90 
Dawn in the Tropical Forest. 
pots as became his business of duly-appointed cook. The fellow had 
just returned with a supply of roots and vegetables appropriated from 
the provision fields with a view to serving up the very daintiest of dish- 
es with the ample means now at his disposal. Ever since leaving Dem- 
erara I had never seen his black face beaming so happily : he was very 
lucky, with nothing to worry over, but only to pick and choose : he was 
surrounded un all sides 'with abundance and his conscience was easy: any 
scruples about mine and thine did not seem to overburden him. What 
his joyful sparkling eyes and his widely smirking mouth gave promise 
of was soon performed, for out of the spoil of birds that had been 
shot and the yams and Carica papaya, etc., purloined, he prepared an 
excellent meal to which the whole company did full justice: we several 
times wished that the poor fellows who had been left behind on the sand- 
bank could have partaken of it. 
310. After Hamlet had bravely taken every care that not the slight- 
est morsel should be left, we jumped into our hammocks to learn now 
what it was like to sleep in an Indian settlement. 
311. The sun had just risen when 1 awoke but thought I was still 
dreaming. Was 1 lying in one of the dirty Warrau houses on the Aruka 
or had I been transported during my deep death-like sleep to one of the 
fairy gardens of the Thousand and One Mights? Thousands of voices 
in the most varied cadences fell upon irty ear, died away in the far dis- 
tance and neared again, became blurred in one another and then became 
distinguishable once more. Momentary silence followed a shrill out- 
burst of the united singers, to be now interrupted by an initial chirp and 
buzz at first hardly perceptible that gradually became louder and louder 
until it burst forth in truly joyful wantonness. Just as my ears had 
listened in wonder at the notes, so did my gaze feast with real delight 
on the environs of the village lit up with the virgin sunbeams whence 
Thousands upon thousands of dew-drops glistening at me like diamonds, 
finally found their ruin in the vital power and energy that was displayed 
by the Heliconiae, Musaceac, Marantaceae and TJraniae overladen with 
blossoms. The eye that was yet admiring the dower a moment before 
saw a topaz swaying over it during the next; without being able to ac- 
count for its presence, until as quick as thought it trembled and twinkled 
over the doral finery at another spot. On turning my more than satis- 
fied looks elsewhere to another tree, the same illusory and rapturous per- 
formance was being repeated : here they fell upon a lovely ruby, there a 
glowing drop of gold or the thousand- fold reflecting sapphire, until 
finally all these twinkling, flying, fire-specks joined to form a most beauti- 
ful garland, but suddenly separating again, started their previous puz- 
zling performance. 
312. As for the humming-birds, though I had often in Demerara 
watched the lightning flight of these lovely creatures and amused myself 
for hours at a time with their restless activities, when like evening revel- 
lers (Sphinx) they momentarily swayed over the blossoms of the plants 
and trees to suck the honey and suddenly disappeared only to emerge else- 
where, or when, like glowing sparks, on starting to quarrel and fight 
they crossed the air from all sides and directions in thousands of turns — 
I had never hitherto seen so great an assemblage of them in so small an 
