King Neptune, in great state, sat on his throne; the Tritons stood before him, but the chief seats were empty. Waving his trident round his head, he spoke. The words were those which reached the ears of Borasco, then thousands of miles away:-- "Haste hither, wild Spirits, Who wandering roam The wide-rolling ocean, When covered with foam. Abandon your fierce work Of death and dismay; Haste, fly o'er the billows, My mandate obey. From where the north gales So ragingly blow, On whiten'd wing flying From frost and from snow; Ye, in the storm striving, To swell the loud blast, The helpless bark driving, While shivers the mast, When a shriek is heard sounding Mid ocean's wild roar, And the doom'd bark is grounding Upon the dark shore, Haste hither, Sea Spirits, I bid ye appear; Haste, haste, at my call; I summon ye here!" Even while Neptune was speaking, troops of sea-monsters of every wonderful form, and of every colour, came rushing into the hall, and having made their obeisance to him, took their seats on their respective thrones. In they came, till the edifice, vast as it was, was almost full of them. There were the King of the Whales, the King of the Sharks, the King of the Porpoises, and the King of the Dolphins, the King of the Cat-fish, and the King of the Big Sea Serpents; the Kings of Ice and Snow, of Tempests and Whirlpools, and there were the guardian spirits of every headland and bay, and of every island and river in the universe; so that it is not surprising that their number should have been so considerable. Neptune then inquired in a loud voice how each had been occupied since the last convocation. "I," answered the King of the Whales, "have been engaged in protecting my subjects by hurling together large masses of ice, and by crushing the ships which come to attack them, even to the very heart of my kingdom." "And I," said the King of the Sharks, "have been engaged in sinking all the ships I could meet, so that I might give to my subjects an abundance of the food they like best." The King of the Porpoises replied, that he had been teaching his subjects to keep in the deep sea out of harm's way; and the King of the Cat-fish said, he had advised his to make themselves as disagreeable as possible, so that no one would wish to catch them; while the tall monarch of the Big Sea Serpents observed that he had strictly enjoined his to keep out of sight altogether, which fully accounts, for so few of them having ever been seen. Among the Spirits there was one who, in beauty of form, surpassed them all, for it was almost that of a human being, but more grand and majestic. The Spirit rose and spoke:--