LIFE IX THE TROPICS. 
25 
time under debate whether it would be necessary 
to amputate the foot. A gentleman who came 
on shore for the night in Batavia had his arm 
so swollen from two punctures that he was un- 
able to dress next day, the inflammation being as 
severe as from vaccination. Mosquitoes are most 
annoying in the rainy season, for then they seek 
the shelter of the house ; but always in the even- 
ing they buzz about near the lamp. Sometimes 
to read or write by lamplight is quite impossible. 
They do not allow one moment's peace ; the only 
plan is to give yourself up to self-defence, and 
sit down with a fan and eyes on the alert. When 
the salon is arranged for the evening, shields are 
hung over the backs of the open canework chairs 
to prevent the mosquitoes stinging between the 
shoulders, where it is so difficult to relieve the 
tickling by rubbing. 
Do I like life in the tropics ? Yes, indeed, I am 
enchanted with all I see, I enjoy many indescrib- 
able sensations of delight — -but do not envy me ; 
yon have compensating pleasures in England, 
When you walk among the scented pines, and the 
glinting sunbeams disclose in the modest seclusion 
of the tall grass the tiny star wort and the pretty 
veronica ; when you go to meet the fresh wind 
blowing over a gorse-clad moor with step that 
