behind clothed with a dense jungle of bread-fruit trees and wild
plantains, whose sea of greenery was starred with the golden balls of
innumerable orange trees; the whole place must really have been lifted
bodily out of some boy's book, and put here to prove that writers of
fiction occasionally tell the truth, for it seemed perfectly familiar
to both of us. Certainly, the oranges were of the bitter Seville
variety and were uneatable, and wild plantains are but an indifferent
article of diet; still, they satisfied the eye, and fulfilled their
purpose as indispensable accessories to the castaway's new home. It
would be impossible to conceive of more orthodox surroundings in which
to be shipwrecked, for our vessel would be, of course, piled up on the
reef within convenient distance, and we would presuppose a current
setting into the cove. We should also have to assume that the ship was
loaded with a general cargo, including such unlikely items as
tool-chests and cases of vegetable seeds, all of which would be washed
ashore undamaged precisely when wanted. It is quite obvious that a
cargo of, say, type-writers, or railway metals, would prove of
doubtful utility to any castaways, nor would there be much probability
of either of these articles floating ashore. My nephew, a slave to
tradition, wished at once to construct a hut of palm branches close to
the clear spring, as is always done in the books; he was also
positively yearning to light a fire in the manner customary amongst
orthodox castaways, by using my spectacles as a burning-glass. With
regard to the necessary commissariat arrangements, he pointed out that
there were abundant Avocado pear trees in the vicinity, which would
furnish "Midshipman's butter," whilst the bread-fruit tree would
satisfactorily replace the baker, and the Aki fruit form an excellent
substitute for eggs. He enlarged on the innumerable other vegetable
conveniences of the island, and declared that it was almost flying in
the face of Providence for a sea-captain to neglect to lose his ship