ALABAMA. 119 



clefts and fissures are but half hidden by the waving 

 tangles of purple weed, where multitudes of shapeless 

 creatures revel and riot undisturbed." Almost through 

 one day their course bore them through a fleet of " Portu- 

 guese men-of-war," those exquisite mimic vessels, with 

 their sapphire hulls and pale pink sails, whose magic navi- 

 gation seems made to conduct some fairy queen of the 

 tropics through the foam of perilous seas to her haven in 

 an island of pearl. 



All these glorious sights in halcyon weather did not, 

 however, last long. The ship was already within sight of 

 the last kay of the long reef, when a violent storm of rain 

 and a westerly gale came on. They were glad to drop 

 anchor at once between Cayo Boca and Cayo Marquess, 

 two green little islands of palm trees and sand. The crew 

 set themselves to fish in the rain, and soon pulled out of 

 the water plentiful fishes of the most extraordinary harle- 

 quin colours, vermilion-gilled, amber-banded, striped like 

 a zebra but with violet, or streaked with fantastic forked 

 lightnings of pink and silver. Next morning, May 5, broke 

 in radiant sunshine, and as the wind continued foul, the 

 captain proposed to go ashore and take a peep at Cayo 

 Boca, a suggestion which Philip Gosse warmly seconded. 

 The sailors rowed for a long white spit of sand, and the 

 naturalist leaped ashore, and rushed into the bushes 

 brandishing his insect-net. He expected to find this first 

 specimen of West Indian vegetation studded with brilliant 

 tropical insects, but he was disappointed. The bushes had 

 thick saline leaves, and insects were very rare. Gosse pre- 

 sently turned back to the shore, and found the corals and 

 madrepores more interesting than the entomology. But 

 the wind had veered, and he was forced, reluctantly, to 

 humour the captain's impatience to return to the ship. A 

 little white butterfly danced away to sea with them, flut- 



