As day advances the dissonant din augments.  With ear-splitting cries the wild birds celebrate their matins.  Each moment, flights push from the tower, and join the aerial choir hovering overhead, while their places below are supplied by darting myriads.  But down through all this discord of commotion, I hear clear, silver, bugle-like notes unbrokenly falling, like oblique lines of swift-slanting rain in a cascading shower.  I gaze far up, and behold a snow-white angelic thing, with one long, lance-like feather thrust out behind.  It is the bright, inspiriting chanticleer of ocean, the beauteous bird, from its bestirring whistle of musical invocation, fitly styled the “Boatswain’s Mate.”

The winged, life-clouding Rodondo had its full counterpart in the finny hosts which peopled the waters at its base.  Below the water-line, the rock seemed one honey-comb of grottoes, affording labyrinthine lurking-places for swarms of fairy fish.  All were strange; many exceedingly beautiful; and would have well graced the costliest glass globes in which gold-fish are kept for a show.  Nothing was more striking than the complete novelty of many individuals of this multitude.  Here hues were seen as yet unpainted, and figures which are unengraved.

To show the multitude, avidity, and nameless fearlessness and tameness of these fish, let me say, that often, marking through clear spaces of water—­temporarily made so by the concentric dartings of the fish above the surface—­certain larger and less unwary wights, which swam slow and deep; our anglers would cautiously essay to drop their lines down to these last.  But in vain; there was no passing the uppermost zone.  No sooner did the hook touch the sea, than a hundred infatuates contended for the honor of capture.  Poor fish of Rodondo! in your victimized confidence, you are of the number of those who inconsiderately trust, while they do not understand, human nature.

But the dawn is now fairly day.  Band after band, the sea-fowl sail away to forage the deep for their food.  The tower is left solitary save the fish-caves at its base.  Its birdlime gleams in the golden rays like the whitewash of a tall light-house, or the lofty sails of a cruiser.  This moment, doubtless, while we know it to be a dead desert rock other voyagers are taking oaths it is a glad populous ship.

But ropes now, and let us ascend.  Yet soft, this is not so easy.

* * * * *

SKETCH FOURTH.

A PISGAH VIEW FROM THE ROCK.

  —­“That done, he leads him to the highest mount,
  From whence, far off he unto him did show:”—­