l it reached the Basin, forming a majestic avenue, with a
sublime gateway. On one side of this gateway were rocky shores
receding into wooded hills, while on the other was a towering cliff
standing apart from the shore, rising abruptly from the water, torn
by the tempest and worn by the tide. From this the precipitous cliff
ran on for miles, forming one side of the strait, till it terminated
in a majestic promontory.

This promontory rose on one side, and on the other a lofty, wooded
island, inside of which was a winding shore, curving into a harbor.
Here the strait terminated, and beyond this the waters of the Basin
of Minas spread away for many a mile, surrounded on every side by
green, wooded shores. In one place was a cluster of small islands; in
another, rivers rolled their turbid floods, bearing with them the
sediment of long and fertile valleys. The blue waters sparkled in the
sun under the blue sky; the sea-gulls whirled and screamed through
the air; nowhere could the eye discern any of the works of man. It
seemed like some secluded corner of the universe, and as if those on
board the ship

"were the first that ever burst
Into that silent sea."

But, though not visible from this point, the settlements of man were
here, and the works of human industry lying far away on the slopes of
distant hills and the edges of low, marshy shores.

It was not without much caution that they had passed through the
strait. They had waited for the tide to come in, and then, with a
favorable wind, they had made the venture. Borne onward by wind and
tide together, they sailed on far into the bay, and then, directing
their course to the southward, they sailed onward for a few miles
farther. The captain had been here before, and was anxious to find
his former anchorage. On the former occasion he had waited outside
and sent in for a pilot, but now he had ventured inside without one,
trusting to his memory. He knew well the perils that attend upon
navigation in this place, and was not inclined to risk too much. For
here were the highest tides in the world to be encountered, and swift
currents, and sudden gusts of wind, and far-spreading shoals and
treacherous quicksands, among which the unwary navigator could come
to destruction only too easily.

But no accident happened on this occasion; the navigation was made
with the utmost circumspection, the schooner being sent ahead to
sound all the way, and the ship following. At