176 HAUNTS AND HOBBIES 



different ; it had in it something very majestic. They 

 never rose, never descended, never swerved to right 

 or left, never increased their speed nor diminished it ; 

 they moved on always at the same even rate, in the 

 same direct, undeviating course, their wings beating 

 with the regularity of machinery. Their flight was 

 very swift, though, from its evenness, it did not appear 

 so. It was only when I noticed how quickly they 

 passed out of view that I realized how rapidly they 

 flew. 



The natives regard the bat as the very type of im- 

 purity, and I think that those who have ever entered 

 the upper domes of the ancient mosques and tombs 

 will incline to the same opinion. In these places the 

 bats especially congregate. Hanging head downward, 

 they form a complete lining to the walls. Their drop- 

 pings make a layer inches deep on the floors ; their 

 hideous aspect, their sickening odour, excite a feeling 

 of intense repulsion. 



Nevertheless the bats, notwithstanding their offensive 

 odour, are clean feeders. They devour insects certainly, 

 but they subsist chiefly on fruits. They will travel 

 great distances to obtain such as they fancy. Some 

 years ago, at another station, a tree grew in front of 

 the house I occupied. The tree bore in great profusion 

 a kind of uneatable fruit. The fruit ripened towards 

 the end of the rains ; and then as it ripened a species 

 of bat came in multitudes to devour it. They used 

 to arrive soon after dark. They first flitted round the 

 tree; next they attached themselves to the branches 

 and commenced to devour the fruit. The tree then 



