54 EDGE OF THE JUNGLE 



we may be certain that the causes of this and ol 

 the host of other unreasonable reahties whicl 

 fill the path of the evolutionist with never- 

 quenched enthusiasm, will extend far beyond th( 

 colors of two tropical birds. They will hav( 

 something to do with flowers and v/ith bright but 

 terflies, and we shall know why our "favorite 

 color" is more than a whim, and why the Greeks 

 mav not have been able to distino^uish the ful 

 gamut of our spectrum, and why rainbows are 

 so narrow to our eyes in comparison to what thej 

 might be. 



Finally, there was thrown aside all finesse, al 

 delicacy of presentation, and the last lingering 

 feeling of temperate life and nature was erased 

 From now on there was no confusion of zones 

 no concessions, no mental palimpsest of resolv- 

 ing images. The spatial, the temporal, — the hill- 

 side, the passing seconds, — the vibrations anc 

 material atoms stimulating my ^ve senses, al 

 were tropical, quickened with the unbelievable 

 vitality of equatorial life. A rustling came tc 

 my ears, although the breeze was still little more 

 than a sensation of coolness. Then a deep whin 

 sounded overhead, and another, and another, anc 

 with a rush a dozen great toucan? were all abou1 



