20 NATURAL HISTORY OF 



remarked, with much emphasis, " Englishmans very good 

 mans," and proceeded to arrange a mattress on a rough 

 settle, making me understand that I was to rest myself there 

 while she boiled two hens' eggs for me, which she produced 

 from an old chest. This I was not loath to do, as I was pretty 

 well tired with the heat ; and while she went off to prepare 

 the eggs in her kitchen, which was a separate edifice, I had 

 leisure to survey the dwelling, which consisted of two small 

 rooms, divided by a partition. The walls were constructed of 

 blocks of stone, cemented with mud ; the roof was formed of a 

 kind of coarse basket-work, supported on rough poles ; and 

 there was a single window, with, it is almost needless to say, 

 no sash. A charming little naked negro boy did the honours 

 of the house to me while I rested, chattering most volubly in 

 Portuguese, and pointing out the dog and the hens for my in- 

 spection. After my repast I took my departure, my hospitable 

 entertainer accompanying me to my horse, shaking hands 

 very heartily, and bestowing on me a parting gift of a head of 

 green maize, wrenched off from one of the growing plants. I 

 then rode back to the consul's office, passing through the town, 

 where swarms of fat stark-naked children were running about 

 the streets ; and after joining the other officers, who had now 

 concluded their observations, returned to the ship with them. 

 On the following day I landed with three of the officers, 

 and having procured horses through the kindness of Mr. 

 Miller, we set out, accompanied by a negro man and boy (the 

 latter of whom carried my large vasculum, and formed a most 

 efficient plant-gatherer), on a ride over the hills to a sandy 

 bay, between the KE. and E. points of the island. In the 

 course of the ride I found a very considerable number of 

 species of plants, including a prickly species of Asparagus and 

 a fern, both of which occurred at the summit of one of the 



