length to reach the bottom easily, one end of
it being secured to the boat. When about to
plunge in, the diver places his right foot on
the stone and between the double cord, using
it as a stirrup; the weight suffices to
hasten his descent, and on arriving at the
bottom, the stone is cast away and pulled up
by the boatmen, so as to be clear of the net-
rope: this rope is stouter, and single. The
diver seizes the hoop of the net firmly between
the toes of his left foot—for the natives use
their toes as actively as we do our fingers—and
when on the bank below, grasps the net in his
left hand, flings himself flat on his face, and
sweeps the oysters rapidly into his coir bag
with his right hand. When he has secured
sufficient fish, he gives his comrades above
the signal by jerking the net-rope; they
immediately commence hauling it in. To give
himself an impetus upwards, the diver lays
hold of the net for a second or two, then
raises his hands together above his head, and
rapidly floats to the surface.

From the commencement of the diving, the
old Shark-Charmer had stationed himself on
the stern of his boat, which was in the centre
of the fleet: occasionally he muttered a
short prayer or charm, flourishing his long
arms about in his accustomed manner; but at
intervals he descended to sip something from
a cocoa-nut shell bottle, doubtless to aid him
in his exorcisms. During one of his potations,
and about one hour before mid-day, we were
suddenly startled by hearing a shrieking and
howling in one of the distant boats, followed
by a terrible commotion and loud cries of—
"The shark! The shark!" Our boat was
immediately pulled to the scene of commotion,
and there, sure enough, one of those monsters
of the deep had been at work. A poor diver
was being pulled into the boat, lacerated, and
bleeding profusely, the water all around being
deeply tinged with blood. One leg was nearly
severed from his body, and the pain had
caused him to faint away. The alarm went
rapidly round from boat to boat; the divers
left the water, and it was soon evident that
there would be no more fishing on that day.
So effectually did the accident paralyse that
mass of people, that all, with one accord, sat
gazing vacantly at each other, neither speaking
nor moving. After a time, some of the
boats without orders, began to leave the
fishing ground, and were soon followed by
the rest, making their way to the "Wellington."
The Inspector was too well acquainted
with native prejudice to attempt any
expostulation on this diversion: he, however,
sent for the old Shark-Charmer, who attended
the summons with the utmost effrontery. In
reply to the question, how he dared to permit
a shark to injure a diver in the employ of the
British Government, he said there were some
spirits adverse to the powers he possessed;
and that, during the brief time of his taking
a little refreshment, one of those antagonists
had broken his charm and unloosed the jaws
of the shark! All was now vain—no more
fishing; and, although the sea breeze was still
lagging lazily behind, the fleet pushed shore-
wards, the boatmen plying their oars for a
few miles. An hour later the breeze came up
from the south-west—fitfully at first—then
steadily up went the great spider-legged
bamboo masts and the wide winged sails,
and the sharp-nosed boats slipped noiselessly
landward.

Our approach to the shore was signalised
by a gun: thousands were again on the beach
awaiting our coming, and anxious to hear of
our success. As we drew near, a long, wild
shout rent the air; then a pause. No reply
was given from the boats, the spirits of all
were depressed by the accident, not so much
from sympathy with the poor sufferer, as from
a feeling that the accident at so early a stage
was a bad omen.

The whole of the fleet having reached the
shore, a party of Malay riflemen and Peons,
cleared an open space between them and the
crowd on the beach, so as to allow the
unloading of the boats, which was at once
commenced. The oysters .were divided on the
sandy shore, into four equal parts, three of
which went to the Government, or the renter,
as the case might be; the remaining fourth
was shared amongst the boatmen, the divers,
the Tandal and the boat-owner; the divers
receiving twice as much as the boatmen, and
the owner rather more than the divers. The
Government oysters were carried up in baskets
to large bamboo enclosures, called Cottoos,
where they were kept until sold by auction
on the following day. The native shares of
the fish were disposed of in a similar way;
though, sometimes, they were retained by
their owners on their own account, and the
pearls found in them sold afterwards.

I did not go off to the next day's fishing,
being desirous of witnessing the oyster auction:
the boats, however, went as before, the Shark-
Charmer having woven a spell of extra potency;
which, it was said, would astonish the marine
monsters, and secure their jaws as effectually
as if fastened by Chubb's detector locks. The
biddings were carried on with an eagerness
almost amounting to frenzy. The oysters were
offered in lots of one thousand, taken from the
Cottoos indiscriminately. Some fine-looking
fellows went as high as six pounds the thousand;
many, however, were knocked down for half
that price, and not a few realised no more
than fifteen shillings a lot, about the price of
ordinary native oysters in England. Had the
bidders believed that their admission into
Paradise depended on their obtaining a few
lots of these oysters, their mad excitement
could scarcely have been exceeded. One old
man, a Moorman, I particularly noticed. His
entire suit of wearing apparel could hardly
have been worth one of the oysters he had
been bidding for. Avarice was deeply marked
in his sharp features; and when he at last
succeeded in obtaining one lot, I thought he