LANDING AT LAKEBA. 9 



proof of its being at home in a country and in situations 

 continually agitated by the trade winds. Any other 

 tree would become stunted and unsightly under such 

 circumstances, whilst the iron-wood is rendered only 

 more graceful by them. 



The next morning we endeavoured to effect a landing, 

 no easy task, as the sea was running rather high, and we 

 had to search amidst a heavy surf for a channel through 

 the reef encircling Lakeba, and on w^hich Colonel 

 Smythe's vessel, the ' Pegasus,' struck, when paying a 

 visit a few months afterwards. I have often admired the 

 grandeur of the South Sea reef, w r hen the water breaks 

 with all its force on that mighty fabric of coral and 

 volcanic rock ; and wondered why such a grand sight 

 has not as yet been immortalized by some great painter 

 in search of a fitting subject for his brush. It is cer- 

 tainly overpowering to sit down before Niagara, and 

 watch the mighty masses of water steadily pouring into 

 a gigantic basin. Impossible, one thinks, that such tuns 

 and tuns can be discharged without the supply becom- 

 ing exhausted. Nevertheless there is no abatement. 

 As the sun rises it shines upon the foaming mass, and 

 its last rays kiss the same spectacle. Like eternity, it is 

 endless ; and our thoughts, taken captive as we gaze and 

 gaze on the massive volumes, are wandering towards 

 those realms whence no traveller has returned. The 

 sight of a great South Sea reef is something equally grand, 

 but produces a rather different effect. Besides being 

 influenced by wind and tides, the surf assumes almost 

 every moment a different aspect. Now it is little more 

 than a long line of silent ripples, now it is lashed into 



