634 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



it is somewhat oval, but the base is necessarily flat, on account of 

 its attachment to the rock. 



The material is so translucent that, when placed on printed pa- 

 per and held to the light, the capital letters can be plainly read 

 through its substance. A glance at the interior shows at once 

 the mode of its construction. It is made of innumerable glutin- 

 ous threads, which have been drawn irregularly across each oth- 

 er, and have hardened by exposure to the air into a material 

 which much resembles isinglass. The natives say that the con- 

 struction of a single nest occupies a pair of birds for two full 

 months, so that there is some probability that the material may 

 really be secreted by the birds themselves. 



The nests are only used for one purpose. They are steeped in 

 hot water for a considerable time, when they soften into a gelat- 

 inous mass, which forms the basis of a fashionable soup, and is 

 not unlike the green fat of the ordinary turtle. Indeed, those 

 who have partaken of birds'-nest soup say that, if it were seasoned 

 in a similar manner, it might easily be taken for turtle soup. The 

 Chinese value this soup highly, thinking that it possesses great 

 power of restoring lost strength. It is, however, far too costly to 

 be obtained by any but the rich, the best quality fetching rather 

 more than sixty shillings per pound. 



The natives of Borneo have some curious traditions about these 

 birds. They reverence all kinds of birds, believing their ances- 

 tors to have been born from a native woman who married a spir- 

 it; but they have some singular legends respecting the Edible 

 Swallow. One of these wild legends has been kindly furnished 

 to me by C. T. C. Grant, Esq., formerly of the Sarawak Govern- 

 ment Service. 



A DYAK LEGEND. 

 " It was many, many years ago that a Dyak of Semabang (in 

 Sadong) and his young son arrived, after a long journey through 

 the jungle, at a village called Si-Lebor. The village was exten- 

 sive, the Dyaks very numerous. On arriving, the chief of the 

 tribe placed food before the older visitor, but to his young son 

 they offered nothing. The little fellow, seeing this, and being 

 very hungry after his journey, felt much hurt, and began to cry. 

 'To my father,' said he, 'you have given food — the prtok of rice 

 is before him, the fatted pig has been killed — every thing you 

 have given him. Why do you give me nothing?' But the 



