“’The ship pitching violently, strained and cracked from end to end; so that, what with the noise of the sea, the rattling of the ropes, and the whistling of the wind, hardly one word of the service could be distinguished.  The men, however, understood by a motion of the captain’s hand, when the time came, and the body of our dear little brother was committed to the deep.

“’So violent a squall was sweeping past the ship at this moment that no sound was heard of the usual splash, which made the sailors (naturally superstitious) allege, that their young favorite never touched the water at all, but was at once carried off in the gale to his final resting-place!’”

GEORGE.  “Oh! how very melancholy.  It seems much more dismal to be buried in the sea than on the land: 

  “’For the dead should lie in the churchyard green,
  Where the pleasant flowers do spring.’”

EMMA.  “I shall be grateful to Captain Hall if his pathetic description of the funeral of ‘Dolly’ checks your desire to become a sailor, George; for I cannot bear to think of it.  We are now to sail along the coast of South America, and the first gulfs in the north of this coast are the gulfs of Maracaybo, Coro, Trieste, and Paria, by the island of Trinidad, where——­”

CHARLES.  “Stop! stop!  Emma.  Out of four gulfs there must be something to be had worth fishing for, is there not?”

MR. BARRAUD.  “You may fish for melancholy in the Gulf of Trieste, Charles, if you are so disposed, for it is a dreadful place.  Here, in the midst of furious waves, enormous rocks raise their isolated heads, and scarcely, even with a fair wind, can ships overcome the strength of the stream.”

CHARLES.  “We will not angle in that gulf; but I have fished up an island in Maracaybo, or Venezuela Gulf.  It is called Curacoa, and is arid and sterile.  There is very little water, and only one well in the island, and the water is sold at a high price.  Its capital is Williamstadt, one of the neatest cities in the West Indies.”

MRS. WILTON.  “The entrance to the Gulf of Paria on the north side is called Dragon’s Mouth, on the south, Serpent’s Mouth.  This gulf separates Trinidad from South America.  Trinidad is about 70 miles from east to west, and nearly 50 from north to south.  The most remarkable phenomenon there is a bituminous lake, situated on the western coast, near the village of La Brea.  It is nearly three miles in extent, of a circular form, and about 80 feet above the level of the sea.  Small islands, covered with plants and shrubs, are occasionally observed on this lake, but it is subject to frequent changes, and the verdant isles often disappear.  Trinidad is important on account of its fertility, its extent, and its position.”

EMMA.  “The next bay in our course is the Bay of Oyapok.”