ar and then passed on, the square was deserted;
but the dwellings around it were lighted up, and being of a very open
construction, we could see into them, and hear the voices of the inmates
feasting and making merry. Needless to say that everything we observed
was interesting to us, for it was all strange; but we were so much
exhausted with excitement that we were fain to go to bed.

Next day the professor and I, obeying a common impulse of travellers,
got up early and went forth to survey our new quarters. It was a
splendid morning, the whole atmosphere steeped in sunshine, and musical
with the songs of birds. The big sun was peeping over the distant wall
of the crater, but we did not feel his rays uncomfortably hot. A sky of
the loveliest azure was streaked with thin white clouds, drawn across it
like muslin curtains, and a cooling breeze played gently upon the skin.
The dewy air, so spring-like, fresh and sweet, was a positive pleasure
to breathe, and we both felt the intoxication, the rapture of life, as
we had never felt it since our boyhood. The grass underfoot was green as
emerald, and soft as velvet; fountains were flashing in the sunshine,
statues gleaming amongst the flowering trees, and birds of brilliant
plumage glancing everywhere.

The square opened on the lake, and afforded us a magnificent view of the
island. It was conical in shape, and the peak, no doubt, of an old
volcanic vent. I should say it was at least a thousand feet in height;
the sides were a veritable "hanging garden," wild and luxuriant; and the
summit was crowned by a glittering mass of domes, minarets, and spires.
Numbers of people, old and young, were bathing along the beach, and
swimming, diving, and splashing each other in the water with innocent
glee. Large birds, resembling swans, double the size of ours, and of
pale blue, rose, yellow, and green, as well as white plumage, were
floating in and out, and some of the children were riding on their
backs. Fantastic boats, with carved and painted prows, might be seen
crossing the lake in all directions, some under sail, and others with
rowers, keeping stroke to the rhythm of their songs. The shores of the
lake, sloping quietly to the waterside, were covered more or less
thickly with the houses and gardens of the city, and far in the
distance, perhaps fifty, perhaps a hundred miles away, the view was
bounded by the dim and ruddy precipice of the crater wall.

Regaling our eyes on the beau