tude of her royal
mistress.

During the period of Pauline's convalescence considerable changes had
taken place in the circumstances and condition of the community. The
mere fact that a government had been fixed on, the details of which were
being wrought out by a committee of leading men appointed by the people,
tended to keep the turbulent spirits pretty quiet, and enabled the
well-disposed to devote all their strength of mind and body to the
various duties that devolved upon them and the improving of their
circumstances. Busy workers are usually peaceful. They have no time to
quarrel. It is only when turbulent idlers interfere with or oppress
them that the industrious are compelled to show their teeth and set up
their backs.

During these weeks the appearance of the shores of Big Island began to
change materially. All round the edge of Silver Bay a number of bright
green patches were enclosed by rough but effective fences. These were
the gardens of the community, in which sweet potatoes, yams, etcetera,
grew spontaneously, while some vegetables of the northern hemisphere had
already been sown, and were in some cases even beginning to show above
ground. In these gardens, when the important work of planting had been
finished, the people set about building huts of various shapes and
sizes, according to their varying taste and capacity.

Even at this early stage in the life of the little community the
difficulties which necessarily surround a state of civilisation began to
appear, and came out at one of the frequent, though informal, meetings
of the men on the sands of Silver Bay. It happened thus:--

It was evening. The younger and more lively men of the community,
having a large store of surplus energy unexhausted after the labours of
the day, began, as is the wont of the young and lively, to compete with
one another in feats of agility and strength, while a group of their
elders stood, sat, or reclined on a bank, discussing the affairs of the
nation, and some of them enjoying their pipes--for, you see, everything
in the wreck having been saved, they had, among other bad things, plenty
of tobacco.

Dr Marsh sat among the elders, for, although several weeks on shore had
greatly restored his health, he was still too weak to join in the
athletics. A few of the women and children also looked on, but they
stood aside by themselves, not feeling very much interested in the
somewhat heated discussions of the men