chap, xv.] A FINE BUTTERFLY. 341 



was a hut in which, as among the Dyaks of Borneo and 

 many other savage tribes, the women are secluded for some 

 time after the birth of their child, and that we did very 

 wrong to enter it ; so we walked off and asked permission 

 to eat our breakfast in the family mansion close at hand, 

 which was of course granted. While I ate, three men, 

 two women, and four children watched every motion, and 

 never took eyes off me till I had finished. 



On our way back in the heat of the day I had the good 

 fortune to capture three specimens of a fine Ornithopfera, 

 the largest, the most perfect, and the most beautiful of 

 butterflies. I trembled with excitement as I took the first 

 out of my net and found it to be in perfect condition. The 

 ground colour of this superb insect was a rich shining 

 bronzy black, the lower wings delicately grained with 

 white, and bordered by a row of large spots of the most 

 brilliant satiny yellow. The body was marked with shaded 

 spots of white, yellow, and fiery orange, while the head and 

 thorax were intense black. On the under-side the lower 

 wings were satiny white, with the marginal spots half black 

 and half yellow. I gazed upon my prize with extreme 

 interest, as I at first thought it was quite a new species. 

 It proved however to be a variety of Ornithoptera remus, 

 one of the rarest and most remarkable species of this 

 highly esteemed group. I also obtained several other new 

 and pretty butterflies. When we arrived at our lodging- 



