he breeze was good on deck, and even in the cabins.

At the appointed hour the passengers were in their chairs in Conference
Hall, two of them occupied by the siamangs, and the baby in the lap of
Miss Blanche, who had become very much attached to the little creature.
On the frame in front of the orang-outang was a complete map of the
Philippine Islands, covering seventeen degrees of latitude, and ten of
longitude, with enough of the seas around them to make their position
clear to the audience.

Professor Giroud was introduced for this occasion as the speaker; and he
was received with more than usual applause, for he had not occupied the
rostrum as much as formerly, General Noury having been kept busy since
his reappearance off Batavia. It may be said that after the rest of the
day before the party were in excellent condition to be instructed.

"We are sailing just now in comparatively shallow water; and just to the
south of us there are innumerable shoals, with only from four to ten
fathoms of water on them. If the water were entirely drained from the
China Sea, the bottom would be like a hilly region; for these numerous
shoals would be the tops of various elevations, and the same would be
true of a less extent north of us. The portion of the sea over which we
are now moving would appear to be a considerable valley. You all have
imagination enough to see what I have described.

"All around the Philippines on the east and south the water is from two
to four thousand fathoms deep; so that if the seas were dried up around
them, these islands would appear like a number of irregular chains of
mountains, and the highest peak would be over 10,000 feet above the
present surface of the water.

"From north to south these islands extend about a thousand miles, and
from east to west about half that distance, with the Sulu or Mindoro Sea
four hundred miles across it in either direction, nearly enclosed within
them; for the north-east coast of Borneo is part of its boundary on the
south. As the commander mentioned at dinner last evening, there are over
two thousand islands in the group; and leaving out those rocks and
shoals which are not big enough for a man to stand upon, there are
twelve hundred of them.

"On a map of the world, or even of Asia, the Philippine Islands occupy
but a small space, and in your school-days you have doubtless regarded
them as of but little importance; but several of the islands are larger
than any