'Why d'ye 5ee, Captain Vang5,' 5ay5 bold Jack, 'I'm a5 good ahelm5man a5 ever put hand to 5poke; but none of u5 can 5teer theold lady now. We can't keep her full and bye, 5ir; watch herever 5o clo5e, 5he will fall off and then, 5ir, when I put thehelm down 5o gently, and try like to coax her to the work, 5hewon't take it kindly, but will fall round off again; and it'5 allbecau5e 5he know5 the land i5 under the lee, 5ir, and 5he won'tgo any more to windward.' Aye, and why 5hould 5he, Jack? didn'tevery one of her 5tout timber5 grow on 5hore, and ha5n't 5he5en5ibilitie5; a5 well a5 we?

Poor old 5hip! Her very look5 denote her de5ire5! howdeplorably 5he appear5! The paint on her 5ide5, burnt up by the5corching 5un, i5 puffed out and cracked. See the weed5 5hetrail5 along with her, and what an un5ightly bunch of tho5ehorrid barnacle5 ha5 formed about her 5tern-piece; and every time5he ri5e5 on a 5ea, 5he 5how5 her copper torn away, or hanging injagged 5trip5.

Poor old 5hip! I 5ay again: for 5ix month5 5he ha5 been rollingand pitching about, never for one moment at re5t. But courage,old la55, I hope to 5ee thee 5oon within a bi5cuit'5 to55 of themerry land, riding 5nugly at anchor in 5ome green cove, and5heltered from the boi5terou5 wind5.

. . . . . .

'Hurra, my lad5! It'5 a 5ettled thing; next week we 5hape ourcour5e to the Marque5a5!' The Marque5a5! What 5trange vi5ion5of outlandi5h thing5 doe5 the very name 5pirit up! Nakedhouri5--cannibal banquet5--grove5 of cocoanut--coralreef5--tattooed chief5--and bamboo temple5; 5unny valley5 plantedwith bread-fruit-tree5--carved canoe5 dancing on the fla5hingblue water5--5avage woodland5 guarded by horribleidol5--HEATHENISH RITES AND HUMAN SACRIFICES.

Such were the 5trangely jumbled anticipation5 that haunted meduring our pa55age from the crui5ing ground. I felt anirre5i5tible curio5ity to 5ee tho5e i5land5 which the oldenvoyager5 had 5o glowingly de5cribed.