man inside, who, without quitting his retreat,
showed his displeasure at my intrusion in a
manner too pointed to be mistaken, and
certainly manifesting neither trepidation nor
alarm at the sight of one of the "lords of the
creation," though probably the first offered to
his inspection. From the entrance-hall, two
circular tunnels conducted into the interior
of the establishment, from whence came the
confused murmurs of a numerous and busy
community. I had just allowed the door to
close, and was admiring the exceeding
neatness of the workmanship, when another of
the family returned home, signifying his
arrival, and obtaining admittance in a manner
at once novel and singular.

After darting against the entrance, and
touching it with his feet, he rose again into
the air, and taking a wide swoop round the
trunk, came up on the other side, this time,
flying straight towards the "trap," which was
quickly raised, when he was a few inches
distant, and, on his entering, as quickly closed.
The office of the pugnacious individual inside
was explained; he was actually the
doorkeeper and his returning comrades, having
like any other modern gentlemen, politely
rapped, circled out of the observation, of
prying eyes, till he was prepared to admit
them. Numbers were constantly arriving,
and all went through the process I have
described, each flying away, after knocking,
in a different direction, but all allowing the
same time to elapse before returning for
admission:—thus, the door was never opened
save at the proper moment.

After watching their proceedings for some
time, I discovered the reason of their not
waiting quietly at the entrance. Sneaking
among the stray leaves and rubbish in the
trunk and in the holes and cavities of the
bark, were numbers of small insects, of the
same colour as the bees, but with the
addition of one or two minute bands of black
across the abdomen; their slender, graceful
forms and partially exposed ovipositors
revealed, however, the cause of their slinking
about, and stamped them the parasitic
ichneumons of the hive. I thought that, after
the habits of their tribe, they were
endeavouring to obtain an entrance, when they
pouncingly hovered over the bees as they
were disappearing in the door-way; but, as
none ever succeeded, I conjectured that
they had devised and were pursuing some
other plan of introducing their blood-thirsty
progeny. Further observation showed this to
be correct. The rascals were endeavouring to
attach their eggs to the small pellets of pollen
with which each bee was laden, and they often
succeeded, in spite of the admirably devised
tactics to prevent them.

The duties of the janitor were gradually
ceasing; all the bees had returned save a few
stragglers, and even these were  becoming
scarce; the last parting rays of the sun — a
signal for the twilight birds to issue from
their lurking-places — warned me, that in a
few minutes I should have some difficulty in
penetrating through the thick underwood, for
I was in a clime where the sun "sinks at
once, and all is night."

I was about to retrace my steps, when
the measured stroke of paddles caught my
ear, and presently the Indian " corial,"
with a brave batch of maroudis and some
smaller birds, turned a bend in the sinuous
creek, and swiftly glided towards me, guided
through the fallen trees and branches, which
in some places almost choked the narrow
stream, by the skilful arm of old Paley,
as I had dubbed our usual steersman. The
same keen eye that kept the frail bark
clear of besetting obstacles, quickly detected
me — though it was almost dark — stretched
in the tree above him. Staying the
progress of the "wood-skin" beneath, I slipped
off my boots, and cautiously lowered, myself
down.

I wouldn't advise any one to squat with
booted heel in a flimsy "bark," especially
when — intended for two and accommodating
four— it is skimming along with the water
an inch or so from the edge. A lurch to
one side, and over you go—pleasantly enough
in shallow water on a hot day, but
anything but that with twenty feet of black fluid
beneath, and you not able to swim.  A few
weeks' practice had enabled me to balance
myself without endangering others; so we
landed safely.

The birds, soon ready for the pot, were in
a few minutes boiling away among the
" cassareep " and peppers. We made hearty
suppers that night; and as I lay in my
hammock, taking the usual " soothing whiff"
before resigning myself to sleep, the howling
of monkeys, the bellowings of caymen, and
the various cries of goatsucker, owl, and tiger-
bird, blending with the occasional roar of
the jaguar in his midnight courtship, the
soughing of the breeze among the trees, and
the murmur of the distant falls, made as
discordant and motley a "hushaby" as one
could imagine. Fortunately, all the screeching
and howling in the universe would
have failed to drive away my slumbers;
so I quietly fell asleep, with the swaying
branches brushing past my face. My latest
waking thoughts, I remember, now recalling
the wandering Waterton (he might have
slept suspended from the same branch), and
his fishing for caymen; now, the bees and
their tiny trap-doors; now, my tiger-robbed
coverlet, and the rapids we were to " shoot"
in the morning; and, lastly, blending into a
confused murmur—  raising pleasant recollections
of the old school-room buzz, and of the
kindly comrades and anxious friends in my
far-off home.

We were up and away down the sparkling
river at daybreak the next morning; and I
had no other opportunity of observing the
economy of the bees and their enemies; nor