BOTANICAL GAZETTE. 821 
daylight — through the branches, I rise from my heap of leaves, the dry 
rought with me from home are kindled, and, in addition to a few 
row of quinine, a good cup of strong coffee without sugar soon revives m 
chilly frame. Having packed up my things, I again scramble along river and 
ravine gathering ferns and plier eH Thus occupied I turn gradually 
oii in a round-about way. * ® This is all very well in dry weather. 
ut in the rainy season it is not quite so pleasan ###” 
ut these excursions were sometimes no en with risk if the fol- 
: ng is to be belie “Tt is well known that in Trinidad there is no scarcity 
a serpents, but I was not prepared for the following whi he other 
ay, and whic ppened in a remote district near a cacao plantation, hidden 
and isolated in the midst of extensive, low a 1 primeva forests, wh 
y a cee ; 
men, at work in a cacao plantation, on the river Manco, belonging to Mr. 
acter of the people by whom he was surrounded : “ Having 
highest ridges of the Saut deau mountains, about ten_miles from town, I took 
=soemy isit a man known all about as Popo Fernand (though his real 
name is Joseph Isodore), in order to inquire of him about a pice of land that 
se offered for sale in his neighborhood. On my way thither I was astonish 
0 find that in and beyond the village of Maraval every man, woman and child 
w where the man lived, though his eabin was miles away 1, the ae 
en I a 
: H 
debated me up and called aloud Fernand’s name. 
lish Aegis P aA r he nor any of hi rs could ones eo 
cou : 
not speak their languag ‘ Se oe 
ever, to be courteously dis ' how the lan 
: sposed, In order to see how the 
my little pocket compass f his presence, when at once De sa | to — 
tned, and he thought the instrument was intend 
ground 
ala: 
Of this notion [ tried to 
oe : i toma 
Soon after he invited me 1n is room and, as 1s cus 
ohare asked me * to hel If to the contents of a small — he 
blei ge me. Not to show any signs of distrust, I pour t about two t at 
uls of the liquor, mixing it with plenty of water, but became somew 
tos 1 
Fs aiter drinking it on noticing that Ferna 
hee the bottle’s contents. ut ten min : 
Th enced a strange state of mind such as never before I had happen th just 
ere were neither dizziness, stupefaction nor exhilarating symptoms. —— 
ish ange incoherent thoughts flashed across my mind continually an Pb 
at once as quickly as they came. Any theme I made an effort to tht 
ins thereof quite a different theme pre- 
stead . , i 
Wh Y walk this unpleasant irritation f 
ided. 
0 . ’ 
at would have been the result had I taken a little more of that liquor? ' 
