»- 18 — 



I then first ate the heart of the Cabbage Palm cut up into 

 salad, and found it delicious; worthy of all the enconiums I 

 had heard lavished on it- 



We all did full justice to the viands, and then began our 

 arrangements for the nighfc. This is a very ticklish place for 

 a somnambulist or a nervous person to sleep in. A roll — a 

 turn over — and down you must go into the surging billows at 

 the foot of the rock ; with the pleasant anticipation, of the 

 immense sharks and other monsters of the deep, that swarm 

 round the place, ready to take you at a mouthful or two, 

 the moment you touch the water. 



Thus, as I said before, it is a ticklish place, and required 

 great care in arranging our beds. Two small hammocks were 

 ingeniously swung from the sides of the cave for Mr. Van- 

 dermeersch and myself. Lieut. Robinson, though a young 

 soldier, is an old campaigner in this line, and preferred to 

 sleep on the bare rock under the cliff, which he did. We 

 passed a pleasant night, lulled to sleep by the monotonous 

 roar of the waters round us. 



"We were up at daylight, but the morning broke gloomily, 

 dark clouds indicated rain ; the Barometer had fallen, and the 

 sea ran high, making us uneasy, as we feared a coming storm. 

 A smart shower of rain however, accompanied by thunder had 

 smoothed down the sea considerably, and soon after, a mag- 

 nificent rainbow spanned the dark arch of heaven. 



As the weather was so uncertain, our skipper would not let 

 us go exploring, as he said he might want us to embark at 

 any moment ; so I amused myself fishing at the entrance of 

 our cave. 



Fish in myriads were swimming about the detached rocks. 

 I never saw a more beautiful sight. The splendid Holacanthus 

 Imjperator ; a marvellous variety of Chetodon ; many of the 

 genus Serranus ; Dame Berri/^s and others all bright colour- 

 ed, swimming about gracefully in the transparent waters. 



I have seen the bright plumaged birds and insects of South 

 America in their native wilds but the fish of the Indian Ocean, 

 can vie with the most gorgeous of them- They lose their 



