"Merthyn, bard of Emrys, went to sea in a house of glass, and the place where he went is unknown."-Ancient Triads of Britain. THERE were ships of silver and ships of gold from the tall white cliffs set sail; The seaweed tangled about their prows, and sea-flowers bloomed in their track; And oh, for the Home Folk! Day by day they watched for a sail to gleam; Far out he gazed with an anxious eye over miles of flowering foam; There, dimly gleaming, a ship of glass lay riding the glassy sea. His brow was wreathed with the red seaweed; his coat with shells was hung; Out under the fading sky they sailed in the wake of the pearly moon; The knight spoke soft to the startled Boy, as he stopped in his childish sport: There were ships of silver and ships of gold from all ports of Christendom; "For this is the Isle of Avalon, the port where the lost ships come." The isle was peopled with Happy Folk, in the fields and the groves at play; "But where, oh where are the poor Lost Folk?" Said Merthyn, "These are they." The glass boat drifted along the sands, and they lightly sprang to the shore. A clamor of joyous barking rose, and a faery dog, silk-white, Then Merthyn led him by winding paths through the gardens, summer-fair; They stood by a cave in a fair green hill. Dimly, as through a veil, "T is a lovely land-I am fain to stay; yet at home my mother dwells. Sir Knight, may I take my little dog?" The knight made answer sorrowful: Like the sound of silver bells "You could not keep him there; For one who has dwelt in Avalon is happy no otherwhere." LEGER ST. JOHN, veteran explorer and traveler in the far North, drew his two younger comrades aside into a doorway of the church in Battle Harbor. His eyes sparkled with characteristic enthusiasm. "Listen to me, fellows. I 've just hit on a juicy bit of news. Want to share it?" "Do we?" responded the older of the two boys he addressed. "You bet we want your news. We 're as hungry for news as an Eskimo is for blubber. Fork it over!" The other lad grinned delightedly, as if he exactly shared the sentiment of his "pal." "Listen, then. You know how long we 've been waiting for Oleson's ship that was to take us to Greenland on the year's exploring trip. Well, I've just received a message that the old man has canceled the trip for the year because of inability to raise the funds he needs. It was half an hour ago when I got the letter and I was mighty downhearted, when who should I run into but an old friend of mine, Cap'n Slocum you know, the old grizzled sailor-chap." "You mean the old fellow with a very red face?" said the older of the boys. "The same," answered St. John. "When he spotted me he sings out, 'Well! Look what the dogs drug in!' and gave my right hand a grip that made me realize what a soft thing I was after all. And when he asked me what I was doing, I told him that I was a has-been and that my hopes for a scientific survey of the birds of Greenland had gone to smash. The old rascal winked at me then and said slyly, 'I can put ye next to a leetle bit of knowledge that 'll warm that cold scientific heart of yours!' I asked him what it was, and he said, 'Have ye e'er heerd of a bird called the great hauk?' "I told him that 'slightly' was a feeble word to use concerning my interest in the great auk. "Well,' said he, winking at space, 'what would you say if I offered to take ye to where there is a living great hauk?' 44 'There's no such thing, worse luck!' said I; 'the last great auk was seen in 1844. Then the race became extinct.' "Don't ye know, me b'y,' said the old man, 'that there 's many a bird and beastie reported gone from the world when, as a fact, it's not gone from the world, but seeking refuge from the savagery of man. I've seed the great hauk, so I know it's not out of fashion yet. And what 's more, me lad, if ye 'll jine me in a little trip I'll take ye to the spot where I saw it.' "Where was that?' I asked. "'T was on a wild, remote little shore down north-one of the group of islands around American Tickle. I sees a pair of the hauks on the beach near a little cave. I can take ye there on the chance of seein' 'em again, or perhaps finding their eggs.' 999 "Well, what did you say?" asked the older boy, breathlessly. "I said I'd go, and I asked if you fellows could go too; and the old man said he 'd be glad of your help in manning the schooner." "Good for you!" cried the older boy, excitedly, wringing the hand of St. John. "Is n't that fine, Jack?" he cried. The other fellow grinned, "Sure it's fine, Whitey," said he. "We sail to-morrow morning with the turn of the tide," went on St. John. "So long, then, till supper-time to-night. Amuse yourselves as best you can.' "All right. Trust us for that!" called Whitey, as the explorer strode off; "hey, Jack, old boy?" And Jack grinned his assent. FROM the deck of the snug little schooner they watched the coast of Labrador slipping by. As the sun went down, Cape Spear loomed up ahead. |