INTRODUCTION 7 



for minutes at a time staring vainly upwards, to where, right over- 

 head, the specimen that one knows is there, is vocally proclaiming 

 its presence, and the effect on the back of the neck is, after a 

 time, often one of excruciating agony. Strangely enough, large 

 birds like parrots and pigeons are often the most difficult to 

 see. 



But why the helmet in the shade of the forest ? We ourselves 

 never wore hats except when out in the open or going to 

 and fro between the schooner and the shore, while the sun 

 was high, and experienced no ill effects from being without 

 them at other times, although one of us made it a practice to 

 keep his head shaved for the sake of coolness. Though they 

 perhaps lay me open to an accusation of thick-headedness, I 

 mention these facts to show that it is not necessary to burden 

 oneself with an awkward sola topee with the idea of evading 

 danger from the sun in such circumstances. 



A cloudless sky and a blazing sun ; a long stretch of yellow 

 beach lapped by a calm sea of brilliant green above the reef, verg- 

 ing into an intense sapphire in the distance. Inland, swelling hills 

 clothed in densest jungle — the topmost ridge capped by a 

 delicate tracery of foliage that stands out clear cut in the pure 

 atmosphere. Adjoining the sandy shore a grass-grown level 

 expanse, with a grove of stately palm trees, through which runs 

 a rippling brook, and lastly, two or three native huts and their 

 occupants, so that one can lie, pyjama-clad, in the shade, and 

 consume young coconuts without first having to climb for 

 them. 



" Only to hear and see the far-off brine, 

 Only to hear were sweet, stretched out beneath the pine." 



Is it fair that we should call the native of the tropics lazy 

 because in some parts of his domain the labour of an hour 

 supplies his daily wants ? The working man of colder climates, 

 by eight and even twelve hours' occupation, obtains no more, and 

 often less. The others are the true lotos-eaters, and when one is 



