with the almost ebon blackness of some of the recesses of the forest, would have afforded me gratification; but a sense of danger oppressed my spirit, for I had completely lost my way, and knew not whether I was moving towards, or from my companions. In vain I raised my voice to the highest pitch-it was lost in the labyrinths of the forest, and no sound reached me, save the sighing of the night-wind through the trees, and the occasional howl of some beast of prey. In that season of desolate loneliness, how gladly would I have taken by the hand the lowliest, the most degraded being in the shape of man; but no-I was alone, and the consciousness of my defenceless situation weighed heavily on my heart. I had, it is true, a double-barrelled rifle in my hand, and a short dagger in a sheath at my side; but I could scarcely hope that these would be a sufficient defence in the event of my being obliged to pass the night in the forest, when it would be next to a miracle if I escaped being attacked by the wild animals which abounded there. On I went, and had almost decided to mount a tree, when I heard, at no great distance, a sound as though something had plunged into water. This proved to be the case, for in my wanderings I had arrived near the brink of the river. This only added to my danger, for I felt still more afraid of the alligators in the river than of the wild beasts on the land. While I deliberated, a howl, only a few yards distant, burst so suddenly upon me, that I had scarcely time to raise my rifle to my shoulder before I saw the glaring eyes of a ferocious jaguar gleaming upon me. As the animal did not spring forwards, I gradually retreated towards the river; when, to my unutterable horror, an alligator rushed towards me from the water. Without taking any certain aim, I fired one of my barrels in the direction of the jaguar, and then darted headlong among the forest trees a little to the left. In a few seconds I again heard the jaguar howling, as though in agony: I had no doubt but the alligator had encountered him, and that they were then engaged in the death-grapple together. At this moment I heard another sound, delightful to me as music-this was the report of a gun. My companions, who had set out in pursuit of me, proved to be at no great distance: considering the firing of my rifle to be a signal to them, they replied to it accordingly, and thus, in ten minutes, we were once more in each other's company. Never was man more humbled than I was by S this adventure, and never could any one be more grateful for his miraculous preservation. Since then I have been inured to dangers, and could now conduct myself better amidst such immeasurable solitudes than I then did. Many a jaguar, and many an alligator, have I since encountered. A SHORT CHAPTER. WHEN rambling about the wide world, Europe appeared to me to have the most houses; Asia the most people; Africa the most sand; and America the most trees. As far as I remember, Guinea is the hottest part of the world that I have ever visited. No wonder the people are black there; depend upon it, I should have been black myself had I staid there till now. Lapland is the coldest country; my fingers tingle, and my teeth chatter, every time I think about it. Russia is the largest it seemed to me to have : |