On the 25th of December the _Nautilus_ sailed into the midst of the New Hebrides, discovered by Quiros in 1606, and that Bougainville explored in 1768, and to which Cook gave its present name in 1773. This group is composed principally of nine large islands, that form a band of 120 leagues N.N.W. to S.S.E., between 15° and 2° S. lat., and 164 deg. and 168° long. We passed tolerably near to the Island of Aurou, that at noon looked like a mass of green woods, surmounted by a peak of great height. That day being Christmas Day, Ned Land seemed to regret sorely the non-celebration of “Christmas,” the family fete of which Protestants are so fond. I had not seen Captain Nemo for a week, when, on the morning of the 27th, he came into the large drawing-room, always seeming as if he had seen you five minutes before. I was busily tracing the route of the _Nautilus_ on the planisphere. The Captain came up to me, put his finger on one spot on the chart, and said this single word. “Vanikoro.” The effect was magical! It was the name of the islands on which La Perouse had been lost! I rose suddenly. “The _Nautilus_ has brought us to Vanikoro?” I asked. “Yes, Professor,” said the Captain. “And I can visit the celebrated islands where the Boussole and the Astrolabe struck?” “If you like, Professor.” “When shall we be there?” “We are there now.” Followed by Captain Nemo, I went up on to the platform, and greedily scanned the horizon. To the N.E. two volcanic islands emerged of unequal size, surrounded by a coral reef that measured forty miles in circumference. We were close to Vanikoro, really the one to which Dumont d’Urville gave the name of Isle de la Recherche, and exactly facing the little harbour of Vanou, situated in 16° 4′ S. lat., and 164° 32′ E. long. The earth seemed covered with verdure from the shore to the summits in the interior, that were crowned by Mount Kapogo, 476 feet high. The _Nautilus_, having passed the outer belt of rocks by a narrow strait, found itself among breakers where the sea was from thirty to forty fathoms deep. Under the verdant shade of some mangroves I perceived some savages, who appeared greatly surprised at our approach. In the long black body, moving between wind and water, did they not see some formidable cetacean that they regarded with suspicion? Just then Captain Nemo asked me what I knew about the wreck of La Perouse. “Only what everyone knows, Captain,” I replied. “And could you tell me what everyone knows about it?” he inquired, ironically. “Easily.” I related to him all that the last works of Dumont d’Urville had made known—works from which the following is a brief account.