as a coincidence, but a coincidence that was sent for a purpose, and every mind was fixed upon the steward.  The wretched man was stricken with panic.  His thoughts centred on his past, and he became an abject drivelling confessionist, emptying himself of deeds that were awful to listen to, and had been kept to himself for years.  The voyage soon ended, and the last I heard of him was that he was drinking himself to death; he had never got over the conviction that the Divine wrath was upon him.

The sight of a shark is an everyday occurrence in some latitudes.  Nothing is thought of it, and sometimes much sport is derived in attempting a capture.  But should a vessel be dogged for a succession of days by a shark, or (as very frequently happens) by a shoal of them, gloom begins to spread, imaginations begin to widen; whisperings and close consultations for evil purposes take place; and soon there has developed an epidemic of melancholia.  Conjecture is rife.  The explanation of it all is that these sharks have designs on human flesh, or they would not follow with such tenacity.  There is much speculation as to how the unfortunate men are to be delivered into the grip of their ferocity, and whether the feast will involve the sacrifice of one or all of them.  The more dismal the weather, the more impressive the danger becomes.  Perchance a man falls overboard, or an accident occurs, no matter which; it is at once attributed to the proximity of the sharks.  “They would never follow a vessel if they did not know they were to be rewarded by some tasty recompense.”  Indeed they were believed to have supernatural instincts as well as gluttonous intentions, which filled the sailor with alarm, and caused him to ponder uneasily over the idea of his last moments.  It did not occur to him that these “slim” followers kept in close proximity to their vessel so that they might partake of the food that was daily cast into the sea; they are not particular whether it is human or not.  What they look for is food.  But Jack loves tragedy.  He likes to imagine he is in danger of being eaten or robbed or imposed upon.  The non-fulfilment of his prognostications does not humiliate him:  it seems to inspire more tenacious belief.

The sea serpent, whatever that might be, has caused mariners of every age much perturbation.  Periodically there are sensational reports emanating from some sea captain, that the real bleary-eyed monster has at last been discovered.  Illimitable dimensions are given, together with much detail of its many peculiarities.  Three years ago, in the month of May, I was cruising with some friends in my schooner yacht.  We had traversed many of the Scottish Lochs, amongst them Loch Fyne, where the finest herring in the world abound, and are much sought after by fishermen as well as by bottle-nosed whales.  We were making our way from Inverary towards Campbeltown, and as the wind was shy, off the north side of Arran, we were hugging