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Rh were supplied with more or less sails, in order to take advantage of the wind, when there happened to be any. On looking to the opposite shore, I actually saw what appeared to be a small flat headland, with a number of houses and crowds of people, break off and put to sea. I was now, however, getting accustomed to wonders; so I watched it till it got some distance away from the shore.

Ilaclatella, now, seeing that I was interested, said it was one of their floating villages, and was used for excursion purposes, and removing people, animals, and merchandise. I viewed it through my glass (one of the powerful glasses of Atazatlan), and could see that it was constructed on the raft principle, and that the decks were only a few feet above the surface of the water.

I here remarked to my friend “that on this account it must be useless in stormy weather.”

“We have no storms in Neuroomia,” was the reply. “They expend their fury on the icefields and oceans beyond, but do not reach us here. We sometimes experience pretty sharp winds,” he went on, “but not of sufficient violence to ruffle the sea to any great extent.”

The launch now having come alongside the jetty, we stepped on board, and in a few minutes more