caused in my eyes by the contact with the sea-water. This smarting sensation was speedily removed by an eye-wash my Instructor gave me, and gradually diminished as I grew used to the immersion; so that after a week's practice I no longer felt any inconvenience from it, and could remain as long under water as I chose without the slightest discomfort in the eyes.
Until I got thoroughly habituated to the new element, I used to pass most of my time in the grotto of my Instructor prosecuting the studies necessary in order to make me fit for mingling with the community among whom I was to pass my time and whose manners and customs I was to adopt.
My progress towards this end gave great satisfaction to my Instructor, who assured me that others had much greater difficulty in becoming accustomed to this new life than I had displayed. This I could very well understand, for I know many persons at home to whom immersion, even for a short time, is attended by very disagreeable effects.
I asked my teacher if it was not the case that some could never become used to the aquatic habits of his countrymen: to which he replied:—
"It is certainly the case that a good many of those who are thrown upon these islands can never adapt their habits to ours, in fact are unable to exist with any degree of comfort in the water. These are, therefore, constrained to remain on the land, and there are many houses and residences on shore where these unfortunate people dwell. The discomforts of a land residence are, however, so great that most of them pine away and die, and of those who are able to stand out against the deleterious influences of the
