File:The pearl divers and Crusoes of the Sargasso Sea (1896) (14578679018).jpg

Identifier: pearldiverscruso00stabrich (find matches)
Title: The pearl divers and Crusoes of the Sargasso Sea
Year: 1896 (1890s)
Authors: Stables, Gordon, 1840-1910
Subjects: Oceania -- Juvenile fiction
Publisher: London : James Nisbet
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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carrying five plates,one on top of the other, and also a basket of brokenfood, suet, bread, and bits of meat. Sit as still now, he says to me, as a plastersaint—dont cough, dont even wink, dont make amovement loud enough to wake a weasel. So there I sat as quiets a little prayin Samel. Then down went the dishes on the balcony, and thehermit of the old windmill took from the comer apair of wings (white and big). They were mounted on top of a stick no biggerthan a fiddle-bow. He leant over the balcony just for a moment look-ing east and west, and I could see him cross his breast,as Catholics do, then he uttered a loud and mournfulcry. Whether whistle or shout, I couldnt say, neigh-bour, but after repeating this several times he wavedthe wings. What I saw next ahnost frightened me. A vastmultitude of sea-birds, and even rooks and cormorants,assembled round the balcony and alighted on it. Inever saw gulls so near before, neighbour. Neverknew they were so clean, and white, and beautiful,
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Neighbour ! It were a lovely sight.—Page 45. A WONDERFUL EVENING 45 and with such wondering eyes. Neighbour, I aintever going to shoot a sea-gull again. Well, the hermit was sitting cross-legged on thebalcony, and more than a score alighted near him,to eat the bread from the soft food from theplates. Now and then a little quarrel would get upamong these. But he gently lowered that wingedstick and touched them, and peace was at once re-stored. The other birds, especially the cormorants, camealongside him, stood on his knees, on his shouldersand arms, and fed from his hands. Neighbour, it were a lovely sight. And he talked to them as he gently smoothed theirbonnie heads with a little finger. I noticed it wasalways his little finger he used. Sometimes he bent down and kissed the birdnearest him on the poll. And more than that, neighbour, as he sat therefeeding his pets, he sang sweet and low to them, akind of unearthly chant, but mournful, and the birdsseemed to hke it, too. But the fo

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