several instances, these little lakes were near a mile in length, having
the most beautifully undulating outlines. None of them were deep, of
course, though their bottoms varied. Some of these bottoms were clean
rock; others contained large deposits of mud; and others, again, were of
a clean, dark-coloured sand. One, and one only, had a bottom of a
bright, light-coloured sand. As a matter of course, these lakes, or
pools, must shortly evaporate, leaving their bottoms bare, or encrusted
with salt. One thing gave the young man great satisfaction. He had kept
along the margin of the channel that communicated with the water that
surrounded the Reef, and, when at the greatest distance from the crater,
he ascended a rock that must have had an elevation of a hundred feet
above the sea. Of course most of this rock had been above water
previously to the late eruption, and Mark had often seen it at a
distance, though he had never ventured through the white water near so
far, in the dingui. When on its apex, Mark got an extensive view of the
scene around him. In the first place, he traced the channel just
mentioned, quite into open water, which now appeared distinctly not many
leagues further, towards the north-west. There were a great many other
channels, some mere ribands of water, others narrow sounds, and many
resembling broad, deep, serpenting creeks, which last was their true
character, being strictly inlets from the sea. The lakes or pools, could
be seen in hundreds, creating some confusion in the view; but all these
must soon disappear, in that climate.

Towards the southward, however, Mark found the objects of his greatest
wonder and admiration. By the time he reached the apex of the rock, the
smoke in that quarter of the horizon had, in a great measure, risen from
the sea; though a column of it continued to ascend towards a vast,
dun-coloured cloud that overhung the place. To Mark's astonishment he
had seen some dark, dense body first looming through the rising vapour.
When the last was sufficiently removed, a high, ragged mountain became
distinctly visible. He thought it arose at least a thousand feet above
the ocean, and that it could not be less than a league in extent. This
exhibition of the power of nature filled the young man's soul with
adoration and reverence for the mighty Being that could set such
elements at work. It did not alarm him, but rather tended to quiet his
longings to quit the place; for he who lives