ppearance of being caused by the
projecting mass of rock having at some remote period broken away and
slipped into the sea. The brig, however, continued to stand on boldly,
and when she had arrived within about three cables'-lengths of the
shore, it became apparent that the large mass of rock ahead, or rather
on the lee bow by this time, the brig having luffed a trifle, was
entirely detached from the island, leaving a narrow channel of water
between it and the cliffs behind it. But it was not until the brig had
actually borne away to enter this channel that the entrance to the
harbour revealed itself. Then indeed it was seen that the cliff behind,
instead of preserving an unbroken face, curved inwards in the form of a
cove, the eastern and western arms of which consisted of two projecting
reefs jutting out toward the mass of rock in front of them, which in its
turn now revealed its true shape, which was that of a crescent, the
horns of which overlapped the two projecting reefs forming the eastern
and western sides of the harbour-entrance, and acted as a perfect
natural breakwater, effectually protecting the harbour itself in all
weathers.

Winding her way through the short narrow channel between the rock and
the cliffs, the brig hauled sharply round the western point and shot
into the cove or harbour itself, which consisted of an irregularly-
shaped expanse of water some two hundred acres in extent. At the
entrance the rocks on both sides sloped steeply down into the deep blue
water; but further in they were fringed along their bases by a beautiful
white sandy beach which widened as it approached the bottom of the bay,
the land on each side sloping more gradually down to the water, and
finally spreading out, where the water ceased, into a broad and lovely
valley which stretched inland some three miles, rising gradually as it
receded until it became lost among a group of hills which formed the
background of the picture.

At anchor in the bay were three hulks, no doubt the three prizes spoken
of by Johnson as destined to be broken up for the building of the new
craft; and on the grassy plateau at the bottom of the bay and close to
the beach stood two large buildings and some half a dozen smaller ones,
all constructed of wood. Behind these, a plot of ground, some two acres
in extent, was fenced in to form a garden, and a very fruitful one it
proved too, if one might judge by the luxuriant growth apparent in its
vari