TO RADACK. 4-9 



he looked at himself in it without ceasing; and his 

 companions, to whom he sometimes allowed a look 

 in it, seized upon it to catch a glimpse of their 

 own portraits, which afforded them all much amuse- 

 ment. Rarick*s boats now anchored at our island ; 

 he begged me to accompany him to his home, 

 pointing to the east, and we resolved that he should 

 go on before, and we follow in our boats. It was 

 four o'clock when we embarked, and I directed 

 my course to the high island to the N.E,, which I 

 determined to explore, because its height, com- 

 pared with the others, appeared to us remarkable. 

 We reached it in an hour, but it was a long time 

 before we could find a landing-place, as it was 

 surrounded by reefs, and, to satisfy our curiosity, 

 we were obliged to wade more than knee deep 

 through the water. The island was about the 

 same size as the one we had left, had scarcely any 

 mould, but was covered with immense blocks of 

 coral, which lay irregularly one over the other, 

 and seemed to have been dashed on shore, which 

 may have been done by a violent storm from the 

 north. In spite of the little earth, trees were 

 already growing between the large blocks, 

 which resembled in height and thickness our 

 largest oaks, and had nearly the same appearance. 

 A number of birds, of the sea-swallow species, 

 which had their nests in these trees, on seeing us, 

 set up a most hideous cry. 



VOL. II. E 



