phia, we are incapable of such ingratitude. After enjoying
the hospitality of Willis in Shark's Island, he will surely deign to
accept ours at Falcon's Nest; so, whether here or there, he shall
always have four devoted followers to keep him company."

The Pilot shook Fritz by the hand, at the same time nearly dislocating
his arm.

"I wonder why God, who is so good, has not made houses grow of
themselves, like pumpkins and melons?" said Ernest.

"Rather a lazy idea that," said his father; "our great Parent has
clearly designed that we should do something for ourselves; he has
given us the acorn whence we may obtain the oak."

"Nevertheless, there are uninhabited countries which are gorged with
vegetation--the territory we are in, for example."

"True; but still no plant has ever sprung up anywhere without a seed
has been planted, either by the will of God or by the hands of man.
With regard, however, to the distribution of vegetation in a natural
state, that depends more upon the soil and climate than anything else;
wherever there is a fertile soil and moist air, there seeds will find
their way."

"But how?"

"The seeds of a great many plants are furnished with downy filaments,
which act as wings; these are taken up by the wind and carried immense
distances; others are inclosed in an elastic shell, from which, when
ripe, they are ejected with considerable force."

"The propagation of plants that have wings or elastic shells may, in
that way, be accounted for; but there are some seeds that fall, by
their own weight, exactly at the foot of the vegetable kingdom that
produces them."

"It is often these that make the longest voyages."

"By what conveyance, then?"

"Well, my son, for a philosopher, I cannot say that your knowledge is
very profound; seeds that have no wings borrow them."

"Not from the ant, I presume?"

"No, not exactly; but from the quail, the woodcock, the swallow, and a
thousand others, that are apparently more generous than the poor ant,
to which AEsop has given a reputation for avarice that it will have
some trouble to shake off. The birds swallow the seeds, many of which
are covered with a hard, horny skin, that often resists digestion;
these are carried by the inhabitants of the air across rivers, seas,
and lakes, and are deposited by them in the neighborhood of their
nests--it may be on the top of a mountain, or in the crevice of a
rock."

"True, I never thought of that."

"There a