"ÜN canny Effect of Tropical Night. 
1G3 
insects, which would be now and again interrupted by the regular strokes 
of our paddlers or the jumping up and splashing of a fish, were still the 
only noises to be heard. But soon the unsuspected Life of Night 
awoke. It commenced with the hollow suddenly-stopping croak of huge 
frogs which the smaller kinds had already prefaced in a weaker degree, 
and the wailing notes of Cryptiirus Too, C. variegatus, and Eurypyga 
Helios 111.: the awful row of the howler monkeys and the shrill notes 
of wandering troops of small sackawinkis ( Callithri.v seiureo), enough 
to pierce one's very marrow-bones, were being continually added to 
these. 
354. If Awakening Morn is a magic mirror displaying an aspect of 
Nature full of sublime surprises and reflecting the most temptingly 
beautiful and lovely images, one’s inmost soul quails before the terribly 
uncanny Tropical Night, which continually keeps it up to that pitch 
of excitement of which we cannot quite free ourselves even in our lone- 
some forests at home notwithstanding they have something so very en- 
chanting about them. As with a witch’s wand, the confused tumult is 
suddenly stilled, no echo betrays the life just passed, and only the con- 
tinuous and regular stroke of the paddlers shows that man alone 
is not resting along with the other creatures. A noisy hubbub at the 
corial’s bow means that our splashing has scared away a flock of water- 
birds to seek refuge in the tall root-branches of the Avicennia : their 
loud cry of fright starts afresh the whole Babel of booming and Availing, 
of piping and piercing voices, that has only just been stilled. And 
then the moon, casting her magic light through the momentarily-rent 
dense vei 1 of cloud, illumines the smooth sombre surface of the water 
where the shadows of the river-margins meet, until a moment later, the 
whole surroundings are once more plunged in darkness. Just like the 
first morning, the first night in a virgin forest will never be effaced 
from my memory. 
355. Unlike the case at Nightfall, Day-break was not disturbed by any 
of those wild thunderstorms. The excited elements seemed as if they 
were reposing preparatory to blustering with renewed strength and 
energy, through the whole of nature, shortly afterwards perhaps in one 
furious uproar. The morning dawned and shed a peculiar tinge over 
the repeatedly broken clouds. The uncanny noises had long been 
silenced, and only the distantly-heard gurgle of Penelope eristato, the 
sound of which had so often reminded me of the game Ave used to play 
as children by bloAving through a goose's wind-pipe, as Avell as the artic- 
ulate and gloomy lament of Pionites momota 111. which exactly resem- 
bles the words Hutu-hutu, notified us of the close approach of day. It 
is now that the uppermost fronds of the Leopoldinia become tinged and 
change with incomparable rapidity from darkish grey to fiery yellow, 
the early dawn is broken, the sun lias risen and aAvakened again the 
active life already described. Hundreds of Parrots, screeching most ter- 
ribly the while, are making their Avav in pairs over the river, and the 
eye revels in the thousand-fold changes of colour which are ever being 
brought into view, as they hurry on in their continued flight: innumer- 
able Humming-birds like scintillating meteors of many a colour, again 
flit as quick as lightning from floAver to flower and drink the nectar of 
