to shade them from the glare of the sun, and lounged listlessly upon
the wheel;--the captain was below taking a nap, to the great relief
of men and boys;--some of the passengers were sitting on the poop,
under an awning, drowsily perusing a book or old newspaper; some
leaning on the taffrail, watching the many-colored dolphin, and
those beautiful, but spiteful, little creatures, the Portuguese
men-of-war, which look so splendid as they sail gently on the smooth
surface of the blue ocean, every little ripple causing a change of
color in their transparent sails. I was admiring these curious
navigators, as I stood with two or three friends, who, like myself,
felt idle, and cared only to dispose of the time in the most
agreeable manner attainable in such a ship, with such a commander;
and I said, rather thoughtlessly, considering Frederic was at my
side, 'How I should like to possess one of those little creatures; I
suppose they _can_ be caught?'

"Frederic moved from me, and an instant after he was on the
forecastle; presently, I heard a splash in the water, and, leaning
over the rail, I saw him swimming after a fine specimen, which shone
in all the bright and varied colors of the rainbow, as it floated
proudly by. He had no sooner reached the treasure, and made a grasp
at it, than he gave a loud scream, for the creature had encircled
the poor boy's body with its long fibrous legs, or, as they are
properly called, 'tentacula'. He struggled violently, for he was in
great agony; at length he escaped, and was helped on deck by one of
the men, who said, he wished, 'he had known what the youngster had
in his head, and he would have prevented him attempting to catch
such a thing,' for _he_ was aware of the extraordinary peculiarities
of these singular little creatures. When he came on deck, he looked
exactly as if he had been rolled in a bed of nettles, and the