

THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 289 



and her daughter-in-law, dressed in the English 

 fashion, received us in their neat little cottage. 



"The sound of industry was music to my ears. 

 Hammers, saws, and adzes, were heard in every 

 direction. Houses in frame met the eye in all parts, 

 in different stages of forwardness. Many boats, after 

 our manner, were building, and lime burning for 

 cement and whitewashing. 



" I walked out to the point forming the division 

 between the two bays. When I had reached it, I 

 sat down to enjoy the sensations created by the 

 lovely scene before me. I cannot describe it; but 

 it possessed charms independent of the beautiful 

 scenery and rich vegetation. The blessings of Chris- 

 tianity were diffused among the fine people who 

 inhabited it ; a taste for industrious employment had 

 taken deep root ; a praiseworthy emulation to excel 

 in the arts which contribute to their welfare and 

 comfort had seized upon all, and in consequence 

 civilization was advancing with rapid strides." 



The volcanic islands, like the first-described class, 

 are protected from the fury of the tempestuous 

 Ocean by the natural rampart of a coral reef. 

 The reef is often a mile and a half, or two miles 

 from the beach, though sometimes it approaches 

 so close as to be connected with it, interrupting 

 in that part the continuity of the lagoon. The 

 usual width of the coral rock is from five to twenty 

 or thirty j^ards; yet over this the waves usually 

 break, and when rolling in upon an unbroken line 

 of reef, perhaps two miles in length, the spectacle 

 is one of surpassing grandeur and beauty. The 



19 2 B 



