CHAPTER XXI. 



THE FATNESS OF THE EARTH. 



An old library— Crown land for Thomas Ned — A home for my 

 man in his old age — A suspicious intruder — A new delicacy 

 — Frog's legs on toast — Crapaud hunting — Manacous and 

 armadillos— A fetich-protected American — The hurricane. 



The manager at the "great house" insisted upon^ 

 my stopping with him a month, but we compromised 

 on a week, although tlie temptations to stay were 

 strong and numerous. In the first place, he had a fine 

 old library, or the remains of one, such as the planters 

 of the West Indies, in the rich and careless days of 

 slavery times, used to order from London, giving 

 their agents carte hlanehe as to contents, but insisting 

 on rich bindings and classical authors. Among tlie 

 superabundant poets and novelists, however, I found 

 some books on the history of the islands, and was 

 particularly attracted by a manuscript volume refer- 

 ring to the natural history of the West Indies. It 

 need not detract from the merit of this work, I trust, 

 if I acknowledge my indebtedness to this manuscript, 

 which I have drawn upon for many names and de- 

 scriptions of the birds, as given in the previous pages. 



208 



