THE OCEAN SHORE 



the fruit-stalk, whose function is to store water. The nut, which is 

 sold by pharmaceutical chemists under the singular name of 

 "elephant-louse," is thrown on an open fire, when a noxious oil 

 is given off in vapour, with a good deal of crackling and puffing 

 The nut then tastes like a roasted almond. The fruit can be made 

 into one of the most delicious jams imaginable. 



If one enters the bright green thicket of the cashew-bush, picking 

 one's way between the trees, which rise up from the sand, or creep 

 along the ground, lifting their boughs into the air, one may often 

 encounter the most charming little monkeys — the Saguim or Silk 

 Monkeys. In sweeping trajectories these graceful little creatures 

 swing themselves from tree to tree, running 

 along the boughs, or coming to a standstill on 

 the trunk in order to nibble the rind of the 

 tree, which exudes a sort of gum. At first sight 

 these monkeys are not unlike dark brown cats, 

 especially as their long tails are banded like 

 the tail of a tabby, but if one approaches them 

 closely one suddenly sees a dusky little face 

 with round, anxious eyes ; and the European, 

 unaccustomed to monkeys in his native woods, 

 is startled by these little gnomes with their 

 human countenances (Plate 30). 



Over the ground scamper grey lizards, known 



as Keel-tails, because the scales of the tail are Fig. i.— Two fruits of 

 n • 1 I • 1 1 1 --ni ^ the Cashew-tree, on 



rurmshed With a keel. Ihese creatures are very , r, , ^x 



common every where ; they sit on the stone-heaps 



in the streets of Recife and Olinda, disappearing into the chinks 



as one approaches, but they soon reappear, and nod their heads 



repeatedly as though in derision. The Keel-tails are very alert, and 



have excellent sight. I have seen one of them detect a worm on the 



ground from a height of fifteen feet ; down it came, in little sudden 



rushes, and devoured its prey. All their movements are vivacious; 



and the rapid nodding of the head adds to the general impression 



of an absurd and laughable nervousness. I used often to watch them 



from my window in Olinda. They were forever at the pear-trees, 



to the indignation of the Brothers who tended the garden. There 



were frequent quarrels; one would rush at another and bite him, 



and on such occasions they lashed their tails to and fro, either in 



menace or in self-encouragement. 



Apart from the monkeys and lizards there is not much life in the 



41 



