MOSQUITOES. 91 



the minds of the bulk of the people absolutely tended 

 towards the unbiassed conviction that some mysterious 

 connection existed between the large stone and the 

 Bauan ladies. Since the introduction of Christianity to 

 these districts, it has been found necessary to remove 

 the large stone, leaving its numerous posterity behind, 

 to get on as best it may. 



During the rainy season, the mouth of the Rewa 

 river is notorious for myriads of mosquitoes. On some 

 evenings the hetacombs slain by incautious contact with 

 the name, actually put the candles out. Mr. Moore once 

 contrived a room on the principle of a mosquito-curtain ; 

 but the contrivance was not found to answer, as few 

 persons could be induced to purchase freedom from irri- 

 tating bites by confinement for several hours of a hot 

 night in an insufficiently ventilated kind of cage, which, 

 from its very nature, could not be so large as to admit 

 of much moving about, or the introduction of lights for 

 reading or writing. Mosquitoes are objects to which 

 the attention of all new-comers is irresistibly directed. 

 Those of Somosomo never favoured us with a call until 

 after breakfast, and very obligingly withdrew about sun- 

 set, to let us have the evening to ourselves. In other 

 parts of the group the evening is their very time for 

 paying visits. The moment one of their monotonous 

 solos is heard, a tatti will immediately follow. The dif- 

 ference between the voices of the various species is al 

 most as great as that observable in those of men ; and 

 a naturalist studying these insects as thoroughly as they 

 study him should either possess an ear musically trained 

 or else carry a fiddle, in order to determine the exact 



