their peculiar customs and manners. Indeed, there is
no cluster of islands in the Pacific that has been any length of time
discovered, of which so little has hitherto been known as the Marquesas,
and it is a pleasing reflection that this narrative of mine will do
something towards withdrawing the veil from regions so romantic and
beautiful.

CHAPTER II

Passage from the cruising ground to the Marquesas--Sleepy times
aboard ship--South Sea scenery--Land ho!--The French squadron
discovered at anchor in the bay of Nukuheva--Strange pilot--Escort
of canoes--A flotilla of cocoa-nuts--Swimming visitors--The _Dolly_
boarded by them--State of affairs that ensue.

I can never forget the eighteen or twenty days during which the light
trade-winds were silently sweeping us towards the islands. In pursuit of
the sperm whale, we had been cruising on the line some twenty degrees to
the westward of the Gallipagos; and all that we had to do, when our course
was determined on, was to square in the yards and keep the vessel before
the breeze, and then the good ship and the steady gale did the rest
between them. The man at the wheel never vexed the old lady with any
superfluous steering, but comfortably adjusting his limbs at the tiller,
would doze away by the hour. True to her work, the _Dolly_ headed to her
course, and like one of those characters who always do best when let
alone, she jogged on her way like a veteran old sea-pacer as she was.

What a delightful, lazy, languid time we had whilst we were thus gliding
along! There was nothing to be done; a circumstance that happily suited
our disinclination to do anything. We abandoned the fore-peak altogether,
and spreading an awning over the forecastle, slept, ate, and lounged under
it the live-long day. Every one seemed to be under the influence of some
narcotic. Even the officers aft, whose duty required them never to be
seated while keeping a deck watch, vainly endeavoured to keep on their
pins; and were obliged invariably to compromise the matter by leaning up
against the bulwarks, and gazing abstractedly over the side. Reading was
out of the question; take a book in your hand, and you were asleep in an
instant.

Although I could not avoid yielding in a great measure to the general
languor, still at times I contrived to shake off the spell, and to
appreciate the beauty of the scene around me. The