1 8 W. J. SOLLAS [January 



pebble beaches which fringe our own coasts : few indeed so great, the 

 loftiest summits of most not exceeding the insignificant height of 10 

 feet. Owing to this fact they are scarcely visible till a ship is close 

 upon them, and the first glimpse of a low island presents itself as a 

 thin dark-green band, which separates the deep azure of the sky from 

 the still deeper blue of the sea : with nearer approach a cream-coloured 

 streak inserts itself below the green and is instantly followed by a line 

 of dazzling snowy white, which is soon recognised as the fringe of surf 

 which marks the boundary of the sea. Sailing nearer, the streak of 

 cream-colour becomes the island beach, and the zone of green resolves 

 itself into a mass of luxuriant vegetation, over which the feathery 

 crowns of the graceful cocoa-nut palms, towering to a height of 80 

 feet, wave indolently in the sea-breeze. 



As the details of this gracious scene, rising like an apparition from 

 the deep, unfold before the eyes, one seems to gaze on some island of 

 enchantment, and with the music of the surf thundering in one's ears 

 one thinks of the Tritons sounding the loud conch, and half expects to 

 " see old Proteus rising from the lea ! " 



If it be with surprise that we first make the acquaintance of these 

 islands the feeling is in no degree abated with closer familiarity ; from 

 beginning to end their whole story is a chapter of surprises. 



Mariners soon learned to dread the surf-beaten shores, for they 

 could find no anchorage within a safe distance of the breakers, the sides 

 of the island descending precipitously to great depths within a few 

 hundred yards of the coast ; and within this distance a reef of rough 

 and rugged rocks forms the shelving floor of the sea. A barque once 

 driven on to this heels over, with its deck facing the pitiless waves, 

 and is swept clean from stem to stern. 



Bristling with dangers on the outside, the island conceals within 

 itself a spacious inner sea or lagoon, into which, through dangerous 

 passages, a ship may make its way, and once there securely ride out 

 the most destructive storm. The island thus differs from most others 

 in being hollow in its midst : a mere rocky rim to a sea-lake, which 

 may be as much as GO or even 100 miles across, and 60 fathoms 

 deep, though 20 fathoms is more usual. From this feature the 

 islands are known, not only as " low " islands, but as " lagoon " 

 islands. The shores of the lagoon are bordered by a smooth, gently 

 sloping beach of flesh-coloured sand, over which the wavelets fall 

 faintly : and palms and laurel-like shrubs growing down to the 

 water's edge are reflected in its crystal margin. 



When the voyager first set foot on this strange new land it was a 

 fresh surprise to him to find it peopled. The inhabitants, usually 

 graceful and prepossessing in appearance and amiable in manners, 

 came timidly forth to welcome him, speaking a language full of soft 

 vowel sounds, which has been aptly styled the Italian of the Pacific. 

 In some cases, particularly when the natives were not red men but 



