At length, when the excitement subsided a little, I was able to say a few words with a chance of being listened to. "I am truly thankful to see you all safe and well, and, thank God, our expedition has been very satisfactory, except that we have entirely failed to discover any trace of our shipmates." "If it be the will of God," said my wife, "to leave us alone on this solitary place, let us be content; and rejoice that we are all together in safety." "Now we want to hear all your adventures, and let us relieve you of your burdens," added she, taking my game bag. Jack shouldered my gun, Ernest took the cocoanuts, and little Franz carried the gourds; Fritz distributed the sugar-canes amongst his brothers, and handing Ernest his gun replaced the monkey on Turk's back. Ernest soon found the burden with which Fritz had laden him too heavy for his taste. His mother perceiving this, offered to relieve him of part of the load. He gave up willingly the cocoanuts, but no sooner had he done so than his elder brother exclaimed: "Hullo, Ernest, you surely do not know what you are parting with; did you really intend to hand over those good cocoanuts without so much as tasting them?" "What? ho! are they really cocoanuts?" cried Ernest. "Do let me take them again, mother, do let me look at them." "No, thank you," replied my wife with a smile. "I have no wish to see you again overburdened." "Oh, but I have only to throw away these sticks, which are of no use, and then I can easily carry them." "Worse and worse," said Fritz; "I have a particular regard for those heavy, useless sticks. Did you ever hear of sugar-canes?" The words were scarcely out of his mouth when Ernest began to suck vigorously at the end of the cane, with no better result, however, than Fritz had obtained as we were on the march. "Here," said Fritz, "let me show you the trick of it," and he speedily set all the youngsters to work extracting the luscious juice. My wife, as a prudent housekeeper, was no less delighted than the children with this discovery; the sight of the dishes also pleased her greatly, for she longed to see us eat once more like civilized beings. We went into the kitchen and there found preparations for a truly sumptuous meal. Two forked sticks were planted in the ground on either side of the fire; on these rested a rod from which hung several tempting looking fish; opposite them hung a goose from a similar contrivance, slowly roasting while the gravy dropped into a large shell placed beneath it. In the center sat the great pot, from which issued the smell of a most delicious soup. To crown this splendid array, stood an open hogshead full of Dutch cheeses. All this was very pleasant to two hungry travelers, but I was about to beg my wife to spare the poultry until our stock should have increased, when she, perceiving my thought, quickly relieved my anxiety. "This is not one of our geese," she said, "but a wild bird Ernest killed."