length, and about a mile across at its greatest width.

On either side it appeared hemmed in by steep and green
acclivities, which, uniting near the spot where I lay, formed an
abrupt and semicircular termination of grassy cliffs and
precipices hundreds of feet in height, over which flowed
numberless small cascades. But the crowning beauty of the
prospect was its universal verdure; and in this indeed consists,
I believe, the peculiar charm of every Polynesian landscape.
Everywhere below me, from the base of the precipice upon whose
very verge I had been unconsciously reposing, the surface of the
vale presented a mass of foliage, spread with such rich profusion
that it was impossible to determine of what description of trees
it consisted.

But perhaps there was nothing about the scenery I beheld more
impressive than those silent cascades, whose slender threads of
water, after leaping down the steep cliffs, were lost amidst the
rich herbage of the valley.

Over all the landscape there reigned the most hushed repose,
which I almost feared to break, lest, like the enchanted gardens
in the fairy tale, a single syllable might dissolve the spell.
For a long time, forgetful alike of my own situation, and the
vicinity of my still slumbering companion, I remained gazing
around me, hardly able to comprehend by what means I had thus
suddenly been made a spectator of such a scene.