44 
SURVEY OF THE INTERTROPICAL 
1 ^ 1 . with an inscription, was considerably grown; and 
July 23. the gum had oozed out in such profusion, where 
the nails had pierced the bark, that it had forced 
one corner of the copper off. 
The large gouty- stemmed tree on which the 
Mermaid’s name had been carved in deep in- 
dented characters remained without any alter- 
ation, and seemed likely to bear the marks of 
our visit longer than any other memento we had 
left. 
The sensations experienced at revisiting a place 
which had so seasonably afforded us a friendly 
shelter, and such unlooked-for convenience for 
our purposes, can only be estimated by those 
who have experienced them; and it is only to 
strangers to such feelings that it will appear 
ridiculous to say, that even the nail to which 
our thermometer had been suspended, was the 
subject of pleasurable recognition. 
We then bent our steps to the water-gully, 
but, to our mortification, it was quite dried up, 
and exhibited no vestige of its having contained 
any for some time. From the more luxuriant 
and verdant appearance of the trees and grass, 
than the country hereabout assumed last year, 
when the water was abundant, we had felt as- 
sured of finding it, and therefore our disappoint- 
ment was the greater. 
