THE VOYAGE. 



3 



moving among the thick branches of a palm, he should pick up a 

 trogon or humming-bird, brilliant with the colors of the most beau- 

 tiful gems. At this point my wife said, " Well, why don't we go to 

 the tropics some time ? " and when we came to talk the matter over, 

 there was really no unanswerable objection against our going ; and 

 so from that time we began to make plans for our trip. 



My first act was to write to my brother Cabell, tell him of our 

 project, and ask him to join us, to which he immediately replied 

 that he would. 



In selecting the point to be visited, there were a number of con- 

 siderations that came 

 up. First, our time 

 would be limited ; 

 for which reason we 

 should strike for the 

 nearest point, so as 

 to spend as little time 

 as possible in going 

 and coming. This 

 indicated the West 

 Indies or Central 

 America ; but our 

 vacation would occur 

 in June, July, and 

 August, and these 

 are rainy months in 

 those regions. We 

 could reach Vene- 

 zuela in a little over 

 six days from New 

 York, but at that 

 time that country was upset by civil war, and unsafe for travelers. 

 To Panama the same objection applied as to Central America, and, 

 in addition, there were vague rumors of yellow fever. 



