exposure to the air it
rapidly hardens, and then emits a sweet, earthy odor, and is used in
manufacturing choice perfumery.

The harbor of San Francisco abounds in big, white sea-gulls, which fly
fearlessly in and out among the shipping, uttering defiant screams, or
floating gracefully like corks upon the water. They are large, handsome,
dignified birds, and are never molested, being looked upon as
picturesque ornaments to the harbor; and they are also the most active
of scavengers, removing all sorts of floating carrion and refuse which
is thrown overboard. The gulls one sees off the coast of Norway are
numbered by thousands, but they are not nearly so large as these bird
monarchs of the Pacific. A score of these are sure to accompany us to
sea, closely following the ship day after day, living mostly upon the
refuse thrown out from the steward's department. In the month of
October, 1884, one of these birds was caught by the passengers upon a
steamship just as she was leaving the coast of America for Japan. A
piece of red tape was made fast to one of its legs, after which it was
restored to liberty. This identical gull followed the ship between four
and five thousand miles, into the harbor of Yokohama. Distance seems to
be of little account to these buoyant navigators of the air.

On approaching the Hawaiian group from the north, the first land which
is sighted is the island of Oahu, and soon after we pass along the
windward shores of Maui and Molokai, doubling the lofty promontory of
Diamond Head, which rears its precipitous front seven hundred feet
above the sea. We arrive at the dawn of day, while the rising sun
beautifies the mountain tops, the green slopes, the gulches, and
fern-clad hills, which here and there sparkle with silvery streamlets.
The gentle morning breeze blowing off the land brings us the dewy
fragrance of the flowers, which has been distilled from a wilderness of
tropical bloom during the night. The land forms a shelter for our
vessel, and we glide noiselessly over a perfectly calm sea. As we draw
nearer to the shore, sugar plantations, cocoanut groves, and verdant
pastures come clearly into view. Here and there the shore is dotted with
the low, primitive dwellings of the natives, and occasionally we see
picturesque, vine-clad cottages of American or European residents.
Approaching still nearer to the city of Honolulu, it seems to be
half-buried in a cloud of luxuriant foliage, while a broad and b