140 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 



thouglit tliat it did not fall to the good lot of every 

 hunter to live in the midst of such a wondrous vege- 

 tation and feast on parrots. In the evening, a full 

 moon shed broad oscillating bands of silver light 

 through the large polished leaves of the bananas 

 around our dwelling, as they slowly waved to and 

 fro in the cool, refreshing breeze. Then the low 

 cooing of doves came up out of the dark forest, and 

 the tree-toads piped out their long, shrill notes. 

 That universal pest, the mosquito, was also there, 

 singing his same bloodthirsty tune in our ears. Our 

 beds were perched on poles, high above the floor of 

 the hut, that we might avoid such unpleasant bed- 

 fellows as large snakes, which are very common and 

 most unceremonious visitors. That night we were 

 disturbed but once, and then by a loud rattling of iron 

 pots and a general crashing of crockery ; instantly 

 I awoke with an indefinite apprehension that we 

 were experiencing one of the fiightful earthquakes 

 which my friend had been vividly picturing before 

 we retired. The natives set up a loud hooting and 

 shouting, and finally the cause of the whole disturb- 

 ance was found to be a lean, hungry dog that was 

 attempting to satisfy his appetite on what remained 

 of our parrot-stew. 



My chief object on this excursion was to collect 

 insects ; and among some white-leaved shrubs, near 

 the shore, I found many magnificent specimens of a 

 very large, richly-colored Pwpilio. The general color 

 of the upper surface of its wings was a blue-black, 

 and beneath were large patches of bright red. An- 

 other was a blue-black above, ^vith large spots of 



