. Around the world in the yacht 'Sunbeam,' our home on the ocean for eleven months . one in his frail-looking craft. Butthe heavy Pacific rollers and the sharp rocks daunted us,and we declined his offer with thanks, and rowed off tothe southward. Anything more enticing than the covewe were quitting can hardly be imagined. A fringe ofcocoanuts and bread-fruit trees, overhanging an under-growth of bright glossy foliage and flowers, a few half-hidden palm-leaf covered huts, from one of which—I sup-pose the chiefs—a tattered Tahitian flag floated in thebreeze, a small schooner drawn up among the t
. Around the world in the yacht 'Sunbeam,' our home on the ocean for eleven months . one in his frail-looking craft. Butthe heavy Pacific rollers and the sharp rocks daunted us,and we declined his offer with thanks, and rowed off tothe southward. Anything more enticing than the covewe were quitting can hardly be imagined. A fringe ofcocoanuts and bread-fruit trees, overhanging an under-growth of bright glossy foliage and flowers, a few half-hidden palm-leaf covered huts, from one of which—I sup-pose the chiefs—a tattered Tahitian flag floated in thebreeze, a small schooner drawn up among the trees andcarefully covered with mats, the steep sugar-loaf point, at AN UNPLEASANT CIRCUIT. 203 the entrance to the cove, clothed to its summit with grassand vegetation: these were the objects which attractedour attention in our hurried survey of the scene. We had to give the island a wide berth in rowing roundit, on account of the heavy rollers, which seemed to comefrom every side, breaking in surf against the dark browncliffs, and throwing columns of white spray, from which. Our Boatman. the brilliant sunsnine was reflected in rainbow hues, highinto the air. As we proceeded matters looked worse andworse, and the motion of the boat became so disagreeablethat both Muriel and I were very ill. At last we cameto a spot where we could see some people sitting on theshore, and several others, who had probably come overfrom the other side to meet us, running swiftly down thesides of the cliffs to the beach. The island was of a dif-ferent character from the one we had already visited, andwas evidently of volcanic origin. No coral was anywhereto be seen, but there were big rocks jutting out at inter-vals into the sea all round it, one of which seemed largeenough to afford us a sort of shelter in landincr. The na- 204 WE LAND AT LAST. tives waved and pointed towards the channel beyond thisrock, and one or two swam out to meet us; but we soonfound that the channel would not be wide eno
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Keywords: ., bookcentury180, bookdecade1870, booksubjectvoyagesaroundtheworld
