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resting-place is found, supplied with abundant pasturage and clear water. Is not this truly the life of Abraham, Laban, and Jacob ?-a reproduction of the life delineated in the Bible.

We left, with some regret, the chalet where we had been sheltering, and retraced our steps towards La Paarl, where we were anxious to arrive before sunset; and during the two following days, spent our time in revisiting places with which we were already well acquainted. In one of these excursions we paid a visit to Arben, a spot we had not seen before, and which deserves particular mention. It is situated in the most arid plain we had ever met with; the culture of the vine is there replaced by that of fern-like plants; the soil is extremely light, and easy to cultivate, and produces remarkably fine wheat. The miserable inn at which we stopped was kept by a man whose face recalled the traits of our native country, and who eagerly informed us that his name was Tevillers, evidently expecting we should recognise it immediately; but as we were not able to do so, he showed us an old French Bible, in which was written the name of "De Villiers:" the poor fellow did not even know how to pronounce his own name!

The family of De Villiers is very numerous at the Cape, and no doubt arrived there at the same time, and under the same circumstances as the other French families. Perron, who visited the French refugees at Franc Hoeck, about sixty years after they had left their native country, observed, as I did in Brazil, how very quickly they forget their original language, for he found but one old woman, of eighty, who could speak French. How

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ever, it appears that in some families the mother tongue was for a time preserved, for De Villiers assured us, that he was accustomed to use it when a child. It is true, that before meeting with him, we had observed that none of his family had ever intermarried with the Dutch, but that the men always selected wives from the families of Rousseau, Retif, &c.

The daughter of our host, although the mother of several children, and accustomed to all kinds of hard work, still retained the delicate outline of form and face generally observable in our young countrywomen; there was also an air of puritan timidity about her, which caused her to resemble, in my eyes, some of Raphael's madonnas. This visit to De Villiers gave a new turn to our thoughts, presenting to us, in vivid colours, the instability of all human destinies; and with many reflections upon what we had seen, we bade adieu to our host, and made our preparations for returning on board the "Syren."

CHAPTER VI.

THE ISLE OF BOURBON.

After a very stormy passage of more than a month's duration, the mountains which rise in the centre of the Isle of Bourbon, became visible to our delighted eyes at about five o'clock on the morning of the 30th of April 1844. The romantic names of these conical volcanoes, pronounced by the officers on guard, awakened in my heart the souvenirs of my early days, and led me back to the happy time when I read "Paul and Virginia" with such lively interest, following in imagination the footsteps of the two lovely children, who roamed beneath the cocoa trees at the foot of these high-peaked mountains, the grandeur of which I had, in later years, admired in Madame Delmare's writings, that lady being one of the first who braved the torrent of public opinion in the fragile bark of romance.

A favourable wind assisted our progress forwards, and by means of its powerful aid, we spun along at a rapid rate, and anchored at St. Denis by noon-time. Just at the time of our arrival, the sea dashed furiously upon the rude inhospitable coast, the waves roaring and breaking upon the perpendicular rocks, which rise on the seashore, and tossing their foamy spray on high, like flakes of snow blown about by the breeze. ing the agitated motion of the water,

Our frigate, obeyheaved and rolled

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about as if in full sea, thus adding little to the pleasures of stepping into the tiny boats which were to convey us to the shore.

From that part of the harbour, in which we were thus unpleasantly stationed, the little town of St. Denis, surrounded by gardens full of odoriferous plants and fruittrees, papayers, and roucous, with their thorny, fruits and purple flowers, appeared to us more beautiful than perhaps it really was, as we did not in the least know when we should be able to quit our vessel, and seek repose in that oasis which the hand of God has placed in the midst of the stormy solitude of the ocean.

M. De Lagrené, who was extremely indisposed, required my presence and constant services on board, as his sufferings were liable to be augmented by the most trifling circumstance. However, on receiving a very pressing invitation from the governor, conveyed by one of his aides-de-camp, the plenipotentiary minister decided upon landing, in which project I forestalled him, at about four in the afternoon.

There are very frequently more dangers to be dreaded on the shores of the Isle of Bourbon, than in making a long voyage over the wide ocean; for the sea is almost always rough on this coast, owing to the contrary wind which blows incessantly here, and exposes small vessels to the danger of being overturned in their efforts to reach the shore. Being already pretty well inured to the diffi culties of disembarking, Xavier Raymond and myself had little hesitation in descending into the boat, and were soon rolling about, at the mercy of a rough stormy sea, sometimes thrown on our sides, then violently heaved up,

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and dashed rudely down again into the foaming abyss, which opened its wide jaws as if it would swallow us up. The waves gained upon our frail bark, more and more, every moment; but the strong hardy sailors who rowed us displayed great sagacity and coolness, and, thanks to their skill, we gained one of the landing-places of Bourbon in safety, leaving behind us the foaming sea, which grew more and more noisy and stormy every instant.

The landing-places of the Isle of Bourbon are constructed in such a manner as to ensure, as much as possible, the safety of small vessels, even under the most dangerous circumstances. They are built upon large strong stakes, stretching out into the sea, something like the prow of a ship, and furnished with scale-ladders, some of them fixed and intended for use in calm weather, and others floating, for the assistance of those who have to land when the sea is very rough. This latter mode of action is both difficult and perilous; when the stormy waves prevent the boat from approaching the stakes, you must seize one of the ladders which float upon the water, and climb slowly on to the landing-place.

I certainly was not born with a talent for gymnastics or evolutions on a rope, but it is wonderful what one can do when life is in danger. Thanks to the instinct of selfpreservation, I grasped the floating ladder, and ascended by its help, with a degree of skill which the best pupil of Colonel Amoros could not have surpassed; and as I was received by the people who had collected together on the top of the landing-place, with a smile of approbation, I concluded that my ascent had not been ungracefully performed; but, nevertheless, experienced a feeling of in