beneath the tangled arches of the
wilderness. In some respects it differed entirely from his
expectations, and in others it surpassed them. The gloom was deeper
than he had pictured it, but the shade was not displeasing in a land so
close to the equator. Then the trees were much taller than he had been
led to suppose, and the creeping plants more numerous, while, to his
surprise, the wild-flowers were comparatively few and small. But the
scarcity of these was somewhat compensated by the rich and brilliant
colouring of the foliage.

The abundance and variety of the ferns also struck the youth
particularly.

"Ah! zey are magnificent!" exclaimed Verkimier with enthusiasm. "Look
at zat tree-fern. You have not'ing like zat in England--eh! I have
found nearly von hoondred specimens of ferns. Zen, look at zee
fruit-trees. Ve have here, you see, zee Lansat, Mangosteen, Rambutan,
Jack, Jambon, Blimbing ant many ozers--but zee queen of fruits is zee
Durian. Have you tasted zee Durian?"

"No, not yet."

"Ha! a new sensation is before you! Stay, you vill eat von by ant by.
Look, zat is a Durian tree before you."

He pointed as he spoke to a large and lofty tree, which Mr A.R.
Wallace, the celebrated naturalist and traveller, describes as
resembling an elm in general character but with a more smooth and scaly
bark. The fruit is round, or slightly oval, about the size of a man's
head, of a green colour, and covered all over with short spines which
are very strong and so sharp that it is difficult to lift the fruit from
the ground. Only the experienced and expert can cut the tough outer
rind. There are five faint lines extending from the base to the apex of
the fruit, through which it may be divided with a heavy knife and a
strong hand, so as to get to the delicious creamy pulp inside.

There is something paradoxical in the descriptions of this fruit by
various writers, but all agree that it is inexpressibly good! Says
one--writing of the sixteenth century--"It is of such an excellent taste
that it surpasses in flavour all the other fruits of the world."
Another writes: "This fruit is of a hot and humid nature. To those not
used to it, it seems at first to smell like rotten onions! but
immediately they have tasted it they prefer it to all other food."
Wallace himself says of it: "When brought into the house, the smell is
so offensive that some persons can never bear to taste it. This was my
own case in Malacc