STUDY IV. 243 



defcription which we have of thefe iflands, as if it 

 were neceflary that, in every cafe, things the moft 

 worthy of the efteem of Mankind fhould be the 

 fruit of fome calamity. *< It is wonderful," Hiys 

 he, " to behold each of thefe clufters encompaffed 

 ** round and round with a great bulwark of ftone, 

 '* fuch as no human art can pretend to equal in 

 " fecuring a fpot of ground within walls *. Thefe 

 ** clufters are all roundifli, or oval, and are about 

 *' thirty leagues each in circumference, fome a 

 " very little more, others a very little lefs, and are 

 ** all in a feries, and end to end, without anycon- 

 ** taâ; whatever. There are, between every two, 

 " channels of the Sea, fome broad, others very 

 " narrow. When you are in the centre of a cluf- 

 " ter, you fee, all around, that great bulwark of 

 " ftone, which, as 1 have faid, encompafles it, 

 " and defends the illes againft the impetuofity of 

 " the Ocean. But it is truly frightful, even to the 

 " boldeft, to approach this bulwark, and to behold 

 " the billows coming from afar, to burft with fury 

 " on every fide : for then, I affure you, as a thing 

 " 1 have feen a thoufand and a thoufmd times, 

 *' the perturbation, or bubbling over, exceeds the 

 " fizeofahoufe, and is whiter than a fleece of 

 " cotton : fo that you feem furrounded with a wall 



* Voyage to the Maldivias, chap, x: 



R 2 *' of 



