Notices of New Books. 4269 



nest in the Hibiscus trees in the court-yard of the Government-house, 

 or of the merchants' store ; and, while in these situations the windows 

 of his white fellow-citizens often overlook his domestic arrangements ; 

 he, in turn, from his eyrie on the top of the rocking palm, looks down 

 upon the lowly huts of the black ones. He levies contributions on all 

 alike : leave but your breakfast-table for a moment, and as you return, 

 the rustle of hurrying wings, the marks of many feet on the white table- 

 cloth, the gashes in the pat of butter, and the disappearance of plan- 

 tains and small viands, proclaim who have been the robbers. The 

 old ' hopper-woman ' sits frying her cakes under the lowly ' pandal ' 

 of her cadjan hut, and over her, with head inclined, taking a bird's- 

 eye view of her cookery, sits the * caca ; ' and now the ' appah? An- 

 glice ' hopper,' is done, lifted from the pan, and laid upon the little 

 circular basket ready for a customer. With a grunt of satisfaction 

 the aged crone surveys her handiwork, and drops her spoon to feel 

 for her beloved betel-pouch ; a tiresome little bit of ' areca-nut ' has 

 got into a corner, and the old dame bends over it, unmindful of her 

 charge, a dark figure drops from the roof, and though she is instantly 

 on the alert, and aims an ineffectual blow at the thief, the nice white 

 ' appah ' is borne off. Sometimes, however, the robber has but a 

 poor hold on it and drops it on the red cabook road ; down pounce a 

 host of crows that have been looking on from many a tree, and a scuf- 

 fle ensues ; but anxious at least to cheat them of their booty, if not 

 to retain the damaged article for her own eating, the old woman hur- 

 ries to the rescue ; but this makes matters worse, the castle is de- 

 fenceless, and unseen foes drop down from beam and rafter or fly in 

 through open doors. The rice-basket is invaded, the chilli-box over- 

 turned, the dried fish stolen, and lucky is the dame if the crash of 

 most of her little store of crockery and glass, swept to the ground and 

 scattered in shining fragments, does not hastily recall her to her hut. 

 " But in spite of these annoying thefts, the amount of good done by 

 the vast numbers of these birds which frequent our towns is very 

 great : they are the great street-scavengers ; nothing escapes their 

 quick eyes ; everything that can be eaten is devoured as soon as 

 discovered, and early and late they are on the watch for whatever is 

 thrown out : and so nimble are they, that I have frequently seen them 

 catch small bits of carrion, or other matters, before they fell to the 

 ground. They have not the least fear of the natives, and even Euro- 

 pean children are unheeded by them; and I have seen my boy's hand 

 bitten and bleeding from their attempting to snatch his bread from 

 him. But of the white man and his gun they entertain the most 



