490 KINGSTON. 



up in slowly beating along a hundred miles of coast, 

 against the fierce daily sea-breeze. Nothing of any 

 note occurred to break the monotony of the voyage, 

 except that on the morning of its last day — as if I 

 were not to be allowed to leave the island without a 

 taste of its bitters as well as its sweets — I was stung 

 by a Scorpion. While lying in the berth of the little 

 close cabin, I was awakened by a severe twinge on 

 one side of my neck : on putting my hand to the 

 place, I took hold of some object which had pierced 

 the flesh, and which, requiring some force to make it 

 let go, I fancied to be a beetle that had nipped me 

 with its mandibles. There was a dim lamp in the 

 cabin, and on holding up my prisoner against the 

 light, I found that it was a large Scorpion, which I 

 had fortunately seized by the tail, so that, though it 

 sprawled, it could not do any further injury. The 

 pain was severe, but the old skipper kindly applied 

 some camphorated rum, which he well rubbed on the 

 part. The flesh began to swell and form a lump ; 

 but very soon both this and the pain subsided, so 

 that in two or three hours only a slight soreness was 

 perceptible about the region, and even this was gone 

 before night. Altogether the affair was not equal 

 to the sting of a wasp. One of the most curious of 

 the results was a numbness of some of the nerves 

 of the tongue, perceptible in the papillcs of the 

 surface, which felt as if dead : this was soon after the 

 sting. 



On my arrival at Kingston on the 26th, I found 

 that the length of the coasting voyage had lost me a 

 passage to England, the steamer having just sailed. 



