UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 25 



man stooping to place something near him ; 

 he tried to speak but the person had va- 

 nished. He had perceived, however, by his 

 tall light figure and his copper complexion, that 

 the stranger was a Bedah ; and this would have 

 been a very terrific idea, had he not smiled as 

 he went away, and pointed to a little basket that 

 he had left. Plantains and refreshing fruits were 

 again within his reach j and the poor starving 

 man ate thankfully, and felt as if he should live. 

 Every morning he found a fresh supply in the 

 same place ; and as his strength began to re- 

 turn, the Bedah, besides the basket of fruit, added 

 some more nutritious food. This was dried meat 

 preserved in honey, to keep it from the air ; and 

 tied up in a particular substance which grows on 

 the betel tree, at the root of each leaf ; it some- 

 what resembles a tough skin, and is of so strong 

 a texture, that it retains water. He wished to 

 thank the Bedah, and frequently beckoned to 

 him to stay ; but the good natured savage shook 

 his head, and disappeared. 



When he felt himself quite recovered, and his 

 strength restored, he resolved to procure em- 

 ployment, if possible, in the cinnamon groves. 

 The grand harvest, which lasts from April to 

 August, had begun, and he hoped that in some 

 of the various processes of cutting, scraping, 

 or barking, which are parcelled out among 



