iving a keen look after his gazelle. Ernest, stooping
down, examined plants, insects, and, occasionally pursuing rare and
beautiful butterflies, was filling his bag and plant-box with various
curiosities. Jack, with his lasso in his hand, prepared himself to fling
it round the legs of the first buffalo he met with, and was vexed that
he did not see any. For my own part, I was engaged in surveying the
chain of rocks, in order to discover that which contained the Grotto
Ernestine. It was easy to recognize it, from its summit cleft in two;
and I wished to ascertain, as nearly as possible, if the cleft extended
to the base of the rock, as this would render our work much easier. This
side of the island did not resemble that near the Great Bay, with which
Jack and I had been so much charmed. The island was much narrower here,
and instead of the wide plain, crossed by a river, divided by delightful
woods, giving an idea of paradise on earth; we were journeying through a
contracted valley, lying between the rocky wall which divided the
island, and a chain of sandy hills, which hid the sea and sheltered the
valley from the wind. Fritz and I ascended one of these hills, on which
a few pines and broom were growing, and perceived beyond them a barren
tract, stretching to the sea, where the coral reefs rose to the level of
the water, and appeared to extend far into the sea. Any navigators,
sailing along these shores, would pronounce the island inaccessible and
entirely barren. This is not the fact; the grass is very thick, and the
trees of noble growth; we found many unknown to us, some loaded with
fruit; also, several beautiful shrubs covered with flowers; the dwarf
orange-tree, the elegant melaleuca, the nutmeg-tree, and the Bengal rose
blending its flowers with the fragrant jasmine. I should never finish,
if I were to try and name all the plants found in this shady valley,
which might be called the botanic garden of Nature. Ernest was in
ecstasies; he wished to carry away everything, but he did not know how
to dispose of them.

"Ah!" said he, "if only our grotto were open to this side!"

At this moment Fritz came running out of breath, crying out, "The
bread-fruit tree! I have found the bread-fruit tree! Here is the
fruit,--excellent, delicious bread. Taste it, father; here, Ernest;
here, Jack;" and he gave us each a part of an oval fruit, about the size
of an ordinary melon, which really seemed very good and nourishing.

"Ther