376 THE FOREST AND THE FIELD. 



gusting, for they were all old or ugly, and little 

 was left for the imagination, as a yard of calico 

 would have furnished a dozen of them with full 

 dress. Some of them had breasts hanging as low 

 as their waists, under which arrangement they 

 carried their pipes ; and I noticed one party with 

 appendages so long, that she was enabled to suckle 

 her child by throwing them over her shoulder. A 

 negress of the Boobie tribe, however disguised, can 

 hardly be mistaken for a woman. 



Having *' dashed " the king a dollar for his 

 courtesy, we turned our steps towards Clarence, 

 and, en route, my companion got into trouble. He 

 had donned the kilt for the first time that day, and, 

 whilst he was admiring the bush, and expatiating 

 on its beauty, he inadvertently stood upon a stream 

 of gigantic red ants, who, before he was aware of 

 their presence, had swarmed all over his person 

 and commenced devouring him piece-meal. His 

 rhapsody soon changed into wailing, and, for the 

 space of full five minutes, he executed a pas seul 

 that would have brought down the house if per- 

 formed upon any stage in London. It Avas a true 



