of commerce, from a lucifer match to the radiant fabrics of Frank-fort
and Epinal. Without wife or children, and having no settled home,

Isaac Hakkabut lived almost entirely on board the _Hansa_, as he had
named his tartan; and engaging a mate, with a crew of three men,

as being adequate to work so light a craft, he cruised along the coasts
of Algeria, Tunis, Egypt, Turkey, and Greece, visiting, moreover, most of the

harbors of the Levant. Careful to be always well supplied with the products
in most general demand--coffee, sugar, rice, tobacco, cotton stuffs,

and gunpowder--and being at all times ready to barter, and prepared to deal
in sec-ondhand wares, he had contrived to amass considerable wealth.

On the eventful night of the 1st of January the _Hansa_ had been at Ceuta,
the point on the coast of Morocco exactly opposite Gibraltar. The mate

and three sailors had all gone on shore, and, in common with many of their
fellow-creatures, had entirely disappeared; but the most projecting rock

of Ceuta had been undisturbed by the general catastrophe, and half a score
of Spaniards, who had happened to be upon it, had escaped with their lives.

They were all Andalusian majos, agricultural laborers, and naturally
as careless and apathetic as men of their class usually are, but they

could not help being very considerably embarrassed when they discovered
that they were left in solitude upon a detached and isolated rock.

They took what mutualcounsel they could, but became only more and
more perplexed. One of them was named Negrete, and he, as having traveled

somewhat more than the rest, was tacitly recognized as a sort of leader;
but although he was by far the most enlightened of them all, he was quite

incapable of forming the least conception of the nature of what had occurred.
The one thing upon which they could not fail to be conscious was that they

had no prospect of obtaining provisions, and consequently their first
business was to devise a scheme for getting away from their present abode.

The _Hansa_ was lying off shore. The Spaniards would not have had
the slightest hesitation in summarily taking possession of her, but their

utter ignorance of seamanship made them reluctantly come to the conclusion
that the more prudentpolicy was to make terms with the owner.

And now came a singular part of the story. Negrete and his
companions had meanwhile received a visit from two English officers

from Gibraltar. What passed between them the Jew did not know;
he only knew that, immediately after the conclusion of the interview,

Negrete came to him and ordered him to set sail at once
for the nearest point of Morocco. The Jew, afraid to disobey,

but with his eye ever upon the main chance, stipulated that at
the end of their voyage the Spaniards should pay for their passage--

terms to which, as they would to any other, they did not demur,
knowing that they had not the slightest intention of giving him

a single real.
The _Hansa_ had weighed anchor on the 3rd of February. The wind blew

from the west, and consequently the working of the tartan was easy enough.
The unpracticed sailors had only to hoist their sails and, though they

were quite unconscious of the fact, the breeze carried them to the only spot
upon the little world they occupied which could afford them a refuge.

Thus it fell out that one morning Ben Zoof, from his lookout on Gourbi Island,
saw a ship, not the _Dobryna_, appear upon the horizon, and make quietly

down towards what had formerly been the right bank of the Shelif.
Such was Ben Zoof's version of what had occurred, as he had gathered

it from the new-comers. He wound up his recital by remarking
that the cargo of the _Hansa_ would be of immense service to them;

he expected, indeed, that Isaac Hakkabut would be difficult to manage,
but considered there could be no harm in appropriating the goods

for the common welfare, since there could be no opportunity now
for selling them.

Ben Zoof added, "And as to the difficulties between the Jew
and his passengers, I told him that the governor general

was absent on a tour of inspection, and that he would see
everything equitably settled."

Smiling at his orderly's tactics, Servadac turned to Hakkabut,
and told him that he would take care that his claims should

be duly investigated and all proper demands should be paid.
The man appeared satisfied, and, for the time at least,

desisted from his complaints and importunities.
When the Jew had retired, Count Timascheff asked, "But how in the world

can you ever make those fellows pay anything?"
"They have lots of money," said Ben Zoof.

"Not likely," replied the count; "when did you ever know Spaniards
like them to have lots of money?"

"But I have seen it myself," said Ben Zoof; "and it is English money."
"English money!" echoed Servadac; and his mind again

reverted to the excursion made by the colonel and the major
from Gibraltar, about which they had been so reticent.

"We must inquire more about this," he said.
Then, addressing Count Timascheff, he added, "Altogether, I

think the countries of Europe are fairly represented by the
population of Gallia."

"True, captain," answered the count; "we have only a fragment
of a world, but it contains natives of France, Russia, Italy, Spain,

and England. Even Germany may be said to have a representative
in the person of this miserable Jew."

"And even in him," said Servadac, "perhaps we shall not find so indifferent
a representative as we at present imagine."

CHAPTER XIX
GALLIA'S GOVERNOR GENERAL

The Spaniards who had arrived on board the _Hansa_ consisted of nine
men and a lad of twelve years of age, named Pablo. They all received

Captain Servadac, whom Ben Zoof introduced as the governor general,
with due respect, and returned quickly to their separate tasks.

The captain and his friends, followed at some distance by the eager Jew,
soon left the glade and directed their steps towards the coast

where the _Hansa_ was moored.
As they went they discussed their situation. As far as they

had ascertained, except Gourbi Island, the sole surviving
fragments of the Old World were four small islands:

the bit of Gibraltar occupied by the Englishmen; Ceuta, which had
just been left by the Spaniards; Madalena, where they had

picked up the little Italian girl; and the site of the tomb
of Saint Louis on the coast of Tunis. Around these there was

stretched out the full extent of the Gallian Sea, which apparently
comprised about one-half of the Mediterranean, the whole being

encompassed by a barrier like a framework of precipitous cliffs,
of an origin and a substance alike unknown.

Of all these spots only two were known to be inhabited: Gibraltar, where the
thirteen Englishmen were amply provisioned for some years to come,

and their own Gourbi Island. Here there was a population of twenty-two,
who would all have to subsist upon the natural products of the soil.

It was indeed not to be forgotten that, perchance, upon some remote
and undiscovered isle there might be the solitarywriter of the mysterious

papers which they had found, and if so, that would raise the census
of their new asteroid to an aggregate of thirty-six.

Even upon the supposition that at some future date the whole
population should be compelled to unite and find a residence

upon Gourbi Island, there did not appear any reason
to question but that eight hundred acres of rich soil,

under good management, would yield them all an ample sustenance.
The only critical matter was how long the cold season would last;

every hope depended upon the land again becoming productive;
at present, it seemed impossible to determine, even if Gallia's

orbit were really elliptic, when she would reach her aphelion,
and it was consequently necessary that the Gallians for

the time being should reckon on nothing beyond their actual
and present resources.

These resources were, first, the provisions of the _Dobryna_,
consisting of preserved meat, sugar, wine, brandy, and other

stores sufficient for about two months; secondly, the valuable
cargo of the _Hansa_, which, sooner or later, the owner,

whether he would or not, must be compelled to surrender
for the common benefit; and lastly, the produce of the island,

animal and vegetable, which with proper economy might be made
to last for a considerable period.

In the course of the conversation, Count Timascheff took