36 
MEMOIR OF 
natural productions of the different islands at 
which he touched. In botany, more particularly, 
he made great collections, and anticipated a rich 
harvest, now that he had reached Jamaica, when 
an unexpected event blighted all his prospects in 
this quarter. The Duke of Albemarle died almost 
as soon as he had landed; and the Duchess, natu- 
rally anxious to return to England, only awaited 
instructions from the Court at home, in reply to 
her notification of the Duke’s decease. During 
the necessary interval, the doctor assiduously 
exerted himself, and visited all parts of the island. 
He recorded in a journal a description of every 
natural curiosity ; he collected about eight 
hundred plants, and employed an artist to make 
drawings of the birds, fishes, insects, shells, and 
fruits. Some of his observations, selected at 
random, will probably amuse readers of the present 
day. 
“ I was somewhat surprised to see serpents, 
rats, and lizards, sold for food, and that to under- 
standing people, and of a very good and nice 
palate ; but what of all those things was most 
unusual, and to my great admiration, was the 
great esteem was set on a sort of cossi or timber- 
worms, called cotton tree worms by the Negroes 
or Indians.’’ 
The two following stories are much akin to 
the marvellous relations we frequently meet with 
in the American newspapers. 
