under the hardships to which they were exposed.

During the hour or two spent under the shelter of these bushes, I
began to feel symptoms which I at once attributed to the exposure
of the preceding night. Cold shiverings and a burning fever
succeeded one another at intervals, while one of my legs was
swelled to such a degree, and pained me so acutely, that I half
suspected I had been bitten by some venomous reptile, the
congenial inhabitant of the chasm from which we had lately
emerged. I may here remark by the way--what I subsequently
gleamed--that all the islands of Polynesia enjoy the reputation,
in common with the Hibernian isle, of being free from the
presence of any vipers; though whether Saint Patrick ever visited
them, is a question I shall not attempt to decide.

As the feverish sensation increased upon me I tossed about, still
unwilling to disturb my slumbering companion, from whose side I
removed two or three yards. I chanced to push aside a branch,
and by so doing suddenly disclosed to my view a scene which even
now I can recall with all the vividness of the first impression.
Had a glimpse of the gardens of Paradise been revealed to me, I
could scarcely have been more ravished with the sight.

From the spot where I lay transfixed with surprise and delight, I
looked straight down into the bosom of a valley, which swept away
in long wavy undulations to the blue waters in the distance.
Midway towards the sea, and peering here and there amidst the
foliage, might be seen the palmetto-thatched houses of its
inhabitants glistening in the sun that had bleached them to a
dazzling whiteness. The vale was more than three leagues in