JAMAICA. 193 



one accustomed to express his observations in words. His 

 Naturalist's Sojourn in Jamaica is full of exquisite descrip- 

 tions of the varied and picturesque scenery of the interior 

 of the island. 



His most delightful memories in later years were asso- 

 ciated with one particular series of scenes, which he visited, 

 perhaps, more often than any other. A lonely road led 

 over the shoulder of Bluefields Mountain to a half-de- 

 serted coffee plantation called Rotherhithe. Philip Gosse 

 was frequently accustomed to rise two hours before dawn, 

 and, sitting loosely in the saddle, to ride slowly up this 

 romantic ascent by the light of the stars, " listening," as 

 he says, "to the rich melodies poured forth by dozens 

 of mocking-birds from the fruit .trees and groves of the 

 lower hills," managing to arrive at the brow of the moun- 

 tain at sunrise. Then he would leave his horse, and, 

 " throwing the bridle over his neck, allow him to graze on 

 a little open pasture until my return," while he would 

 pursue on foot the road towards Rotherhithe which has 

 been mentioned. This was the haunt of several rare birds 

 of peculiar interest — of the eccentric jabbering crow, of the 

 solitaire, and of the long-tailed humming-bird. It was 

 fascinating, in intervals of labour, " to sit on a fallen log 

 in the cool shadow, surrounded by beauty and fragrance, 

 listening to the broken hymns of the solitaires, and watch- 

 ing the humming-birds that sip fearlessly around your 

 head, and ever and anon come and peep close under the 

 brim of your broad Panama hat, — as if to say, ■ Who are 

 you that come intruding into our peculiar domain ? ' " 



One great difficulty which Philip Gosse met with was 

 the absence of all scientific sympathy in Jamaica. He 

 could not hear of any other naturalist, native or imported, 

 who was working in earnest at the fauna of the island. 

 At length, however, his inquiries were rewarded by news of 



O 



