290 THE PLANT WORLD 



I shall try to have ready by July 1st if possible. I am interrupted by my 

 old friend Don Jose Herrero, who comes to make a complaint. A marine 

 has been robbing his hens-nests. The eggs of an entire setting were broken 

 one by one to see if they were good. Another nestful was eaten raw. 

 Don Jose's daughter, Dona Maria, discovered the man and made an out- 

 cry. He ran down the hill through the bushes like a deer, but she recog- 

 nized him. I reported the matter to the Colonel of Marines. The man 

 is sent to confinement for being absent from the post without leave, the 

 egg case to be investigated later. Don Jose goes home in tears, saying 

 he " only wanted to have the poor man warned not to do it again." 



Home at four o'clock, where I discover Susana's secret ; she has made 

 some real American ginger-bread and baked it in the dome-shaped oven 

 in my garden. Scale and I have it hot with our chocolate. I declare it 

 to be fine and Susana is as pleased as a child. She now goes out and 

 cuts off two bunches of ripening bananas, which she hangs in the kitchen. 

 From my front windows I can see the marines drilling in the plaza, 

 now converted into a parade-ground. The band is playing some very 

 sweet music, the old-fashioned ' ' Poet and Pea.sant ' ' overture. The other 

 night the marines gave a ball, and in the intervals between the dances 

 there was some fine music by a string quartette. The natives were de- 

 lighted, especially Don Jose Herrero, who is himself a fiddler. 



I now go for a ride on my wheel to see how the grading of the road 

 between iVgaiia and the port is progressing. On my way I stop at the 

 house of Doiia Regina, to thank her for the flowers. Her house is of 

 solid masonry with a superstructure of wood and a tiled roof. The 

 floors are of polished ifil wood (/ntsia bijuga), like coarse mahogany in 

 texture and of the color of black walnut. There is little furniture. 

 The walls are adorned with bright-colored chromos (two of them exactly 

 alike) and a large frame containing representations of the flags of all 

 nations. On a little table are some brightly-colored crab-shells and some 

 cowries. The house is filled with fragrance from a shallow dish filled 

 with a mass of ro§es, henna, jasmines, and mil-leguas, from Doiia 

 Regina 's garden. After a pleasant chat with her I go back home laden 

 with a large boquet. 



Awaiting me at my house I find one of the village gobernadorcillos 

 with some official papers. He has brought me a dozen eggs for a 

 present. As I make it a rule to receive no presents (except flowers) 

 I tell Susana to make a return gift of some chewing-tobacco, a supply 

 of which I keep on hand. Susana takes the eggs to the kitchen, and 

 I catch a glimpse of her looking through them as she holds them up 

 to the light to test them. After the gobernadorcillo's departure she 

 comes in, exclaiming: " Hesu, seiior, three of those eggs are bad; why 

 on earth did that man bring you bad eggs ; he ought to be ashamed of 



