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54 and, in addition, each room contains a sort of dome in its centre, which serves as a reservoir for pure fresh air that is kept constantly circulating through it. By this arrangement, the inmates can at any time bring their heads into the air for the purpose of respiration, in case breathing through the tubes should be difficult or impossible from any cause either in the tubes themselves or the person using them. But these air-reservoirs are most frequently used for conversational purposes. People get tired of the telegraphic language, and long to indulge in a good chat with their tongues; so, in place of going up above the water's surface, they can bring their faces into the air-tank and chatter away at their ease.

When the older houses were built the use of these reservoirs as talking places was not contemplated, and their domes are therefore small and inconvenient, but in the more modern houses the dome forms the chief feature in each room, and some of them are of great size, so as to allow of a considerable number to make use of them at once.

In the poorer houses the domes are made of what seemed to me to be japanned iron, but in all houses having any pretensions to luxury they are made of glass, so as to be light and cheerful retreats.

My house consisted of but one room, and was evidently of modern construction, as it had a large glass dome, and the sponges were of the softest kind and were arranged in the most fashionable manner. The walls of the house were built of corals artistically disposed as regards colour and shape, so as to present a very pleasing pattern. The corals forming the walls were not close enough together to prevent the free admission of water, it being necessary to keep up