DISCOVERIES OF THE PORTUGUESE. 
118 
After residing a short time* our author began to 
feel his health impaired by the influence of the 
climate. This would have affected him less, had 
it not been for some local annoyances to which he 
was exposed. The wall of his apartment being of 
fat ill-cemented clay, nourished a colony of very 
large rats. These treated him with no cere- 
mony, and established indeed a sort of highway 
across his person, on which severe and frequent 
bites were consequently inflicted. The bed was 
moved to every corner of the room ; but " these 
" cursed creatures always found him out." His 
next plan was to cause all his negroes to lie round 
the bed on mats, like a species of body-guards. 
The rats, however, found their way over every im- 
pediment ; and, as each of the negroes had " some 
" wild and disagreeable smell," their presence 
formed a serious aggravation to the evil. Under this 
complication of distress, he determined at length 
to lay the whole case before the Grand Duke, 
That prince presented him with a monkey, which 
was strongly scented with musk, and which was found 
sufficient to deliver him from all his evils. Its rapid 
movements deterred the rats from approaching ; 
while the effluvia of the musk corrected the un- 
savoury odours which issued from his sleeping com- 
panions. After being freed from all these annoy- 
ances, however, he had nearly been overtaken by 
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