se so," said Johnny, rather doubtfully. "Well--the
ship is always abundantly supplied with every thing necessary to a
desert island life; she is driven ashore; the castaways--the future
desert islanders--by dint of wonderful good fortune, get safely to land;
the rest of course are all drowned, and so disposed of; then, in due
time, the ship goes to pieces, and every thing needful is washed ashore
and secured by the islanders--that's the regular course of things--isn't
it, Arthur!"

"Yes, I believe it is, according to the story-books, which are the
standard sources of information on the subject."

"Or sometimes," pursued Max, "the ship gets comfortably wedged in
between two convenient rocks, (which seem to have been designed for that
special purpose), so that the castaways can go out to it on a raft, or
float of some kind, and carry off every thing they want--and singularly
enough, although the vessel is always on the point of going to pieces,
that catastrophe never takes place, until every thing which can be of
any use is secured."

"Do you suppose, Arthur," inquired Johnny, "that there are many
uninhabited islands, that have never been discovered!"

"There are believed to be a great many of them," answered Arthur, "and
it is supposed that new ones are constantly being formed by the labours
of the coral insect. A bare ledge of coral first appears, just at the
surface; it arrests floating substances, weeds, trees, etcetera; soon
the sea-birds begin to resort there; by the decay of vegetable and
animal matter a thin soil gradually covers the foundation of coral; a
cocoa-nut is drifted upon it by the winds, or the currents of the sea;
it takes root, springs up, its fruit ripens and falls, and in a few
years the whole new-formed island is covered with waving groves."

"Mr Frazer says he has no doubt that these seas swarm with such
islands, and that many of them have never been discovered," said Max;
besides, here's poetry for it:--

"`O many are the beauteous isles,
Unseen by human eye,
That sleeping 'mid the Ocean smiles,
In happy silence lie.
The ship may pass them in the night,
Nor the sailors know what lovely sight
Is sleeping on the main;'

"But this poetical testimony will make Arthur doubt the fact
altogether."

"Not exactly," answered Arthur, "though I am free to admit that without
Mr Frazer's opinion to back it your poetical testimony would not go
very far with me."

"Hark! There go