The monimoke, and old horse, resemble in appearance the albatross, but are not more than half its size. At times, from the similarity of their appearance, I have been led to suppose them their young; and as regards the monimoke, I am still at a loss to determine as to whether the goney has a claim to its paternity or not: but the old horse or stinker, by both of which names it is indiscriminately known, is a totally distinct species; and when handled, it emits a most offensive odor, which clings with tenacity to its feathers long after being separated from the bird. The diver is about the size of the pigeon, and is only remarkable for the great depth to which it descends in search of food. The spectator may be watching the bird gracefully sailing on the surface of the water, when suddenly it disappears from view, and if the water be clear, he may be seen, with his pinions spread, pursuing his course through it with as much facility as if he were in the air, for fathoms below the surface. After a short time he gradually ascends, until, emerging from the water, he takes wing and skims through the air, unwearied by his immersion. The petrel, or Mother Carey’s chicken, is a pretty bird, smaller than the swallow, and quick as lightning in its movements; although so small, it is found in company with the larger birds unmolested. At sea not only do we see marine birds, but often, when near any point or headland, we are visited by land birds, who, blown off from the land, pursue their bewildered flight until exhausted, or, meeting a vessel, they alight upon it to refresh their wearied forms. At first they fly around and around the ship, as if fearful of molestation, when, overcome by fatigue, they forget their natural dread of mankind, and alight in the boats, or on deck, unable to move farther. Their wants are supplied by the sailors, and fresh water, of which they appear most in need, given them. After a stoppage of twelve or twenty-four hours they renew their flight, always in the direction of land. After doubling the Cape of Good Hope, which we effected without experiencing extraordinarily heavy weather, we spent several weeks in beating up towards Port Dauphin, in the Island of Madagascar, off which is a noted locality for the sperm whale fishery. Finding that we made but little headway, we kept away for the off-shore, St. Paul’s ground, and after a fine run found ourselves among the right whales. Here we saw several vessels--the Pioneer and Catharine, of New Bedford, and the Monmouth, of Cold Springs. These vessels had been absent from the United States twelve months each, and had aboard from one hundred to five hundred barrels of oil. The Monmouth reported having lost a boat and a boat’s crew, a few weeks previous, at the Island of St. Paul’s. The boat was headed by her second mate, who had remained fast to a whale until drawn into the breakers, which left not a vestige of the boat or crew in their pitiless destruction.