A CAMl' BY THE SEA. 



we therefore concluded to camp liere to-nigbt. For 

 a tent we cut poles from tlie neigliboring bunclies of 

 bamboo and covered tbem witli the boat's sail and 

 an old tai^aulin. Our fiiend K., who was extreme- 

 ly careful not to boast of being a good sailor, be- 

 came exceedingly fidglitened while we were in the 

 midst of the combing waves, and asked me, half a 

 dozen times during the e\'ening, if the tide would 

 not rise so high as to wash us off this steep shore 

 before morning, })ut I tried to quiet his nerves by 

 assuring hiin that such a thing could not happen un- 

 less the earth should sink, a very possil)le thuig now 

 that I come to think of it, for that very beach was com- 

 posed of black volcanic sand, and we were almost 

 beneath a cone, which rose on the fianks of Batu 

 an^uSj and had been fomed so recently that even the 

 luxuriant vegetation of these tropics had not yet had 

 time to gain a footing on its dark sides. In order 

 to get a pai-tial shelter from tbe heavy showers we 

 expected before morning, we pitched our camp l)e- 

 neath the sturdy branches of an old tree. There • 

 we slept while the wind, in heavy gusts, sighed 

 through the dense foliage over our heads, and at our 

 feet rose the heavj, pulsating roar of the ocean-surf. 



December 2 1^?^. — After passing a comfortable 

 night, not^vithstanding the fears of our companion 

 that we should awake Ijefore morning, and find our- 

 selves in the midst of the sea, we again attempted 

 to reach the northern end of Limbi, but, as soon as 

 we got out of the bay, we stmck into such a hea\'y 

 sea that our men could not take us to windwaixl, and 

 were therefore obliged to put back once more. This 



