any time with us, have ever felt
the desire."

"What--not to leave a barren rock, without even a blade of grass upon
it."

"Happiness," replied my conductor, "does not consist in the variety of
your possessions, but in being contented with what you have"--and he
commenced the descent of the hill.

I followed him in a melancholy mood, for I could imagine little comfort
in such a sterile spot.

"I am not a native of this island," observed he, as we walked along; "it
is more than four hundred years since it was first inhabited, by the
crew of a French vessel, which was lost in the Northern Ocean. But I do
not wish to leave it. I was cast on it in a whale boat, when separated
from the ship in a snow-storm, about twenty-five years ago. I am now a
married man, with a family, and am considered one of the wealthiest
inhabitants of the island, for I possess between forty and fifty
whales."

"Whales!" exclaimed I, with astonishment.

"Yes," replied my conductor, "whales, which are the staple of this
island, and without them we should not be so prosperous and so happy as
we are. But you have much to see and learn; you will by-and-bye
acknowledge that there is nothing existing in the world, which, from
necessity and by perseverance, man cannot subject to his use. Yon lake
which covers the bottom of our valley, is our source of wealth and
comfort, and yields us an increase as plentiful as the most fertile
plains of Italy or France."

As we arrived close to the foot of the hills, I perceived several black
substances on the shores of the lake. "Are those whales?" inquired I.

"They were whales, but they are now houses. That one by itself is mine,
which I hope you will consider as yours, until you have made up your
mind as to what you will do."

We descended to the beach, and his companions, wishing me good-morning,
left me with my conductor, who led the way to his house. It was composed
of the skin of one entire whale, much larger than ever I had seen in the
Northern Ocean. The backbone and ribs of the animal served as rafters to
extend the skin, which wore the resemblance of a long tent; it was
further secured by ropes, formed of the twisted sinews which passed over
the top, and were made fast to stakes of bone firmly fixed in the ground
on each side. When I entered, I found to my surprise that there was
plenty of light, which was supplied from windows, composed of small
panes of whalebone ground down very thin, and at t