The Next Two Days Were So Wet And Windy That There Was No Going
Out; But On The Succeeding One The Sun Shone Brightly, And I Had
The Good Fortune To Capture One Of The Most Magnificent Insects
The World Contains, The Great Bird-Winged Butterfly, Ornithoptera
Poseidon.
I trembled with excitement as I saw it coming
majestically towards me, and could hardly believe I had really
Succeeded in my stroke till I had taken it out of the net and was
gazing, lost in admiration, at the velvet black and brilliant
green of its wings, seven inches across, its bolder body, and
crimson breast. It is true I had seen similar insects in cabinets
at home, but it is quite another thing to capture such oneself-to
feel it struggling between one's fingers, and to gaze upon its
fresh and living beauty, a bright gem shirring out amid the
silent gloom of a dark and tangled forest. The village of Dobbo
held that evening at least one contented man.
Jan. 26th. - Having now been here a fortnight, I began to
understand a little of the place and its peculiarities. Praus
continually arrived, and the merchant population increased almost
daily. Every two or three days a fresh house was opened, and the
necessary repairs made. In every direction men were bringing in
poles, bamboos, rattans, and the leaves of the nipa palm to
construct or repair the walls, thatch, doors, and shutters of
their houses, which they do with great celerity.
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