We must first make a brief survey with the map. The island 39 is in the form of a rough oval, a little over thirty miles long, less than half the size of the county of Kent. Its coasts are fringed with coral reefs, broken here and there by gaps, especially where the streams of fresh water enter the sea. Behind these gaps are the seaports, of which only two are of any size, Grand Port or Mahébourg at the southeast corner, and Port Louis, the capital, in the northwest. Grand Port was occupied first, but it is open to the Southeast Trades; so that Port 40 Louis, like Zanzibar, on the sheltered side, and with a good harbour, has become the chief port for the whole island. In the north and part of the east and the southeast corner the land lies fairly low; here we find the chief towns, the plantations and most of the population. A great deal of the centre and south is filled up with hills and plateaux; some of the peaks rising to over two thousand feet. Here are the Moka Mountains, behind 41 Port Louis, steep and rugged, crowned by a strange peak, 42 Pieterboth Head, which is a useful landmark for sailors. Notice the Dutch name. In the southwest the hills are very near to the sea; the coast plain is narrow, the slopes are steep and the rivers come down in rapids and falls amidst wild and beautiful scenery. Here is the Chamarel fall and here again are the falls 43 on the Savanne River. The railways are a fair guide to the 44 structure of the country, as they keep for the most part to the lowland or the river valleys, except where the main line from Port Louis to Mahébourg is forced to surmount the middle of the plateau; while the Moka branch crosses a steep ridge on its way to the lower country to the east. Here we see one of the curious trains crossing one of the mountain streams at the foot 45 of the bare hill slopes; the picture gives a good idea of the scenery on the railway.