BALMY BBEEZ£& OF TfSE EASTERN ISLM 



15 



and spreading out its uppeimost leaves on the suiface 

 of the sea. It was guarded by a bird, tliat was not 

 bird but half bea-st ; and when a ship came near, 

 she was always drawn ii'resistiljly toward tMs spot, 

 and not one of lier ill-fated crew ever est^aped the 

 beak and formidable talons of this insatiable harpy. 



But such wonders nnfortnnately fade away before 

 the light of advancing knowledge; and the prince 

 of CeyloUj who is said to have given a whole vessel 

 laden with spice for a single speciuien, could have 

 satisfied his heart's fullest desire if he had only known 

 it was not rare on the Seychelles, north of Mauri- 

 tius. 



The trades soon became light aud baffling. Heavy 

 rain-squalls, with thunder and lightning, were Ire- 

 quent; and three days after, as one of these cleared 

 away, the high mountain near Java Head appeared 

 full a quarter of a degree above the horiiion, its black 

 shoulders rising out of a beauttftU mantle of the 

 eimine-white, fleecy clouds, called mmmlL 



Although we were thirty-five miles from the shore, 

 yet large numbei*3 of dragon-flies came round the 

 ship, and I quickly improvised a net and captured a 

 goodly number of them. 



After sunset, there was a light air oft^shore, which 

 carried us to within a few miles of the laud, and at 

 midnight the captain called me on deck to enjoy 

 " the balmy breezes of the Eastern isles ; " and cer- 

 tainly to myself, as well as to the others, the air 

 seemed to have the rich fragrance of new-mown clover, 

 but far more spicy. At that hour it was quite clear, 

 but at sunrise a thick haze mse up from the ocean, 



