There are many other interesting stories relating to these reflecting clouds, but I have not room to tell them here. You will find them in one of Parley’s books, entitled, “Wonders of the Earth, Sea, and Sky,” from which I have been permitted to copy this account and the engraving that accompanies it. Trifles. “Father, didn’t you say the world was round?” “Yes, my son.” “Well, how can it come to an end if it’s round?” “William, I wish you wouldn’t talk with your mouth so full of victuals.” * * * * * “John, I wish you wouldn’t go to balls and parties--it is very bad indeed.” “Father, didn’t you and mother go to balls and parties, when you were young?” “Yes, my son--but we have seen the folly of it.” “Well, I want to see the folly of it too, father!” [Illustration: View of Malta.] The Travels, Adventures, and Experiences of Thomas Trotter. (_Continued from page 47._) CHAPTER II. _A Wreck at Sea.--Mother Carey’s Chickens.--A Gale of Wind.--Singular Phenomenon of the Corpo Santo.--Arrival at the Straits of Gibraltar.--Wonderful Fortifications of that place._ When we had sailed about half way across the Atlantic, we fell in with the wreck of a vessel. All her masts were gone, and the sea was breaking over her in every part. We could not discover her name, nor to what nation she belonged. When a ship meets with a wreck at sea, it is customary to set the wrecked vessel on fire, or blow her up with gunpowder, lest any other vessel should run foul of her in the night; a casualty which has caused the destruction of many ships, that have never been heard of afterwards. The wreck we met with lay so low in the water that we found it impossible to get at her for this purpose. So the most we could do was steer clear of her. She was surrounded by a great shoal of black-fish. Now and then the solitude of the ocean was enlivened by the sight of a little dark-colored bird, about the size of a swallow, called the Stormy Petrel, but among sailors known by the name of Mother Carey’s Chicken. These birds are met with in every part of the ocean, thousands of miles from the land. They fly very swiftly, and come fluttering about the ship, but seldom light on the rigging or deck. The sailors have many superstitious notions concerning them, and always look out for a storm after their appearance; but I never found there was any dependence to be placed on such prognostications. They believe also that these birds never set foot on land, that they lay their eggs at sea, and hatch them under their wings. But these stories are all fables. The petrels lay their eggs on the shore, among the rocks and sand. Their nests are often found in the Bahama Islands.