thing as alarming him for his safety. It was to
no purpose that Max surrounded his heroes with fierce and numerous foes;
Johnny took it quite coolly, expecting him to cut his way out as a hero
should. It was in vain to cover him with wounds--a hero's wounds are
never mortal. Cast him away upon an iron-bound coast in the midst of a
hurricane--Johnny knew that _one_ would escape: drown a hero! who ever
heard of such a thing! Max at length resented this indifference, by
suddenly becoming quite tragical, and actually despatching two or three
heroes with very little ceremony. The first of these unfortunate
gentlemen perished, if I remember correctly, by "a tremendous backstroke
of a two-handed, double-edged sword, that severed his head from his
body." At this sentence, which seemed pretty decisive, Johnny was
somewhat staggered, but, immediately recovering himself, he bade Max "go
on," expecting, I verily believe, that it would turn out that the head
was not in fact _quite_ cut off or that if it was, it would, like that
of the physician Dubin, in the Arabian Nights, be again set upon the
shoulders, and life restored by the healing virtue of some potent
medicament. Great was his astonishment and consternation, on being made
at last to comprehend, that the hero was actually dead; which fact he
did not, however, appear fully to realise, until Max, to put the matter
beyond doubt, buried him with great funereal pomp and ceremony, and
erected over his remains a splendid monument, with an inscription
recording his exploits and his valour. This method of proceeding, Max
judiciously followed up, by giving a tragical termination to his
romances, often enough to keep Johnny reminded that _his_ heroes at any
rate were mortal.

In addition to these resources for our evenings, we have the semi-weekly
meetings of "The South-Sea Lyceum," which was organised soon after the
commencement of the rainy season, and of which Arthur is the president
having been twice unanimously elected to that dignified and responsible
office. Recitations or declamations, essays, and debates upon questions
previously selected, constitute the regular exercises at these meetings.
Browne possesses quite a talent for dramatic recitation, and he has
Shakespeare almost by heart, which circumstances, early on the voyage
out, earned for him the nickname of "Shaks." At nearly every session of
the "Lyceum," he is either among the regular appointees for a
recitati