e water for the
most part was only two or three fathoms deep, but sometimes it would be
as much as eight fathoms,--which was the greatest depth to which the men
cared to go. When he reached the bottom, the diver would grope about for
shells, and generally return to the surface with a couple, held in his
left hand and hugged against his breast; the right hand was kept free and
directed his movements in swimming. Each diver seldom remained under
water more than one minute, and on coming to the surface he would take a
"spell" of perhaps a quarter of an hour before going down again.

As fast as each man brought his shells into the boat, they were put into
a separate little pile, which was respected absolutely, and always
recognised as belonging to its owner. The bed of the sea at these
pearling grounds is usually coral, with innumerable holes of different
depths and sizes dotted all over it. It was in these recesses that the
best shells were mostly found.

The marine vegetation down in these seas was always of extreme beauty;
there were stately "trees" that waved backwards and forwards, as though
under the influence of a gentle breeze; there were high, luxuriant
grasses, and innumerable plants of endless variety and colour. The coral
rocks, too, were of gorgeous hues--yellow, blue, red, and white; but a
peculiar thing was that the moment you brought a piece of this rock up to
the surface, the lovely colour it possessed whilst in the water gradually
faded away. Some of the coral I saw had curious little shoots hanging
from its numerous projections bearing a striking resemblance to
bluebells.

The illusion of a submarine forest was further heightened by the droves
of gaily-coloured fish that flitted in and out among the branches.
Perhaps the most beautiful of all were the little dolphins. The diving
expeditions went away from the ship with the ebb tide, and returned with
the flow. Sometimes their search would take them long distances away,
and on one occasion they were working fully ten miles from the
_Veielland_. When the water suddenly became rough, rendering the divers
unable to paddle their own little skiffs back to the ship, they made
their way to the whale-boat, clambered aboard, and returned in her,
trailing their own craft at the stern. The boats, however, were not
always brought back to the ship at night; as a rule they were buoyed near
the pearling beds, whilst the divers returned to their quarters aboar