Chapter XVI.
THE BOAT LAUNCHED—WE VISIT THE CORAL REEF—THE GREAT BREAKER THAT NEVER GOES DOWN—CORAL INSECTS—THE WAY IN WHICH CORAL ISLANDS ARE MADE—THE BOAT'S SAIL—WE TAX OUR INGENUITY TO FORM FISH-HOOKS—SOME OF THE FISH WE SAW—AND A MONSTROUS WHALE—WONDERFUL SHOWER OF LITTLE FISH—WATER-SPOUTS.
It was a bright, clear, beautiful morning, when we first launched our little boat and rowed out upon the placid waters of the lagoon. Not a breath of wind ruffled the surface of the deep. Not a cloud spotted the deep blue sky. Not a sound that was discordant broke the stillness of the morning, although there were many sounds, sweet, tiny, and melodious, that mingled in the universal harmony of nature. The sun was just rising from the Pacific's ample bosom and tipping the mountain tops with a red glow. The sea was shining like a sheet of glass, yet heaving with the long deep swell that, all the world round, indicates the life of ocean; and the bright sea-weeds and the brilliant corals shone in the depths of that pellucid water, as we rowed over it, like rare and precious gems. Oh! it was a sight fitted to stir the soul of man to its profoundest depths, and, if he owned a heart at all, to lift that heart in adoration and gratitude to the great Creator of this magnificent and glorious universe.
At first, in the strength of our delight, we rowed hither and thither without aim or object. But after the effer-
