s very uneasy. I could not
submit to lose the useful animal; and, moreover, I was afraid his
agitation announced the approach of some wild beast. The dogs and I
sought for any trace of it in vain; I therefore, to guard against any
danger, made a large fire before our tent, which I continued to watch
till midnight, when, all being still, I crept into the tent, to my bed
of moss, and slept undisturbed till morning.

In the morning we thanked God for our health and safety, and then began
to lament our poor donkey, which, I hoped, might have been attracted by
the light of our fire, and have returned; but we saw nothing of him, and
we decided that his services were so indispensable, that I should go,
with one of my sons, and the two dogs, in search of him, and cross the
thickets of bamboo. I chose to take Jack with me, to his great
satisfaction, for Fritz and Ernest formed a better guard for their
mother in a strange place. We set out, well armed, with bags of
provisions on our back, and after an hour's fruitless search among the
canes, We emerged beyond them, in an extensive plain on the borders of
the great bay. We saw that the ridge of rocks still extended on the
right till it nearly reached the shore, when it abruptly terminated in a
perpendicular precipice. A considerable river flowed into the bay here,
and between the river and the rock was a narrow passage, which at high
water would be overflowed. We thought it most likely that our ass had
passed by this defile; and I wished to see whether these rocks merely
bordered or divided the island; we therefore went forward till we met
with a stream, which fell in a cascade from a mass of rocks into the
river. We ascended the stream till we found a place shallow enough to
cross. Here we saw the shoemarks of our ass, mingled with the footsteps
of other animals, and at a distance we saw a herd of animals, but could
not distinguish what they were. We ascended a little hill, and, through
our telescope, saw a most beautiful and fertile country, breathing peace
and repose. To our right rose the majestic chain of rocks that divided
the island. On our left a succession of beautiful green hills spread to
the horizon. Woods of palms and various unknown trees were scattered
over the scene. The beautiful stream meandered across the valley like a
silver ribbon, bordered by rushes and other aquatic plants. There was no
trace of the footstep of man. The country had all the purity of its
firs