THE DEVOTION OF THOMAS NED. 185 



a bibulous career, whicLi might have landed me in 

 a drunkard's grave, long ere this chronicle was con- 

 cluded. Assuming, as he did, that I was a gentle- 

 man, and therefore incapable of a vulgar lapsing 

 into inebriety, he could not understand the meaning 

 of my persistent refusal, except on the score of econ- 

 omy. 



In one of our long rambles we discovered a hidden 

 valley which showed evidences of former cultivation, 

 and held a grove of wild fruit trees, or which, as 

 Thomas said, had " done turn Injun " — relapsed into 

 a state of savagery. " I saw here abundance of Cocoa 

 Trees, Orange and Lemon and Citron Trees ; but all 

 wild, and very few bearing any Fruit ; at least, not 

 then." Among them, also, we found some cashew 

 trees, bearing a strange fruit, called here the acajou^ 

 which I think is the Indian name. The fruit is of 

 the shape of a pear, fragrant and full of juice, with 

 the seed or stone hanging on the outside, in the shape 

 of a kidney bean. We secured a large quantity of 

 this fruit, and when we got home Thomas roasted the 

 nuts, which were delicious, and at night he brewed 

 another beverage, which he called " cashew drink," 

 and insisted upon my tasting. 



The drink I found most refreshing was limeade, 

 from the fruit of the lime, the juice mixed with water 

 and sweetened with sugar, particularly during the 

 period of my convalescence, which was protracted 

 during many weeks. One morning my Friday came 

 up the hill in great glee, bearing an armful of sticks 

 with pronged ends, and stripped of their bark. " Look 

 14 



