OF THE OLD WORLD. 291 



and understood by those only to whom jungle voices 

 are familiar, and who, from long habit and expe- 

 rience, have been enabled to observe and mark the 

 systematic order of Nature's handiwork. 



Duwng the intense heat of the day, whilst the 

 sun is still high above the meridian, all animated 

 nature seems to yield to his overpowering influ- 

 ence. A strange stillness, a profound silence, reigns 

 throughout the jungle, wdiich in early morning 

 seemed to teem with life and motion. Every living 

 creature disappears into the deepest shade of the 

 woods, in order to escape from the exhausting heat 

 and oppressive glare ; except, perhaps, the eagle, 

 hawk, and falcon, who are seen hovering overhead in 

 circles, like specks in the cloudless sky, or skimming, 

 with strange, wild cries, over the tops of the jungle 

 in search of their prey, and the green enamelled 

 dragon-flies that still flit over the water from leaf to 

 leaf. Then the sturdy hunter, overcome wdth lassi- 

 tude, suspends his toil, and seeks the grateful shade 

 of some gigantic forest tree or overhanging rock, 

 where he reposes until the mid-day heat is passed, 

 whilst his dog, also sharing in the universal lan- 

 guor which seems at that hour to oppress the whole 

 face of nature, lies panting upon the ground, with 

 his legs extended to the utmost, and his tongue 

 hanging far out of his mouth. 



The weary hours roll on, and nature revives ; the 

 woods again resound with the melody of the voice 

 of birds ; butterflies of varied hue flutter across 



