cause these wooden-headed damsels to beat our clothes as clean and cleverly as if they were the best laundresses in Bristol; and we shall then bleach and dry them in the sun."-"Excellent, dear Edward!” cried she; "I never should have thought on such an expedient."—" Nor I, perhaps," I replied, "if I had not heard that the people, in most hot countries, wash in this manner."

Towards evening it cleared up, and we were delighted to see a bright and tranquil sky. I hastened to make a fire on shore; that we might boil our tea kettle. Eliza set the tea-things on my newly-made table, as a compliment to me; and I felt the attention kind, trifle as it may appear; but such are the pivots on which the happiness of married life depend. She saw I was pleased with what she had done; and with this little additional excitement to an habitual happy feeling, we sat down to our refreshing meal; and then disembarked, with Fidele.

The sand was firm every where, from the rain, so that we could have walked pleasantly without our boots. We looked at the stock, and passed over to the other side of the isthmus. The fountain was gushing impetuously into the brook it formed, whence it now ran like a small river into the lake. The ground I had turned up, and sown, appeared as I had left it; only, like all around, was well soaked with the rain. The pine-apple top, had been a little disturbed by the wind; but that I soon rectified. There was a good deal of sea-weed, such as sailors call-gulf-weed, thrown on the beach,

together with sea-fans, coarse sponges, reeds, and some shells; but we did not stop to gather any of them. I filled the canteen with fresh water from the spring; and taking a look at the cave, and its inmates, and also at the plank house, we returned on board the vessel to rest.

CHAP. VI.

SUNDAY, 13th January. The dawn of day was auspicious; and we hastened on deck to greet the rising sun, whose glowing chariot rested on the wave, in all the gorgeous vision of diffusive radiance his spreading rays lighting up the sky around; his bright beams, but newly born, gleaming on the waters; his cheering warmth, of which we had been some days bereft, gladdening our hearts. We watched him, slowly emerging from the sea, with joy and admiration: then raising our thoughts from this sublime image, to the mighty God who had created it, we gave praise and thanksgiving to the only object of worship, for all the wonderful bounties of his providence.

We dressed ourselves as usual for the Sabbath, and read the morning service. When we went out to walk, we were amused with the various deposits on the beach, which the waves had thrown up during the tempest. Fidele, also, was busy at the water's edge, knocking about among the drift weed, and other things; and we observed him attempt to lay hold of something stirring there, but quickly jump away, and bark, and then return to the assault again. I took the pike from Eliza's hand, and, moving some of the weed, descried an im

mense crayfish; perhaps I should call it a lobster. It was in the act of devouring a fish that had been stranded by the storm. I thrust the end of my pike into the claw, which the creature held up as if in defence, no doubt against the menaces of the dog; and happy for him the crayfish did not catch him by the nose; for it instantly clutched the iron point of my weapon, and kept hold so firmly, that by it I dragged my prize out of the water, safe upon the beach. This creature was well defended with spinous projections from its back and sides, and two large horns growing from its head; besides having two great claws, like those of a lobster, which crayfish ordinarily want. Fidele would have attacked this formidable enemy again, but my wife wisely caught the little Nimrod by the ear, and held him fast, while I secured our captive, by tying its claws with my handkerchief. We then

returned to our ship, not a little pleased with our good fortune; and passed the remainder of the day in devotional exercises, and innocent amuse

ments.

Monday, 14th.-The morning proved fine, and the weather appeared settled. We agreed now to land all the ducks; so we took them, eight in number, male and female, in two bags, up to the cave, where they were greeted by their two feathered kindred, with loud and continued quacking. I left my wife there, to throw some corn to the stock, while I went back to the vessel for the table I had made for our wooden palace; and taking advantage of it to stand on, I replaced the two planks that had been blown from the roof by the storm. We then

returned to the vessel; and, while my wife got breakfast, I selected half a dozen yams, and two dozen coccos, which I put into a sack, and, with my spade and an axe, set out to the cocoa-nut grove; my dear helpmate carrying a little basket with provisions, and her boarding-pike; Fidele following. The sand was firm, and the walking good all the way; so that we reached the spot in about half an hour, notwithstanding the burdens we carried, and the heat of the day, which, out of the shade, was rather too great to be agreeable. We set down our things under the shade of three cocoanut trees, that stood close together under the rocky part of the ridge; and on a ledge of it we found a nice convenient seat. My first operation was to select, for cutting down, one of the trees on the south side of the grove, which were all laden with fruit of different sizes; and I chose the one that seemed most in the way of my plantation, for the quantity of fit ground at this place was very small. My axe being new, I soon felled the tree; and as soon as it dropped, Eliza was at my side. I cut off the cocoa-nuts, twenty-eight in number, which she undertook to carry one by one to the ledge, where our basket had been deposited. I now put off my jacket, and went to work with the spade, and was glad to find the soil tolerably good. I dug along the south side of the grove, the ground being best there, and clear of shade. In the course of my labour, I had to take up several young trees, from two to six feet high; and was pretty well fatigued by a couple of such hours' work. My poor dear wife had not carried above half the cocoa nuts, be