French policy, the missionaries, &c., on all of which subjects he is
well informed. He has just completed an exhaustive consular report on
the condition of the island, which will, no doubt, appear in due
course in the form of a blue-book.

On our return to Messrs. Brander's office, where we had left one of
our letters of introduction, we found the manager, with whom we had a
long chat before returning on board.

[Illustration: Chætodon Tricolor.]

At 5 p.m. we went for a row in the 'Glance' and the 'Flash' to the
coral reef, now illumined by the rays of the setting sun. Who can
describe these wonderful gardens of the deep, on which we now gazed
through ten and twenty fathoms of crystal water? Who can enumerate or
describe the strange creatures moving about and darting hither and
thither, amid the masses of coral forming their submarine home? There
were shells of rare shape, brighter than if they had been polished by
the hand of the most skilful artist; crabs of all sizes, scuttling and
sidling along; sea-anemones, spreading their delicate feelers in
search of prey; and many other kinds of zoophytes, crawling slowly
over the reef; and scarlet, blue, yellow, gold, violet, spotted,
striped, and winged fish, short, long, pointed, and blunt, of the
most varied shapes, were darting about like birds among the coral
trees.

At last, after frequent stoppages, to allow time for admiration, we
reached the outer reef, hauled the boat up and made her fast, and, in
bathing shoes, started on a paddling expedition. Such a paddle it was,
too, over the coral, the surf breaking far above our heads, and the