off the filth that was constantly poured
into the sea there-from; which, Peterkin suggested, was remarkably _tidy_
of it to do. Poor Peterkin could never let slip an opportunity to joke,
however inopportune it might be: which at first we found rather a
disagreeable propensity, as it often interrupted the flow of very
agreeable conversation; and, indeed, I cannot too strongly record my
disapprobation of this tendency in general: but we became so used to it
at last that we found it no interruption whatever; indeed, strange to
say, we came to feel that it was a necessary part of our enjoyment (such
is the force of habit), and found the sudden outbursts of mirth,
resulting from his humorous disposition, quite natural and refreshing to
us in the midst of our more serious conversations. But I must not
misrepresent Peterkin. We often found, to our surprise, that he knew
many things which we did not; and I also observed that those things which
he learned from experience were never forgotten. From all these things I
came at length to understand that things very opposite and dissimilar in
themselves, when united, do make an agreeable whole; as, for example, we
three on this our island, although most unlike in many things, when
united, made a trio so harmonious that I question if there ever met
before such an agreeable triumvirate. There was, indeed, no note of
discord whatever in the symphony we played together on that sweet Coral
Island; and I am now persuaded that this was owing to our having been all
tuned to the same key, namely, that of _love_! Yes, we loved one another
with much fervency while we lived on that island; and, for the matter of
that, we love each other still.

And while I am on this subject, or rather the subject that just preceded
it--namely, the tides--I may here remark on another curious natural
phenomenon. We found that there was little or no twilight in this
island. We had a distinct remembrance of the charming long twilight at
home, which some people think the most delightful part of the day, though
for my part I have always preferred sunrise; and when we first landed, we
used to sit down on some rocky point or eminence, at the close of our
day's work, to enjoy the evening breeze; but no sooner had the sun sunk
below the horizon than all became suddenly dark. This rendered it
necessary that we should watch the sun when we happened to be out
hunting, for to be suddenly left in the dark while in th