ch I had ordered to rendezvous here, hove in sight, and joined
us at the anchorage a few minutes after we came to.

_Wednesday, December 24th._--In the forenoon went out of the
harbour, and examined the entrances and anchorage. The dangers
are all visible, and it is only necessary to give a berth to the
reefs that make off from the points. There is an inner reef making
off to the westward from the northern island; but it, like the
other, is visible, and there is no danger whatever in approaching
it. The Areas are three low keys, lying in a triangle; the northern
key being the largest. We found a hut on this latter key, a
boat hauled up on the island, a net inside the hut, a boiler or two
for trying out oil, and other evidences of the inhabitancy of fishermen
or turtlers; but this not being the season for these pursuits,
everything had apparently been abandoned for some time.
Numerous birds of the gull species were the only living things
found in the island, and of these there were varieties of old birds
and their fledglings, and some of the former were still laying and
sitting. They seemed to have no fear of our men, and suffered
themselves to be caught by the hand, and knocked on the head
with sticks. The vegetation found was on the larger island, and
on that it consisted of a dense carpeting of sea-kale--not a shrub
of any kind. In the transparent waters on the inner reef, a great
variety of the living coral was found in all its beauty, imitating
the growth of the forest on a small scale. At P.M. we got
under way, and stood in and anchored under the south side of the
larger island in nine fathoms, and moored ship with an open
hawse to the north.

We entered by the S.E. passage between the south and the
north islands. The barque followed us, coming in by the S.W.
passage between the south and the west islands, and anchored a
little to the S.E. of us. Our anchorage is open to the S.E., but at
this season it does not blow from that quarter, and probably
would not bring in much sea if it did. We feel very comfortable
to-night in snug berth.

_Thursday, December 25th_.--Christmas-day!--the second Christmas
since we left our homes in the Sumter. Last year we were
buffeting the storms of the North Atlantic, near the Azores; now
we are snugly anchored, in the Arcas: and how many eventful
periods have passed in the interval! Our poor people have been
terribly pressed in this wicked and ruthless war, and they have
borne p