A NOVEL FODDER. 161 



muscle, perfectly well aware of what bad liappened, and liow 

 she was to be got out of the scrape, as she bad been probably 

 fifty times before. 



We stopped at the end of the long beach, thoroughly 

 tired and hungry, for we had been on the march many 

 hours ; and discovered for the first time that we had nothing 

 left to eat. Luckily, a certain little j)ot of " Eamornie " essence 

 of soup was recollected and brought out. The kettle was 

 boiling in five minutes, and half a teaspoonful per man of the 

 essence put on a knife's point, and stirred with a cutlass, to 

 the astonishment of the grinning and unbelieving JS'egros, 

 who were told that we were going to make Obeah soup, and 

 were more than half of that opinion themselves. Meanwhile, 

 I saw the wise mule led up into the bush ; and, on asking 

 its owner whv, was told that she was to be fed on what, I 

 could not see. But, much to my amusement, he cut down a 

 quantity of the young leaves of the Cocorite palm ; and she 

 began to eat them greedily, as did my police-horse. And, 

 when the bamboo stoups were brought out, and three-quarters 

 of a pint of good soup was served round not forgetting the 

 Kegros, one of wUom, after sucking it down, rubbed his 

 stomach, and declared, with a grin, that it was very good 

 Obeah the oddness of the scene came over me. The blazing 

 beach, the misty mountains, the hot trade- wind, the fantastic 

 leaves overhead, the black limbs and flices, the horses eating 



VOL. II. M 



