idently about to take place. I had two or three native
servants with me, and an acquaintance who was half a Frenchman and had
settled in the island. The former were frightened and superstitious,
given up to the worship of Peleus, goddess of the volcano.

"With difficulty we made our way to the mouth of the crater through the
pathless forests surrounding it. Never can I forget the beauty of the
immense tree-ferns that abounded. It was no doubt a rash proceeding, but
at last we stood at the edge of the crater. We looked upon a vast lake
of liquid fire. The sight was terrific, and made me think of Dante's
most graphic passages.

"All this soon changed. Presently the surface of the lake of fire had
turned black, sure sign of an approaching eruption. Not a breath of air
stirred. All nature was steeped in a profound hush. The very birds
ceased to fly and flutter. Our horses trembled and manifested every
symptom of fear. There was no time to be lost if we wished to save our
lives. After a sharp ride we gained the slopes of a snow mountain. Here
we waited for what soon came; shock after shock of earthquake. Rocks and
stones detached themselves around us and rolled into the valley. Trees
were uprooted. Then came a mighty, rushing, hissing sound, as a sea of
molten lava rolled down in many directions and spread over the plain.
Never shall I forget the grandeur, the awful majesty of the sight. We
knew not how far it would reach or to what extent our lives were in
danger. Dense volumes of smoke rose in the air, obscuring the sky.
Torrents of ashes fell far and wide. I thought of the fate of
Herculaneum and Pompeii, scenes I had visited with my parents only a few
years before. Was such a fate to be ours? We were almost choked with the
smell of sulphur. Vegetation was scorched and burnt up under the
terrible influence. It was a monster devouring all that came within its
path. The poor monkeys in the cocoa-nut trees no longer thought of
pelting us with fruit. They crouched and hid themselves in the branches,
and understood the peril of their lives. I will not weary you with
further description. Suffice it that we escaped, and when I again found
myself in Honolulu, it was to bid the islands a long farewell.

"For a time there was no end to my wanderings. From Honolulu I went off
in an American whaler to the coast of Labrador and shot bears as they
drifted southward on icebergs coming from that mysterious and hitherto
inaccessible Nor