1 ' • • 'm'. 



EPISODES 



359 



and in brief time we stood on the desired beach. With 

 what dehghtful feeUngs did we gaze on the objects around 

 us! — the gorgeous flowers, the singular and beautiful 

 plants, the luxuriant trees. The balmy air which we 

 breathed filled us with animation, so pure and salubri- 

 ous did it seem to be. The birds which we saw were 

 almost all new to us ; their lovely forms appeared to be 

 arrayed in more brilliant apparel than I had ever seen 

 before, and as they fluttered in happy playfulness among 

 the bushes, or glided over the light green waters, we 

 longed to form a more intimate acquaintance with them. 



Students of nature spend little time in introductions, es- 

 pecially when they present themselves to persons who feel 

 an interest in their pursuits. This was the case with Mr. 

 Thruston, the deputy collector of the island, who shook 

 us all heartily by the hand, and in a trice had a boat 

 manned, and at our service. Accompanied by him, his 

 pilot and fishermen, off" we went, and after a short pull 

 landed on a large key. Few minutes had elapsed when 

 shot after shot might be heard, and down came whirling 

 through the air the objects of our desire. One thrust 

 himself into the tangled groves that covered all but the 

 beautiful coral beach that in a continued line bordered the 

 island, while others gazed on the glowing and diversified 

 hues of the curious inhabitants of the deep. I saw one of 

 my party rush into the limpid element to seize on a crab, 

 that, with claws extended upward, awaited his approach, 

 as if determined not to give way. A loud voice called 

 him back to the land, for sharks are as abundant along 

 these shores as pebbles, and the hungry prowlers could 

 not have found a more savory dinner. 



The pilot, besides being a first-rate shot, possessed a 

 most intimate acquaintance with the country. He had 

 been a " conch diver," and no matter what number of 

 fathoms measured the distance between the surface of the 

 water and its craggy bottom, to seek for curious shells in 



