He then requested the queen to have the place tabooed, as she had already done on the Dromedary's Hump, and, accordingly, she and her retinue came up one evening for that purpose.

As Gentleman Jack had always through life considered it necessary to pay great respect to the religious ceremonies of any country in which he stayed, he had determined to have, before the ceremony was performed, the little feast he had prepared for the royal retinue, considering that it would be better that all mirth and gaiety should be previously finished. Fitz also decided to salute her majesty with three discharges of the gun on her arrival, and three on her departure.

His crew, excepting the three left at the fort, were all with him, and under arms; and Fitz was ready, in his full uniform and gold-laced scraper, to receive the queen and her attendants. When fairly up the hill, and before entering the hut, he made the usual signal by taking off his hat, and the gun was fired three times, to the great amusement of them all.

After the repast, and the usual quantity of

wine, which her majesty always seemed very greatly to enjoy, she expressed a strong desire to have the cocked-hat upon her own head, with which he immediately crowned her, putting it on square. On receiving this ready compliance with her wishes, she seemed greatly pleased; and Fitz, the more to heighten the effect, told the gunner, when she pulled it off, to fire the other three guns.

After strutting about with it for some time, her most gracious majesty condescended to imitate Gentleman Jack by taking off this symbol of his rank; and, the guns being fired at the moment, the astonishment they expressed was beyond all bounds. The ground being tabooed, the whole party descended from the hill. As the sailors had taught the ponies to carry, Fitz mounted one, to get to the fort; and her majsety threw out broad hints that she should like to mount the other. This, however, he did not encourage.

CHAPTER VI.

"Vain is the wish, their last petition scorning, Fresh blows the gale, and high the billows swell; Far shall we be before the break of morning:

O then for ever, Simple Isle, farewell!"

MATT. LEWIS.

THE difficulties which Fitzjohn had been obliged to surmount in equipping and arming the Cocoatree station, made him almost despair of similarly preparing the Dromedary Humps; but, as the accomplishing this end was not so pressing, and the south-west monsoon had nearly expended itself and become quite moderate, Fitz determined to despatch two parties to explore the sea coasts around the island by the boats. At first, he thought of sending one each way to

meet on the opposite side; but, knowing what confidence two parties inspire in each other, he decided that they should go together; retaining the long-boat at the fort as their only hope of deliverance.

This decided, they launched the pinnace and t he jolly-boat, and let them remain full of water for two days, that they might absorb the moisture, and become water-tight. On the fourth morning, they started; the chief mate and six men in the pinnace, and the third mate and four men in the jolly-boat, with six days' provisions and water.

On the third evening, the expedition suddenly returned, having found it quite impossible to get outside the reefs, or alongshore, for the breakers and sunken rocks, while the sharks were so numerous and so voracious, that they endeavoured to sever the blades of the oars; and more than once the men were obliged to fire musketry at them.

Gentleman Jack now most seriously reflected on the position in which himself and men were placed their biscuit they had long ceased to

serve out, having only about one month's allowance left their salt provisions were equally low; and the men could not live as the natives did, without being attacked with dysentery, so that the short allowance of flour served out to them was indispensably necessary to eat with the fruit, and ward off those attacks. Under these circumstances, Fitzjohn directed all the exertions of himself and crew towards preparing for sea.

The first grand object was to render the boats so buoyant that even if part of their bottoms should be stove in on passing the reefs, they should still be, as far as possible, seaworthy. For this purpose, empty barricoes, well bunged and stopped, were lashed down to the ringbolts in the stem, as well as on each side of the keel, in the bottom of the boat. Besides these were also employed in a similar manner, and at different parts, breakers, half full of fresh water, slung two and two, like smugglers' kegs.

The long-boat was fitted after the same plan as the others, only that under her bow and quarter were four air-tight quarter-casks; and,