At the appointed time the passengers assembled, and the boys stepped before the curtain--a table-cover borrowed from the steward. Frank was the speaker of the occasion, while Fred had charge of the panorama: the latter consisted of a series of sketches in heavy crayon, with occasional touches from a box of water-colors to heighten the effect. As soon as quiet had been secured, Frank began: "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,--It is hardly to be supposed there is any one in this vast audience who has not read the story of Robinson Crusoe, which we are about to illustrate; consequently, I will not tell you about him, especially as he never existed at all, and was never thought of till a Scotch sailor named Alexander Selkirk lived all alone for four years on an island in the Pacific Ocean. The adventures of this sailor gave Daniel Defoe the hint to write the story of Crusoe: it has been done in verse by some one else, and it is the poetical version which I shall now give you." Frank paused an instant while Fred placed the first picture of the series on a temporary easel, composed of the back of a chair, which stood on the end of the cabin table. As soon as the picture was adjusted Frank recited the lines: "'When I was a lad my fortune was bad, My grandfather I did lose, oh; I'll wager a fan you've heard of the man, His name it was Robinson Crusoe.' [Illustration: ROBINSON CRUSOE.] "Now," said Frank, "it is customary to sing this song to an accompaniment, but we are out of music to-night, and the audience must be contented with a recitation. If we gave it in song, we should expect you to join in the chorus, which would be in the following words: "Oh, poor Robinson Crusoe! Oh, poor Robinson Crusoe! Sing tinky ting tang, sing tinky ting tang, Oh, poor Robinson Crusoe!'" By this time Fred had changed the scene--that is, he had removed the first picture and brought out the second. Frank then proceeded: [Illustration: THE SHIPWRECK.] "'You've read in a book of a voyage he took, How the raging whirlwinds blew, so That the ship with a shock fell plump on a rock, Near drowning poor Robinson Crusoe.' "But we need have no fears of sharing the same fate," said Frank, "as we are in a steamer instead of a sailing-ship, and the raging whirlwinds would not be so likely to drive us on shore; and, besides, we are not in the season of typhoons, and everything promises us a prosperous voyage. Next picture." The appearance of this work of art was the signal for the recital of the third verse of the old song: [Illustration: LANDING OF ROBINSON CRUSOE.] "Poor soul! none but he escaped from the sea. Ah, Fate! Fate! how could you do so? At length he was thrown on an island unknown, And saved was poor Robinson Crusoe.'"