SOME QUEER AND TROUBLESOME NEIGHBORS. 57 



It was within this palm, I was going to say, that I 

 found a grub or beetle larva of the so-called palm 

 worm, which is considered a great delicacy by the na- 

 tives. They roast it and fry it, as well ; but though it 

 might be palatable, I could not bring myself to eat 

 it, and can not testify as to its excellence. 



To one who can find company as I did in bird, 

 beast, and insect, and to whom all the " lower orders " 

 have stories to relate, the time will never seem to 

 lag. My chief concern was, that so much appealed to 

 me, I felt the days were not half long enough ; and so 

 much arises now in retrospect that I am unable to de- 

 scribe all I saw and found most interesting. 



What suits one person, to be sure, may not suit 

 another, and if my story fails to interest those for 

 whom it is written, I can only plead that it is the ac- 

 count of my doings, such as they were, and I have 

 nothing else to relate. 



