Bluenose

“ They were too well accustomed to the face of nature in every varying mood to be much struck with her face on the present occasion. Perhaps we may except Guy Foster, who, being more of a city man than his companions, besides being more highly educated, was more deeply impressed by what he saw that evening. But Guy was too much absorbed by the object of the expedition to venture any remark on the beautiful aspect of nature.
“D’ye see that lugger, Bax?” said Bluenose, pointing to a particular spot on the sea. ”

“ One of their largest boats was launched through the wild surf, as if by magic, and its stout crew were straining at the oars as if their lives depended on the result.
The boat happened to be the one belonging to Captain Bluenose and his comrades, and the first man who leaped into her, as she was driven down into the sea, was Long Orrick; for, bad man though he was, he was not without his redeeming points, and, coward though he was before the face of man, he was brave enough in facing the dangers of the sea.
It was a fearful struggle in which the Deal lugger engaged that night. ”

“ At this stage in the elucidation of the knotty point, Bluenose observed that his pipe was going out, so he paused, pulled at it vigorously for a few seconds, and then resumed his discourse.
“Now, lads, wot ought you for to do w’en you’ve got hold of a puzzler? Why, you ought to sit down and consider of it, which means you should begin at the beginnin’; an’ let me tell you, it’s harder to find the beginnin’ of a puzzler than p’raps you suppose. Havin’ found the beginnin’, you should look at it well, and then go on lookin’, inch by inch, and fut by fut, till you comes to the end of it ”

“ Nothin’ ever stops Bluenose, blow high, blow low. W’en he wants to go off to sea, he goes off, right or wrong. But you’ll take a glass o’ grog first.”
Old Jeph would not do this, so he was led down to the beach by Coleman, where they found the boat being launched. ”

“ The dim light of the swinging lamp fell on her pale face, and revealed to the surprised and sympathetic beholders features of great beauty and delicate form, over which masses of dark brown hair straggled in wild confusion.
“Now, lads, clear out o’ the way,” cried Captain Bluenose, pulling off his coat energetically. “Leave this here little craft to me. I know ’xactly wot’s got to be done, d’ye see. Turn her on her face—there; never go for to put a drownded body on its back, be it man or woman. ”

“ On board the “Nancy,” Bax and Bluenose had some suspicion that something was brewing, but whether a “whole gale,” or “half a gale,” or a “stiff breeze,” they could not be expected to divine, not being possessed of supernatural gifts.
Had they been possessed of a good barometer they would have been able to foretell what was coming without supernatural gifts; but Messrs Denham, Crumps, and Company were economical in their tendencies, and deemed barometers superfluous. ”

“ These natives were very superior to those whom the travellers had last met with, and one of them was engaged to take the place of Bluenose. This man, who was clad in a shirt made of the skins of the musk-rat, after which he was named, was a very lively individual. He sang the songs not only of his own tribe, but also those of the Esquimaux, with whom his tribe had been formerly at war, but were now at peace. He also undertook to perform an Esquimaux dance in Mackenzie’s canoe, and would infallibly have upset that conveyance had he not been violently restrained. ”

“ One of the men on the mast, seeing the boat at his very feet, made a sudden spring towards it, but it plunged into the hollow of the passing wave, and, missing his grasp, he fell with a wild shriek into the water. He was swept away instantly. This so unnerved Lucy that she almost fainted in her father’s arms.
“Come,” cried Bax, putting the end of the rope round his waist, “we must not trifle thus.”
“The rope won’t bear ye both,” said Bluenose. “You’re too heavy, lad.”
“True,” interrupted Guy, “let me do it. I’m light, and strong enough.” ”

“ Now these Bluenoses have no motion in 'em, no enterprise, no spirit, and if any critter shows any symptoms of activity, they say he is a man of no judgment, he's speculative, he's a schemer, in short he's mad. They vegitate like a lettuce plant in sarse garden, they grow tall and, spindlin', run to seed right off, grow as bitter as gaul and die. ”

“ Guy, is this you?” he added, turning suddenly to the youth. “Why, who’d ’a thought to see you here? I do b’lieve I han’t seen ye since the last time down at the coast. But, I say, Guy, my boy, you han’t took to drinkin’, have ye?”
“No, Captain,” said Guy, with a smile, “nothing stronger than beer, and not much of that. I merely came here to meet Bax.”
Captain Bluenose—whose name, by the way, had no reference to his nose, for that was small and red—scratched his chin and stared into vacancy, as if he were meditating. ”

“ Cecil, paddling her canoe, with a trolling-line out at the end of it, and Bluebell rowing a boat, while Lilla fished with a very especial spoon-bait of her own devising. Despite, however, the seductions of the gaudy red cloth and tassel of long hair from a deer's tail, not a fish impaled itself on the circle of formidable hooks prepared for its reception, and the mid-day sun began to dart fiercely on them.
"All nature speaks of luncheon and repose," cried Lilla, beginning to wind up her line, after the frequent weed had repeatedly mocked her hopes with its dull, dead pull. ”

“ These crested Bluntnoses we found upon all the islands. The slightly-crested Bluntnose we found only on Albemarle and Indefatigable. Its scientific name might mislead one, for its head is just as much crested as its aquatic brother's. The only differences between them, apparent at first sight, are these: The terrestrial animal is somewhat stouter, his nose is longer, his eye brighter, his tail less flattened and less crested, and his color is a dusky orange, deepening into brown on the hind-quarters. ”

“ Bluebirds to fly ahead in quest of material, gayly singing, while their mates selected and carried and builded the nest? What poetry would there be in life for her, she would like to know, under such circumstances, and then, when all was done, to sit for hours and days on the eggs she had laid in order to rear a brood. Oh, no! She was not ready to give up all the pleasures of life yet, and then—and then—Miss Bluebird lowered her eyes and stammered something about being too young to leave her mother. ”

“ Gradually the rapid strokes slowed down till, with the restful calm that comes to strained nerves in the presence of a stronger, unquestioning will, the even ebb and flow of pulsing blood resumed its normal tenor.
The bread that Élise had cast upon the waters returned to her in a manifold measure. The vague sense of oppression which she had felt on leaving the doors of the Blue Goose gave way to an equally vague sense of restful assurance. She could dissect neither emotion, nor could she give either a name. The sense of comfort was vague; other emotions stood out clearly. ”

“ But they differ so much from their American cousin that they ought to have a name of their own, and if the scientific Amblyrhynchus looks too formidable, let us translate it and call the creature a Bluntnose. On Charles Island we found abundance of the crested Bluntnose climbing with great agility over the rocks near Black Beach. The creature is about 80 inches long, nearly black, the old males having a deep-red hue on the sides. It swims with great ease by its flat tail, and uses its long fingers and long nails for scrambling on the rocks, holding them, while swimming, close to the body. ”

“ With a temper as heavenly as the color of their feathers, the bluebird's sense of justice is not always so adorable. But sparrows unnerve them into cowardice. The comparatively infrequent nesting of the bluebirds about our homes at the present time is one of the most deplorable results of unrestricted sparrow immigration. Formerly they were the commonest of bird neighbors.
Nest-building is not a favorite occupation with the bluebirds, that are conspicuously domestic none the less. Two, and even three, broods in a season fully occupy their time. ”

“ When the young birds first emerge from the shell they are almost black; they come into their splendid heritage of color by degrees, lest their young heads might be turned. It is only as they spread their tiny wings for their first flight from the nest that we can see a few blue feathers.
With the first cool days of autumn the bluebirds collect in flocks, often associating with orioles and kingbirds in sheltered, sunny places where insects are still plentiful. ”

“ The answering fire of the beleaguered men died to silence. The dark, distant forms grew daring, ran from shelter and clustered at the foot of the slide, across the trail from the Blue Goose. Rambling shots, yells of defiance and triumph, broke from the gathering strikers. The shafts of sunlight had swept down the mountain, smiting hard the polished windows of the Blue Goose that blazed and flamed in their fierce glory. ”

“ The purple-blue flowers of the Bluebell droop gracefully at intervals along their slender stems and bloom all summer long. The plants grow but a few inches tall in the alpine regions where each bears but a single blossom, but they are sometimes 3 ft. high at lower altitudes, especially in the shade. They are found on foothills and in mountain meadows and aspen woodlands at 6000-13000 ft. This species is the true Bluebell of Scotland. ”

“ When engaged in grazing they have an extremely dull and clumsy appearance, and at a little distance might often be mistaken for wild buffaloes; but their manner is sportive—at one moment standing to gaze at nothing, and at the next scampering over the plain without any apparent object in view, making grotesque curvets and plunges, with their preposterous Bonassus-looking heads held down between the fore legs. ”

“ Like purple martins, bluebirds have taken advantage of nest boxes provided in areas around farms, near open fields, and in orchards.
Nest: Eastern bluebird nesting sites (snags) are often eliminated because of their unsightliness or interference with cultivation. When available, eastern bluebirds nest in old woodpecker holes, hollows of decayed trees, and crevices of rocks (Pearson 1936) . They will readily take to hollows in wooden fence posts or correctly sized and placed nest boxes (5 × 5 × 8 inches high with a 1.5-inch hole located 6 inches from the bottom) . ”

“ Long “wedges” of wild-geese are seen cleaving the sky in their northward flight. The little pussies on the willows are coaxed from their winter nest, and creep out upon the stem. The solitary bluebird makes his appearance, flitting along the thickets and stone walls with little hesitating warble, as if it were not yet the appointed time to sing; and down among the bogs, that cautious little pioneer, the swamp-cabbage flower, peers above the ground beneath his purple-spotted hood. He knows the fickle month which gives him birth, and keeps well under cover. ”

“ The nest is a thick, soft, warm structure, securely fastened in the fork of a maple or an apple-tree.
None of our familiar birds endear themselves to us more than does the bluebird. The first bluebird in the spring is as welcome as the blue sky itself. ”

“ Like the bull, he has the custom of pawing the ground with his feet; his hide is hard, his flesh is tender, and good. By these characters, which are all we can rely on from Aristotle, we see how near the bonasus approaches towards the bison. Every part, in fact, agrees, the shape of the horns excepted, but which, as we have already observed, greatly varies in animals, who are, [35] notwithstanding, of the same species. We have seen such crooked horns, taken from an hunched ox of Africa, and we shall hereafter prove, that this hunched ox is no other than the bison. ”

“ This was Cecil Rolleston, the eldest daughter of the house, or rather she stood in that relation to the Colonel, being the offspring of his first wife.
"Come out and play croquet, Bluebell," said she; "the children are having a game; they only let me go on condition of bringing you,"—and she led the way through the window into a charming garden, with large shady maple-trees just beginning to drop their deep-dyed, variegated leaves on the turf; the bluebirds were already gone, but the red and ashen-hued robin, nearly the size of a jay, still rustled through the boughs. ”

“ No; the Western Bluebird is no musician, but he is a beauty; and he does have the same gentle courtesy of bearing which has endeared the Bluebird wherever he is known. It is impossible to treat of Bluebirds’ domestic life without recourse to humanizing terms. Bluebird is a gentleman, chivalrous and brave, as he is tender and loving. ”

“ It is because the lad is original enough to fill a gap, and persistent enough to keep a good thing going. I haven’t the least idea but that the Blue Birds would never have been heard of outside of their little Nest if it hadn’t been for Ned and his Chirp,” commended Uncle Ben. ”

“ There is, by the bye, a little blue butterfly whom the people call bluewing; you can see it in the summer sitting on the tall blades of the grass, and its wings resemble a flax blossom; a fluttering flax blossom with antenna instead of filaments.
Little Bluewing, the dragoon’s little bluewing, that is, was not like other children; she always talked very sensibly, but she often said queer things, and everybody was puzzled to know where she got them from. All living things loved her, even the animals; fowls and calves ran up to her when they saw her, and she even dared to stroke the bull. ”

“ Bluebell at first utterly refused to receive this intolerable suggestion into her mind. Lilla must be inventing—in love with him herself, and trying to make mischief. Nothing should induce her to believe it. How irritating she was, too, with that knowing, quizzing expression in her face!
So when Cecil, tired of solitude, proposed coming into their boat, Bluebell eagerly took possession of the canoe, and went off on an independent paddle, ostensibly to look for Miss Prosody. ”