m 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
steward had to rub him with oil, and give him medicine to reduce
the fever caused by the pain of the sting.

"You may be sure, that directly the captain heard of this affair, he
was more disposed to chastise, than to pity, our friend Frederic;
but I interfered, and begged he would leave him to me, as I had been
the cause of the disaster, and must now make amends by attending
him, until he was well enough to return to his duty. The captain was
very much displeased, and I regretted extremely that a foolish wish
of mine should have caused so much annoyance, and felt it my duty to
endeavor to alleviate the boy's sufferings as much as possible. Poor
Frederic! he was laid up three or four days, and had experienced
enough to caution him against ever again attempting to _capture_ a
'Portuguese man-of-war.'[1]

[Footnote 1: The ancients are said to have derived the art of
navigation from these animals, which, in calm weather, are seen
floating on the surface of the water, with some of their tentacula
extended at their sides, while two arms that are furnished with
membranaceous appendages serve the office of sails. These animals
raise themselves to the surface of the sea, by ejecting the
sea-water from their shells; and on the approach of danger, they
draw their arms, and with them a quantity of water, which occasions
them to sink immediately. By possessing this power, they are but
rarely taken perfect, as the instant they are disturbed they
disappear. They are more frequently caught in the nets of fishermen
than any other way, or found