come so, had we not ceased to yield to our desire of collecting these beauties of the ocean. By this amusement, and the frequent contemplation of objects around us, the evening had imperceptibly crept upon us, so that the sun was setting just as we reached the eminence behind which stood the grove of cocoa-nuts: from that point we had a full view of the bright orb of day, making his slow descent over the land that bounds the lake upon the west. The sight filled us with admiration; and, as his radiance streamed along the sky, we raised our hearts to Him who made so glorious a creature so glorious, indeed, that men have worshipped him for his and their Creator, as if, dazzled by his beams, the light of their understanding had been put out, not to see that light or darkness, heaven or earth, all, are but creatures, the work of thy hands, O God, self-existing, unseen by the eye of man, yet every where visible in thy works, giving life and motion to all created things, and in whom and by whom we live, and move, and have our being.

We returned by the western beach, and, keeping close to the water's edge, walked with a good pace, and soon arrived at the point beyond which the gushing fountain pours out its refreshing water; and, it being now nearly dark, we could not stop to drink, but hastened across the isthmus, and got on board. After resting a little we took some wine and biscuit, and, being refreshed, gave prayer and praise to the Father of mercies. Thus having spent our first sabbath in the land of our solitude, we retired with repose of spirit to sleep.

Monday, 31st. The dawn of the next day found me at the pump, which, after a quarter of an hour's work, began to throw out the water slowly, and to my great joy and relief, before half an hour had expired, it sucked, that is, no more water remained within its reach; so that on ceasing to work it, the air rushed in from above. I now went into the hold, and searched about for the boxes that contained the spades, hoes, axes, &c., and at last found them stowed athwart-ships, close to the after bulk-head. I got a maul and large chisel from the carpenter's chest in the steerage, and forced open their lids. I took out a spade, a hatchet, a felling axe, and a couple of hoes; then hastened to the cabin to show my dear wife the proofs of my success, and to inform her of a cessation from my morning's toil at the pump. She was alive to every incident that concerned me, and she expressed the pleasing emotion she felt by a kind word, and a kinder smile, when I showed her the spade, and told her I had cleared the vessel of the leakage. We now had breakfast; after which I thought it right to cover up the main-hatchway loosely, not requiring to work any more at the cargo for the present. I had cleared away all the lumber amid-ships, but there was still a good deal more forward in the vessel. We cut up a pumpkin with a piece of pork, which I stewed together for our dinner. Then, as before, we took care of the pumpkin seeds; and on all future occasions we never omitted to gather up the seeds of our fruits as we used them.

In the afternoon we went on shore to look about

for spots of favourable ground to plant some of the seeds of the water-melon which we had eaten a few days ago, and also of the pumpkin we had just cut up, but of which at least one half yet remained, for it was very large. I put the hatchet into my belt, and, taking a musket and my spade in each hand, set forth, my guardian angel carrying her pike, while brisk Fidele led the way. I knew that the water-melon required much sun, but the pumpkin less: the former would only grow in hot climates; the latter would come to perfection even in the south of England. I also knew that a sandy soil was favourable to both these plants. I therefore felt I should not seek long without finding proper situations for them; but it must be on the other side of the isthmus, beyond the termination of the promontory, somewhere near the spring of water.

When we had advanced a couple of hundred yards under the precipitous rock, we came to that part which receded; in the recess of which, some thorny acacias, and some other trees, were growing. As we stopped to look in among them, the dog made his way through the thicket, and in a minute or two he began barking; when, to our startling surprise, we presently heard him answered, we thought, by some other dog, accompanied by strange and loud noises from the same quarter; but as they appeared rather at a distance, we took courage, and called Fidele to us. We repeated our call over and over again, yet he did not come, but continued to bark. I then, by the still corresponding sound, guessed it to be an echo, and

"I

exclaimed to my wife, "O! he has got another iguana, I suppose." I then observed to her, "There must be a passage through the thicket to some distance, for his barking seems a great way off." While we were talking, his uproarious little voice drew nearer, and immediately out brushed an iguana, with his main erect, dragging his long tail after him like a great snake attached to his posteriors; looking more ugly, if not more horrible, than any other creature in the world. Fidele was soon after him, and killed him, without any fight, after a run of twenty or thirty yards. I praised our little dog, and patted him; and left the iguana where he lay, for the present. should like to penetrate through this thicket, I exclaimed; "there may be some issue to the other side of the promontory." I returned instantly on board, for a table knife, which I sharpened on a stone; and with it and the hatchet, I cleared a narrow path forward; throwing the small trunks and branches, I had occasion to cut away, out upon the sand. After working about two hours, I advanced through the opening I had made, and found myself close to the mouth of a cavern, into which I looked; but instead of being a dark recess, as such places generally are, I saw a light shining into it, as if from above, with considerable brilliancy. While cutting away the trees, my wife had remained without the thicket, and kept Fidele by her side: I now called to her to come forward; and with some difficulty (owing to the inconvenience of her English dress) she got through the thorn-beset avenue. I took her hand,

and we stepped into the cavern together: the mouth appeared as large as a small gateway; and thence we saw the sun's rays coming in from an opening opposite, about three or four feet in diameter, and, perhaps, thirty feet above us. By this opening at the back of the cave, it was clear that the further end of the cavern was close to the further side of the promontory, at least at this point. We now gazed around us, and saw we were in an extensive natural excavation; the floor of which was covered by the dung of birds; the summit thickly hung with pendulous stalactites; and the sides incrustated with shelving masses and nodules of the same. We were now sure the noises we had heard, when our dog barked, was that bark reverberated, and, perhaps, the flight of birds making their escape through the natural window above. We lingered and looked about a little, but without being able to make any further observations worth notice; and so we squeezed our way back through the slender avenue I had made in the brushwood, being a distance of nearly thirty yards.

We now proceeded round the west end of the promontory to the spring, and crossed over its little run of water, by stepping on some small fragments of rock in its bed, without even wetting our shoes. The ground was clear of wood for a few yards, but beyond were large trees, free from underwood. We walked under this umbrageous foliage, towards the lake for the space of a hundred yards; which brought us out on the south side of the rock's point, that separated this wooded region from the sandy