iness upon
finding that we were alone.

As the sun was already low in the west, and we supposed that the party
engaged in getting wood had, in all probability, finished their work, we
concluded to return, and to wait for Mr Frazer, and the rest of the
shore party at the boats, if we should not find them already there.

As we skirted the border of the grove, on our return, Johnny every now
and then cast an uneasy glance towards its darkening recesses, as though
expecting to see some wild animal, or a yelling troop of tattooed
islanders rush out upon us. The forest commenced about two hundred
yards from the beach, from which there was a gradual ascent and was
composed of a greater variety of trees than I had observed on the other
islands of a similar size at which we had previously landed. Arthur
called our attention to a singular and picturesque group of
Tournefortias, in the midst of which, like a patriarch surrounded by his
family, stood one of uncommon size, and covered with a species of fern,
which gave it a striking and remarkable appearance. The group covered a
little knoll, that crowned a piece of rising ground, advanced a short
distance beyond the edge of the forest. It was a favourable spot for a
survey of the scene around us. The sun, now hastening to his setting,
was tingeing all the western ocean with a rich vermilion glow. The
smooth white beach before us, upon which the long-rolling waves broke in
even succession, retired in a graceful curve to the right and was broken
on the left by the wooded point already mentioned.

As you looked inland, the undulating surface of the island, rising
gradually from the shore, and covered with the wild and luxuriant
vegetation of the tropics, delighted the eye by its beauty and variety.
The noble Bread-fruit tree--its arching branches clothed with its
peculiarly rich and glossy foliage; the elegantly shaped Casuarina, the
luxuriant Pandanus, and the Palms, with their stately trunks, and green
crests of nodding leaves, imparted to the scene a character of oriental
beauty.

"Why do they call so lovely a spot as this a desert island, I wonder?"
exclaimed Johnny, after gazing around him a few moments in silence.

"Did you ever hear of a desert island that wasn't a lovely spot!"
answered Max. "Why, your regular desert island should combine the
richest productions of the temperate, torrid, and frigid zones--a choice
selection of the fruits, flowers, vegetables, and a