Swiss Family Robinson

the walrus.
    `In order to be ready to start without delay when a convenient opportunity offered, I made preparations beforehand, such as provisioning my skiff, fixing the compass in front of my seat, arranging conveniently rifle, harpoon, axe, boat-hook and fishing-net. I also resolved to take with me Pounce, my eagle, and this I always will do in future.
    `This morning dawned magnificently; the calm sea, the gentle breeze, all drew me irresistibly to the fulfilment of my purpose.
    `I left the harbour unperceived, the current quickly bore me out to sea, and I rounded the point to the left, passing just over the spot where, beneath the waves, lie the guns, cannon balls, ironwork, and all that was indestructible about our good old wreck. And would you believe it? Through the glassy clear water, undisturbed by a ripple, I actually saw many such things strewn on the flat rocky bottom.
    `Pursuing my way, I passed among rugged cliffs and rocks which jutted out from the shore, or rose in rugged masses from the water. Myriads of sea-fowl inhabited the most inaccessible of these, while on the lower ridges, seals, sea-bears and walruses, were to be seen, some basking lazily in the sun, some plunging into the water, or emerging awkwardly from it, hoisting their unwieldy bodies up the rocks by means of their tusks.
    `I must confess to feeling anything but comfortable while going through the places held in possession by these monsters of the deep, and used every effort to pass quickly and unnoticed. Yet it was more than an hour and a half before I got clear of the rocks, cliffs, and shoals to which they resorted, and neared a high and precipitous cape, running far out to sea. Right opposite to me, in the side of this rocky wall, was a magnificent archway, forming as it first appeared to me, a lofty entrance to an immense vaulted cavern. I passed beneath this noble portal and examined the interior.
    `It was tenanted by numbers of a small species of swallow, scarcely larger than a wren, and the walls were covered by thousands of their nests. They were rudely built, and their peculiarity was that each rested on a kind of platform, something like a spoon without the handle. I detached a number, and found that they had a curious appearance, seemingly made of something fibrous and gelatinous, and more like a set of sponges, corals, or fungi, than nests of birds. I have brought them home in my fishing net.'
    `If we had commercial dealings with the Chinese,' said I, `your discovery would be of value; these are doubtless edible birds' nests. The bird is called the esculent swallow, and the trade in this strange article of diet is a very large one. The nests are of different value, but those which are quite new, and nearly white, are held in such esteem that they are worth their weight in silver.
    `There are tremendous caverns in Java and other places where, at great risk, these nests are procured; the annual weight obtained being upwards of fifty thousand pounds, and the value more than £200,000.
    `When placed in water and well soaked, they soften and swell, and are made into soup of very strengthening and restorative quality.
    `I think you might try your hand on these, mother, just for curiosity's sake.'
    `I can't say I fancy the look of the queer things,' said she, `but I don't mind trying if they will turn to jelly; though boiling birds' nests is cookery quite out of my line.'
    `Oh do, mother, let us taste birds' nests as soon as you can, though the idea makes me fancy my mouth full of feathers!' laughed Jack.
    `It is really a most curious formation,' said Fritz. `From whence are the swallows supposed to get this kind of gelatine ?'
    `It has never been exactly ascertained,' I replied, `whether the birds discover or produce this curious substance. But whatever may be its basis, it is clear that a very large portion of it is furnished by certain glands, which pour out a viscid secretion.'
    `After laying in my store of nests,' continued Fritz, `I pursued my way through this vaulted cave or corridor; which, presently turning, opened into a very lonely bay, so calm and lake-like, that, although of considerable size, I concluded at once it must be nearly land-locked. Its shores, beyond the rocky boundary through which I penetrated, extended in a fertile plain towards what seemed the mouth of a river, beyond which lay rough and probably marshy ground, and a dense forest of cedars, which closed the view.
    `The water beneath me was clear as