it and see not only all the
wonders I had described to him, but also see Jack and me creeping amongst
the marine shrubbery at the bottom, like, as--he expressed it,--"two
great white sea-monsters." During these excursions of ours to the bottom
of the sea, we began to get an insight into the manners and customs of
its inhabitants, and to make discoveries of wonderful things, the like of
which we never before conceived. Among other things, we were deeply
interested with the operations of the little coral insect which, I was
informed by Jack, is supposed to have entirely constructed many of the
numerous islands in Pacific Ocean. And, certainly, when we considered
the great reef which these insects had formed round the island on which
we were cast, and observed their ceaseless activity in building their
myriad cells, it did at first seem as if this might be true; but then,
again, when I looked at the mountains of the island, and reflected that
there were thousands of such, many of them much higher, in the South
Seas, I doubted that there must be some mistake here. But more of this
hereafter.

I also became much taken up with the manners and appearance of the
anemones, and star-fish, and crabs, and sea-urchins, and such-like
creatures; and was not content with watching those I saw during my dives
in the Water Garden, but I must needs scoop out a hole in the coral rock
close to it, which I filled with salt water, and stocked with sundry
specimens of anemones and shell-fish, in order to watch more closely how
they were in the habit of passing their time. Our burning-glass also now
became a great treasure to me, as it enabled me to magnify, and so to
perceive more clearly the forms and actions of these curious creatures of
the deep.

Having now got ourselves into a very comfortable condition, we began to
talk of a project which we had long had in contemplation,--namely, to
travel entirely round the island; in order, first, to ascertain whether
it contained any other productions which might be useful to us; and,
second, to see whether there might be any place more convenient and
suitable for our permanent residence than that on which we were now
encamped. Not that we were in any degree dissatisfied with it; on the
contrary, we entertained quite a home-feeling to our bower and its
neighbourhood; but if a better place did exist, there was no reason why
we should not make use of it. At any rate, it would be well to know of