R. H. SCHOMBURGK. 53 



a botanist, and felt himself rewarded. A gigantic 

 leaf, from five to six feet in diameter, salver- 

 shaped, with a broad rim of light green above and 

 a vivid crimson below, rested upon the water; 

 quite in character with the wonderful leaf was the 

 luxuriant flower, consisting of many hundred petals, 

 passing in alternate tints from pure white to rose 

 and pink. But it is unnecessary here to repeat the 

 description of this wonderful plant, of which the 

 discoverer has published a drawing, and obtained 

 Her Majesty's gracious consent that it should be 

 called Victoria Regia. 



The difficulties of the travellers again appeared to 

 increase with every hour. The river became quite 

 narrow, winding its course through a wilderness, 

 margined by prickly palms. They were conse- 

 quently obliged to man the corials with some of the 

 ablest men, with cutlasses and axes in their hands, 

 to clear the greater obstacles out of the way ; while 

 they themselves followed with the other corials, 

 which were forced forward by long poles. Fre- 

 quently, too, they were molested by ants, centipedes, 

 scorpions, or spiders, which secreted themselves in 

 the rubbish left on the bushes by the last inunda- 

 tions, and inflicted the severest bites ; or they re- 

 ceived a brush over the face and hands by one of 

 the prickly palm-leaves, which never failed to leave 

 marks of its passage. Add to this, they could not 

 find a dry spot in which to sling their hammocks, 

 and they began to entertain suspicions of the fidelity 

 of the crew (arising, it was afterwards ascertained. 



