Chap. IV. 



SCENE WITH NATIVES. 



61 



crowded with a multitude of people of all ages and 

 sizes — old women and young ones, men and boys, 

 and infants in arms were huddled together upon 

 the bank, and apparently waiting for my return. 

 At first I was afraid something of a serious nature 

 had happened, but as I came nearer I observed 

 them laughing and talking good-humouredly, and 

 guessed from this that nothing had gone wrong. 

 Some had baskets, others wooden basins, others, 

 again, hollow bamboo tubes, and the vessels they 

 carried were as various in appearance as the motley 

 group which now stood before me. " Ma jung ! 

 m^ jung ! " (buy insects ! buy insects !) was now 

 shouted out to me by a hundred voices, and I saw 

 the whole matter clearly explained. It was the 

 old story, " I was collecting insects for medicine," 

 and they had come to sell them by the ounce or 

 pound. I had unintentioDally raised the popu- 

 lation of the adjoining villages about ray ears ; but 

 having done so, I determined to take matters as 

 coolly as possible, and endeavour either to amuse 

 or pacify the mob. On examining the various 

 baskets and other vessels which were eagerly 

 opened for my inspection, what a sight was pre- 

 sented to my view ! Butterflies, beetles, dragon- 

 flies, bees ■ — legs, wings, scales, antennse — all 

 broken and mixed up in wild confusion. I endea- 

 voured to explain to the good people that my 

 objects were quite misunderstood, and that such 

 masses of broken insects were utterly useless to 

 me. " What did it signify— they were only for 



