may learn in heights of Heaven
The rapture altitude has given, 10
That he shall know the joy they feel
Who ride Thy realms on Birds of Steel.

(Reprinted by permission of Frederick A. Stokes
Company from _Poems_ by Cecil Roberts.)

A BATTLE WITH A WHALE

BY FRANK T. BULLEN

Before the discovery of petroleum, whale oil was
generally used for lighting. Whaling was then one
of the big businesses of our country. Our whalers
sought their game in all the waters of the world
where the big animals were to be found. A whaling
cruise usually lasted from two to five years. The
following description of harpooning a whale is an
actual experience of the author.

"There she white-waters! Ah, bl-o-o-o-o-w, blow,
blow!" sang Louis; and then, in another tone,
"Sperm whale, sir; lone fish, headin' 'beout east-by-nothe."

"All right. Way down from aloft," answered the
skipper, who was already halfway up the main rigging; and 5
like squirrels we slipped out of our hoops and down the
backstays, passing the skipper like a flash as he toiled upwards,
bellowing orders as he went. Short as our journey
down had been, when we arrived on deck we found all
ready for a start. But as the whale was at least seven 10
miles away and we had a fair wind for him, there was no
hurry to lower, so we all stood at attention by our respective
boats, waiting for the signal. I found, to my
surprise, that although I was conscious of a much more
rapid heartbeat than usual, I was not half so scared as I 15
expected to be--that the excitement was rather pleasant
than otherwise.

"Lower away boats!" came pealing down from the
skipper's lofty perch, succeeded instantly by the rattle of
the patent blocks as the falls flew through them, while the 20
four beautiful craft took the water with an almost simultaneous
splash. The ship keepers had trimmed the yards
to the wind and hauled up the courses, so that simply
putting the helm down deadened our way and allowed the
boats to run clear without danger of fouling one another. 5
To shove off and hoist sail was the work of a few moments,
and with a fine working breeze away we went.

Our boat, being the chief's, had the post of honor; but
there was now