the masts. I was very carefully secured with a rope tied round my
petticoats, and, knocking against the various ropes on my way, was
then gently hoisted up to what seemed at first a giddy height; but
when once I got accustomed to the smallness of the seat, the airiness
of my perch, and the increased roll of the vessel, I found my position
by no means an unpleasant one. Tom climbed up the rigging and joined
me shortly afterwards. From our elevated post we could see plainly the
formation of the island, and the lagoon in the centre, encircled by a
band of coral, in some places white, bare, and narrow, in others wide
and covered with palm-trees and rich vegetation; it was moreover
possible to understand better the theory of the formation of these
coral islands. I was so happy up aloft that I did not care to descend;
and it was almost as interesting to observe what a strange and
disproportioned appearance everything and everybody on board the yacht
presented from my novel position, as it was to examine the island we
were passing. The two younger children and the dogs took the greatest
interest in my aërial expedition, and never ceased calling to me and
barking, until I was once more let down safely into their midst. As
soon as we had seen all we could of the island, fires were banked, and
we proceeded under sail alone throughout the evening and night.




CHAPTER XIII.

THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS.

_And all throughout the air there reigned the sense_
_Of waking dream with luscious thoughts o'erladen,_