distant mountains, and made the sea flash as if it were all so much
molten topaz.

A pleasant listless day followed, and another and another, during which
the travellers slept in turn, and watched the various islands seem to
rise out of the sea, grow larger, and then, after they were passed, sink
down again into the soft blue water.

It was a delicious dreamy time, the only drawbacks being the suspicions
of the boatmen, and the cramped nature of the space at disposal.

They sailed on and on now, with the water surging beneath their bows and
the little vessel careening over in the brilliant sunshine; but they
were still far from their destination, and now the question had arisen
whether it would not be wise to put in at the principal port of Cyprus,
which they were now nearing, to obtain more provisions, as the wind was
so light that the prospect of their reaching Ansina that night was very
doubtful.

The evening had come on, with the sun going down in the midst of a
peculiar bank of clouds that would have looked threatening to
experienced eyes; but to the travellers it was one scene of glory, the
edges of the vapours being of a glowing orange, while the sky and sea
were gorgeous with tints that were almost painful in their dazzling
sheen. There was not a breath of wind, not a sound upon the smooth sea.
The sails hung motionless, and the heat was as oppressive as if those
on board were facing some mighty furnace.

"Very, very grand!" said Mr Burne at last, after he had sat with the
others for some time silently watching the glorious sight; "but to my
mind there's too much of it. I should like to have it spread over
months, a little bit every night, not like this, all at once."

"Oh, Mr Burne!" cried Lawrence reproachfully.

"I once saw a pantomime many years ago, when I took some of my sister's
children to a box I was foolish enough to pay for. This reminds me of
one of the scenes, only there are no sham fairies and stupid people
bobbing about and standing on one leg. Just when everything was at the
brightest a great dark curtain came down, and it was all over, and it
seems to be coming here, only it's coming up instead of coming down.
Heigho--ha--hum! how sleepy I am!"

He lay down as he spoke close under the low bulwark, and as he did so
Lawrence glanced forward and saw that the gorgeous sunset had no charms
for the sailors, for they were lying among the baskets fast asleep,
their faces upon their arms, w