existence in a very short space of time.

"The steamer passed near Ascension Island, but did not stop there. This
island is entered in the British Navy List as a commissioned ship. It is
nearly three thousand feet high, very rocky and well supplied with fresh
water. Ships often stop there for a supply of water and such fresh
provisions as are obtainable. The climate is said to be very healthy,
and when the crews of British naval vessels are enfeebled by a long stay
on the African coast, they go to Ascension Island to recruit their
strength."

Ned and Harry were very desirous of visiting the island of St. Helena,
which became famous as a prison and for many years the grave of
Napoleon. They were disappointed on ascertaining that the ship would not
stop there, and the officer of whom they made inquiry said there was
nothing to stop there for. "The island is not of much account," he said,
"and the natives have a hard time to make a living. In the days of
sailing ships it was a favorite stopping place and the inhabitants did a
good business. The general introduction of steamships, along with the
digging of the Suez Canal, have knocked their business all to pieces.

"Where they used to have a dozen or twenty ships a month, they get about
half as many in a year. The buildings where Napoleon used to live are
all gone to ruin, and the sight of them does not pay for the journey
one has to make to get there."

When it was announced that the vessel was nearing the Cape of Good Hope,
our young friends strained their eyes in a friendly competition to be
first to make it out. Harry was ahead of Ned in discerning the dim
outline of Table Mountain, which is well described by its name. It is a
flat-topped mountain fronting on the bay on which Cape Town stands. It
is about three thousand five hundred feet in height, and is guarded on
the left by the Lion's Head, and on the right by the Devil's Berg. The
harbor is reached by passing between a small island and the coast, the
island forming a very fair shelter for ships that lie inside of it.

Here the voyage of the steamer came to an end, as she belonged to one of
the lines plying between England and the Cape. It became necessary for
our friends to look around for another ship to carry them to their
destination. They were not in any particular hurry about it, as they
were quite willing to devote a little time to the Cape and its
peculiarities.

A swarm of boats surrounded the ship a