228 



CHAPTER XL 



Sail for England — Crowned Pigeons — Straits of Dryan — Banca t 

 Straits — Zutphen Islands — Escape and re-capture of a f 

 crowned pigeon — Death of one of those birds — Dissection i 

 — Pass the Cape of Good Hope — Fine weather — The 

 trumpet weed — Volcanic rocks — St. Helena — Buttermilk 

 Point — James's Town — Ficus Religiosa— Over-population 

 of James's Town — Visit to the late residence of Napoleon. 



On the 15th of December, I sailed from Sin- 

 gapore for England, having on board three 

 of those magnificent birds, the Crowned or 

 Dampier's pigeons, the Columha coronata of 

 Linneus, which I took under my care for my 

 friend, T. Rawson, Esq., of Dulwich. The 

 bird is nearly as large as a turkey ; the body 

 is of a leaden hue ; scapulars ferruginous, 

 with a white band on each wing : the head is 

 adorned with a crest of delicate and beautiful 

 feathers, expanded in a crescentic form, which, 



