he end of that
time he once more set forward, shaping his course so as to pass to the
southward of the mountain, and from thence down the steep ravine to the
edge of the river, the left bank of which he determined on this occasion
to follow. As he pursued his journey he could not help being struck,
and very agreeably impressed, with the wonderful fertility of the
island, and the great variety of its products. The trees were many of
them of immense size, and though there were many species, the names and
natures of which he knew nothing about, he was able to identify on the
upper slopes of the mountain the pine, the fir, and what looked very
much like a species of ash; whilst on the table-land and on the slopes
of the ravine the teak, mahogany, and jarrah, as well as the cocoanut
and two or three other varieties of palm flourished in abundance, to say
nothing of the bamboo, several groves of which he passed through during
the course of the day. Of fruits also there was a great variety, among
others the pine-apple, banana, plantain, pawpaw, granadilla, guava,
orange, loquat, durian, and the cocoanut. Several species of cane also
flourished luxuriantly, and among them he found what he believed, from
its general appearance and its taste, to be a wild sugar-cane. But what
perhaps gratified him more than all was to meet here and there with
little patches of maize.

Of animal life also there was no lack. Of snakes there were more and in
greater variety than he at all cared to see, and in addition to these
the forest was alive with monkeys of several varieties, to say nothing
of other animals whose quick movements would not permit him to identify
them. Insects, as might be expected, swarmed in countless millions,
some of them being most grotesque in form and colour. Butterflies of
unusual size flitted about from flower to flower, and the upper branches
of the trees were fairly alive with birds of the most brilliant plumage,
among which he noticed two or three varieties of the parrot tribe,
whilst birds of paradise were there in such numbers that he thought he
might not inappropriately name his new domain "Paradise Island." Where
the ground was sufficiently open to permit of their growth, flowering
shrubs and plants with blossoms and blooms of the loveliest colours, and
some of them of the most delicate perfumes, abounded; and among the
shrubs there were several which he believed to be spice-bearing plants.
After a fatig