At last we came among the Coral Islands of the Pacific; and I shall never forget the delight with which I gazed—when we chanced to pass one—at the pure white, dazzling shores, and the verdant palm-trees, which looked bright and beautiful in the sunshine. And often did we three long to be landed on one, imagining that we should certainly find perfect happiness there! Our wish was granted sooner than we expected. Then you will need to come here and just start digging wherever you please. You will need to hold the dig button so you can dig up to 3 plots at a time. This way you will get the biggest chance possible to get more Books.

Now as we hastened along the white beach, which shone so brightly in the rays of the setting sun that our eyes were quite dazzled by its glare, it suddenly came into Peterkin’s head that we had nothing to eat except the wild berries which grew in profusion at our feet. Short, John Rennie (2002), Imagined Country: Society, Culture, and Environment, Syracuse University Press, ISBN 978-0-8156-2954-2It was a riveting and intriguing story of three boys trapped on a lonely coral island out in the Pacific Ocean, and the many adventures and perilous happenings that befell them. Suffice to say, I loved it! I am sure it will remain my favorite, or at least one of my favorites, of Ballantyne’s many novels. Perhaps,” said Peterkin, “some ship or other has touched here long ago for wood, and only taken one tree.”

No,” I answered, “I do not. Nevertheless, I must confess that strange, unaccountable sounds, such as we have just heard, make me feel a little uneasy.” What Ballantyne's novel successfully presents is an adventure story, very much of the ripping yarn variety, that is both exciting and relatively plausible. The immense detail that is poured into precise descriptions of coral constructions, sea-life, plants and vegetation, maritime equipment and the conditions of 'native' peoples, gives the novel the veracity of a travelogue. Ballantyne was a great believer in writing about what one has seen with ones own eyes and in The Coral Reef, this is an oft-repeated mantra of Ralph's.

While on our way up we came to an object which filled us with much interest. This was the stump of a tree that had evidently been cut down with an axe! So, then, we were not the first who had viewed this beautiful isle. The hand of man had been at work there before us. It now began to recur to us again that perhaps the island was inhabited, although we had not seen any traces of man until now. But a second glance at the stump convinced us that we had not more reason to think so now than formerly; for the surface of the wood was quite decayed and partly covered with fungus and green matter, so that it must have been cut many years ago. What good will that do us?” said Peterkin. “There’s wood enough on the island to make a thousand oars.” Well, suppose I were to print it and send it to you in the form of a book, would it not be as good and useful as ever?”

And suppose I were to write the account in a letter instead of telling you in words, would that be less useful?” Hanlon, David; Edmond, Rod (1999), "Rev. of Rod Edmond, Representing the South Pacific: Colonial Discourse from Cook to Gauguin", American Historical Review, 104 (4): 1261–1262, doi: 10.2307/2649581, JSTOR 2649581, S2CID 162306632, archived from the original on 20 July 2021 , retrieved 14 January 2020 It was a bright, beautiful, warm day when our ship spread her canvas to the breeze and sailed for the regions of the south. Oh, how my heart bounded with delight as I listened to the merry chorus of the sailors while they hauled at the ropes and got in the anchor! The captain shouted; the men ran to obey; the noble ship bent over to the breeze, and the shore gradually faded from my view; while I stood looking on, with a kind of feeling that the whole was a delightful dream. Anderson, Katharine (Spring 2008), "Coral Jewellery", Victorian Review, 34 (1): 47–52, doi: 10.1353/vcr.2008.0008, JSTOR 41220397, S2CID 201782824 All this we noted, and a great deal more, while we sat on the top of the mountain. After we had satisfied ourselves we prepared to return; but here, again, we discovered traces of the presence of man. These were a pole or staff, and one or two pieces of wood which had been squared with an axe. All of these were, however, very much decayed, and they had evidently not been touched for many years.For some years I was happy in visiting the seaports, and in coasting along the shores, of my native land. My Christian name was Ralph; and my comrades added to this the name of Rover, in consequence of the passion which I always evinced for travelling. Rover was not my real name; but as I never received any other, I came at last to answer to it as naturally as to my proper name. And as it is not a bad one, I see no good reason why I should not introduce myself to the reader as Ralph Rover. My shipmates were kind, good-natured fellows, and they and I got on very well together. They did, indeed, very frequently make game of and banter me, but not unkindly; and I overheard them sometimes saying that Ralph Rover was a “queer, old-fashioned fellow.” This, I must confess, surprised me much; and I pondered the saying long, but could come at no satisfactory conclusion as to that wherein my old-fashionedness lay. It is true I was a quiet lad, and seldom spoke except when spoken to. Moreover, I never could understand the jokes of my companions even when they were explained to me, which dulness in apprehension occasioned me much grief. However, I tried to make up for it by smiling and looking pleased when I observed that they were laughing at some witticism which I had failed to detect. I was also very fond of inquiring into the nature of things and their causes, and often fell into fits of abstraction while thus engaged in my mind. But in all this I saw nothing that did not seem to be exceedingly natural, and could by no means understand why my comrades should call me “an old-fashioned fellow.” Lion Fish– An imposing fish with beautiful stripes and an imperial presence in the ocean, the lion fish is fun to watch swimming below the surface of the water. That’s true, Ralph. The day is pretty far advanced, and I doubt if I can make even one bow before dark. To be sure, I might work by firelight after the sun goes down.” Hannabuss, Stuart (1995), "Moral Islands: A Study of Robert Michael Ballantyne, Writer for Children", Scottish Literary Journal, 22 (2): 29–40 He spoke briefly of the history of the book. This book was edited by Espasa and I bought it in a second-hand book store together with "Captain Corcoran" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3... (which God willing I will read this year, as it is a novel that liked my friend Krisi Keley very much https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... i do not know if He translated it into English) and "The shooters of rifle" by Thomas Mayne Reid https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... I can be wrong, but these kinds of adventure and survival novels have been promoted by the group of Spanish writers prisoner of Zenda, who promoted by Arturo Pérez Reverte https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...