ances on his back, the highest points of which 
 appeared to be seven or eight inches above the 
 level of the water. He was perfectly black. 
 When we first drew towards him, he was moving 
 westerly from Phillips Point, and, as we drew 
 near to him, he turned and moved to the east-
 
 LETTERS AND EXTRACTS. 177 
 
 ward ; and, when we got within about thirty 
 yards of him, he sunk under water and dis 
 appeared. ANDREW REYNOLDS. 
 
 ESSEX, ss. August 10, 1820. Subscribed and 
 sworn to before 
 
 JOHN PRINCE, Jun., Jus. Pads. 
 
 I, Jona. B. Lewis, of Lynn, of lawful age, de 
 pose and say, That I went in the boat with 
 Andrew Reynolds and Benj. King, to see the 
 animal described by said Reynolds in his deposi 
 tion, and that the description of him therein given 
 is correct. As I was rowing, I had not so good 
 an opportunity of viewing him as Mr. King had, 
 who sat in the stern-sheets with his face towards 
 him all the time. JONA. B. LEWIS. 
 
 ESSEX, ss. August 10, 1820. Subscribed and 
 sworn to before 
 
 JOHN PRINCE, Jun., Jus. Pads. 
 
 I, Benjamin King, of Lynn, of lawful age, de 
 pose and say, That, on Saturday, August 5th, 
 I went out in a boat with Andrew Reynolds and 
 Jonathan B. Lewis, to see the animal described in 
 said Reynolds deposition. I had a perfectly good 
 view of him, and his description of him is correct. 
 I counted twenty-three protuberances on him 
 distinctly visible at once ; I judged him to be 
 about seventy feet long. I sat in the stern of
 
 178 LETTERS AND EXTRACTS. 
 
 the boat, and had a better opportunity of seeing 
 him than the others, who were rowing. 
 
 BENJAMIN KING. 
 
 ESSEX, ss. August 10, 1820. Subscribed and 
 sworn to before 
 
 JOHN PRINCE, Jun., Jus. Pads. 
 
 I, Joseph Ingalls, of Lynn, of lawful age, de 
 pose and say, That, on Saturday, August 5th, 
 I saw the animal described by Mr. Reynolds and 
 the others who went with him in the boat. I saw 
 him from my shop, which is on the water s edge ; 
 I judged him to be about twenty feet long ; but, 
 when the young men returned to the shop, we 
 had a conversation about him, and they said, 
 that, as they di ew near to him, he appeared 
 much longer than he did when they saw him 
 from the shop. I have no doubt that the descrip 
 tion they have given of him is correct. 
 
 JOSEPH INGALLS. 
 
 ESSEX, ss. August 10, 1820. Subscribed and 
 sworn to before 
 
 JOHN PRINCE, Jun., Jus. Pads. 
 
 1823. 
 
 A SEA-SERPENT. I, Francis Johnson, Jr., tes 
 tify, that, in going into the harbor from Nahant, 
 July 12, 1823, at 9 A. M., I saw standing into Lynn
 
 LETTERS AND EXTRACTS. 179 
 
 harbor something in the water resembling 1 a row 
 of porpoises. I then supposed it to be such, and 
 forbore to notice it. About two hours after 
 wards, I heard a noise in the water, and saw, 
 about four rods distant, something resembling 
 the head of a fish or serpent, elevated about two 
 feet above the surface, followed by seven or eight 
 bunches, the fh st about six feet from the head, all 
 about six feet apart, and raised about six inches 
 above the water. It stood eastwardly at the rate 
 of five miles an hour, with an undulating motion, 
 like that of a caterpillar. Its color was dark, like 
 that of a shark or porpoise. I pursued it about 
 a mile, being in a small fishing-boat, and had a 
 fair view of it for about thirty minutes, the water 
 being smooth, and the sky clear ; and then lost 
 sight of it, supposing it to dive beneath the sur 
 face. I believe it to be what I took for a row of 
 porpoises two hours before. I am about twenty 
 years of age ; was born and have always lived at 
 Nahant ; have been constantly employed in fish 
 ing ; have seen every species of fish accustomed 
 to visit our coast, but never saw anything resem 
 bling this. I have heretofore constantly doubted 
 the existence of the Sea-Serpent, but now firmly 
 believe what I saw to be the animal hitherto de 
 scribed as such. 
 
 (Signed) FRANCIS JOHNSON, Jr. 
 
 Nahant, July 12, 1823. 
 
 We hereby certify that the above statement
 
 180 LETTERS AND EXTRACTS. 
 
 was given in our presence ; and, from our knowl 
 edge of the character of Mr. Johnson, we have 
 no doubt of his veracity. 
 
 (Signed) H. A. S. DEARBORN, 
 
 NATH. AMORY, 
 SIDNEY BARTLETT, 
 THOS. WETMORE, 
 RICH D D. HARRIS, 
 RUSSELL JARVIS. 
 
 I certify that Francis Johnson, Jr., made the 
 same report to me, previous to his landing at 
 Nahant. J. S. DORR. 
 
 Nahant, July 12, 1823. [Boston, Patriot.
 
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