142 EAMBLES OF A NATURALIST. [Oh. IX. 



broken and hilly, with here and there a few biillocks grazing. 

 It was like steaming along a pleasant lake, with just water 

 enough to float the ship. One or two large villages lay at 

 the base of the hills, the occupation of whose inhabitants 

 was denoted by the numerous large triangular nets which 

 lay spread. out upon the slopes, and were visible, from their 

 numbers, for a considerable distance. The narrow exit was 

 staked for fishing purposes ; but we managed to pass through 

 a smaU gap without injuring them. The numerous cuttle- 

 bones floating outside were probably indications of the same 

 thing, for they use these animals largely as bait ; and beside 

 them were Physalise, Velellse, and other marine animals. 



This night was one of the most wild and weird-looking 

 that I ever witnessed. There was no moon, and it was very 

 dark ; but the sea was highly luminous, every wave breaking 

 with a pale light, which rendered it visible at a considerable 

 distance, so that the whole sea was streaked with imearthly 

 fire, and the ship was enveloped in a sort of luminous sheath. 

 Vivid lightning flashed incessantly aU aroimd, momentarily 

 rendering the scene more strikingly wild ; and the ship 

 roUed all the time so violently that it was almost impossible 

 to walk the deck. The combination of effects produced a 

 mingled feeling of awe and dehght, and realised the wild 

 dreams embodied in some passages of Dante or illustrations 

 of Dore. 



Far out to sea we came upon some small open boats, 

 which one would have thought only fit for crossing a ferry, 

 and in which some Chinamen were tending an extensive 

 series of floating nets, extending from one-half to three- 

 fourths of a mile in length. The industry and enterprise 

 of these people were strikingly exhibited, and a feeling of 

 surprise and admiration was excited by the extent of their 



