Chap. XVI.—B.P.] THE KING OF MOSQUITO. 
2G7 
and courtesy, and begged us (some of the officers bad 
taken a passage with me in the gig) to come into his 
house at once out of the sun, whose rays were some¬ 
what of the warmest,—an invitation no one was slow to 
accept. A short climb brought us to the front door of 
a very commodious American lumber-house, with ve¬ 
randa and shingled roof. The house, as usual, was 
raised some feet from the ground on brick pillars, so 
that a good current of air could always pass under¬ 
neath, preserving the flooring from damp, and prevent¬ 
ing vermin from harbouring there. Altogether, for 
the climate, a better and more comfortable style of 
dwelling could not be desired. There were four good- 
sized rooms on the ground floor, besides those upstairs, 
while the kitchens and outhouses were built a little 
way off. 
The .King’s servant, a tall Sambo, his only atten¬ 
dant, showed us into one of the ground-floor rooms, 
and gave us a good supply of water, towels, soap, etc., 
with which to refresh the outward man; while a tray 
of tumblers containing pale ale did good service to¬ 
wards recruiting the nearly exhausted inner man. 
At the same time the boats’ crew were equally well 
taken care of by the King’s thoughtful kindness. 
The ale had to be sent out for, as the King did not 
indulge in the luxury of a cellar; he knew, however, 
what would be most acceptable to us, although he was 
not addicted to beer himself, being more inclined to the 
somewhat stronger liquors distilled in Jamaica. In the 
present instance the bottles, by the time they arrived, 
were of the warmest, having been brought from the 
