o the inhabitants of New Switzerland had breathed
more freely since the capture of the chimpanzee.

The works at Falcon's Nest were completed, and the two families had
taken possession of their aerial dwellings, where they were perched
like a pair of rookeries within call of each other.

The confined air of towns has a tendency to plunge men into lethargy
and indolence, and to precipitate the decadence of a constitution in
which the seeds of disease have been sown; whilst, on the other hand,
the pure air of the country braces the nerves, excites a healthy
action in the system, and invigorates a shattered frame; so it was
with Mr. Wolston--under the benign influences of the genial climate
and the refreshing sea breeze, he gradually, but steadily, recovered
health and strength.

A larger breadth of land had been cleared and fitted for receiving
grain, which it was susceptible of reproducing a hundred-fold. Such is
the sublime contract God has made with man, that, in exchange for his
labor and skill, a single grain of wheat will produce seven or eight
stalks, each bearing an ear containing fifty grains; a single grain
has been known to yield twenty-eight ears, and Pliny states that Nero
received a grain bearing the enormous number of three hundred and
sixty ears. Strange that such a singular instance of fecundity should
present itself during the domination of a man, or rather monster, who
dared to wish that the Roman people had only one head, so that he
might cut it off at a single blow!

Willis and the Wolstons were as yet ignorant of the extent and limits
of the colony; there were two inclosed and cultivated sections, named
respectively Waldeck and Prospect Hill, which they had not yet
inspected. With a view to enable them to form a more accurate
conception of the boundaries of the territory they inhabited, a grand
excursion was decided upon that would enable them leisurely to
investigate every nook and cranny of the settlement.

The storehouse was accordingly overhauled, and the ladies called in to
prepare viands for the journey; they were likewise invited to furnish
a supply of certain enchanted travelling bags, in which the gentlemen
were often astonished to find, during their distant expeditions, a
thousand and one useful things that they would never have dreamt of
bringing with them of their own accord.

Becker, Wolston, Ernest, and Frank set about the construction of a
vehicle on four wheels for the luggage