gently, before a warm tropical breeze, over the Pacific Ocean.
Thus we proceeded on our voyage, sometimes bounding merrily before
a fair breeze, at other times floating calmly on the glassy wave
and fishing for the curious inhabitants of the deep, - all of
which, although the sailors thought little of them, were strange,
and interesting, and very wonderful to me.

At last we came among the Coral Islands of the Pacific, and I shall
never forget the delight with which I gazed, - when we chanced to
pass one, - at the pure, white, dazzling shores, and the verdant
palm-trees, which looked bright and beautiful in the sunshine. And
often did we three long to be landed on one, imagining that we
should certainly find perfect happiness there! Our wish was
granted sooner than we expected.

One night, soon after we entered the tropics, an awful storm burst
upon our ship. The first squall of wind carried away two of our
masts; and left only the foremast standing. Even this, however,
was more than enough, for we did not dare to hoist a rag of sail on
it. For five days the tempest raged in all its fury. Everything
was swept off the decks except one small boat. The steersman was
lashed to the wheel, lest he should be washed away, and we all gave
ourselves up for lost. The captain said that he had no idea where
we were, as we had been blown far out of our course; and we feared
much that we might get among the dangerous coral reefs which are so
numerous in the Pacific. At day-break on the sixth morning of the
gale we saw land ahead. It was an island encircled by a reef of
coral on which the waves broke in fury. There was calm water
within this reef, but we could only see one narrow opening into it.
For this opening we steered, but, ere we reached it, a tremendous