THE NASEBERRY BAT. 269 



Around this tree I watched night after night in 

 the fading twilight, in the desire of obtaining one 

 of the Bats that I could see around it ; but owing to 

 the rapidity of their movements, and the imperfect 

 light, it was not until I had fruitlessly expended 

 much powder and shot, that I succeeded in procuring 

 a specimen, which I found to be a little Vampyre, 

 and specifically identical with the individual captured 

 at the Vineyard. I thus obtained, however, some 

 interesting acquaintance with the manners of the 

 frugivorous Bats. 



About a quarter of an hour after the sun has 

 disappeared, and while the western horizon is yet 

 glowing with those effulgent peak-like clouds, which 

 only a tropical sunset displays — we discover by 

 attentively watching the tree the Bats begin to visit 

 it. First one comes, takes a rapid flight around the 

 tree, darts once or twice through the dense foliage, 

 and winging away is lost in the light of the sky. 

 Another and another comes immediately, and performs 

 the same evolutions ; and as the glory of the west 

 fades away to a warm ruddy brown, like the blush of 

 a mulatto girl, many dusky forms are discerned flit- 

 ting round and round. By carefully following the 

 flight of an individual with the eye, we perceive that 

 now and then he alights for a moment on some 

 object at the extremity of a bunch of leaves; but 

 no sooner has the eye rested on the spot than the 

 sooty wings are again spread, and he is pursuing his 

 giddy course with his fellows. The object of his 

 attention is a ripe naseberry, nestled in the midst 

 of that rosette of leaves. Occasionally the weight 



