380 VOYAGE OF THE CHANTICLEER. 



gambols. A train of vivid light, not unlike that left by a 

 rocket in its flight, but more continuous, suddenly appeared, 

 and marked the dolphins to be in pursuit of prey. — Vol. i. p. 19. 



On the 12th June, in latitude 6° n., Mr. Webster found the 

 sea again covered with the dust already spoken of; but on 

 examination, it exhibited no symptoms of animation. During 

 the long calms by which they were delayed in the vicinity of 

 the equator, Mr. Webster had frequent opportunities of exa- 

 mining several kinds of medusce, or sea blubber. One day, 

 while several of the crew were bathing in a sail secured for the 

 purpose, by the side of the vessel, several of them were severely 

 stung by these medusce \ and the carpenter was so much injured 

 by them, as to be unable to swim : he suffered much pain and 

 irritation from them, but nothing further. Mr. Webster fre- 

 quently handled them ; and, on afterwards applying his hands to 

 his lips and face, experienced pain, which he considers proceeds 

 from the secretion of an acrid matter, rather than from any 

 electric property. He contracted a disease in his hands, much 

 resembling the itch, in consequence of handling these medusce, 

 and the ph/salis, or Portuguese man-of-war. — Vol. i. p. 22. 



On arriving on the coast of South America, the tree-ferns 

 on the Corcovado, a mountain in the neighbourhood of Rio 

 Janeiro, attracted Mr. Webster's attention : they may be 

 classed amongst the most elegant productions of the vegetable 

 kingdom. These ferns grow to the height of twenty feet, and 

 are frequently entwined with lesser ferns ; thus clothing their 

 stems with all the elegance of ivy. The anvil bird perches 

 on the branches of these tree-ferns, and repeats its singular 

 note, which sounds like the blow of a hammer on an anvil. 

 The beauty of plumage which forms the peculiar feature of 

 the birds of Brazil is well known. Nature may, truly, be said 

 to have lavished her favours in decking out the feathered 

 tribes of these regions, for they are all remarkably handsome, 

 and objects of admiration to every visiter. The insects are 

 equally magnificent, particularly the butterflies, many collec- 

 tions of which are sent to Europe. Fireflies, beetles, and 

 grasshoppers, are abundant : the webs of some of the spiders 

 are strong enough to entangle a little bird ; and ants are so 

 large that they are fried and made into a delicate dish. Snakes 

 are very common and plentiful ; every variety of these creatures 

 is to be had, from the boa-constrictor, of thirty-five feet in length, 



