Ch. I.] TKB OAEIOATUEE PLANT. 13 



open fan. The rain falling upon the leaves and leaf-stalks, 

 runs downs a channel in the latter until it reaches the hase, 

 where a reservoir is formed by the sheathing petioles, wliich 

 so closely embrace one another that it cannot escajje. An 

 incision, therefore, through these sheaths produces a con- 

 stant fountain of pure, refreshing fluid, of which the ex- 

 perienced traveller may at his pleasure avail himself. 

 Another singular tree, or rather shrub, I first observed here 

 was commonly known as the face-leafed plant, or Caricature 

 plant of the East Indies (Justicia picta), every leaf of which 

 exhibited upon its blotched sm-face a series of remarkable 

 caricature resemblances of the human face divine. One of 

 these trees in the garden of Gustave Dore would be worth 

 a fortiuie to him, suppljong him with a never-failing fund 

 of grotesque physiognomy, from which he might illustrate 

 every serio-comic romance ever written by S"wift or Dickens, 

 by Eabelais or Cervantes. About the verandah the most 

 common bird appeared to be the rice bird, or Java sparrow 

 (Loxia oryzovora) ; but on a subsequent occasion, in 

 November, I looked in vain for these birdsj which had been 

 so plentiful in the beginning of April. 



I shall, however, have occasion to return to Singapore, 

 and shall therefore now proceed on our journey across the 

 China Sea, at this season beautifully calm ; and another 

 week of delightful dolcefar niente brought us near the goal 

 to which for six weeks we had been constantly travelling. 

 The day before reaching our ultimate destination of Hong 

 Kong, we experienced, for the first time during all the 

 voyage, squally and impleasant weather, which was not 

 disagreeable, however, when regarded simply as a change 

 from the uniformly fine and calm seas we had experienced 

 for six weeks ; moi'e particularly as there were no signs of 



