DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4719#0396
PEOMONTAEITTM SACRUM.
369
IN
«i
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K
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bination of sublime grandeur with the most luxuriant rich-
ness of vegetation. The stems of many myrtles, through
extensive woods of which we rode yesterday, were a foot in
diameter, and generally six or eight inches ; the strawberry-
arbutus and the daphne-laurel are here large trees. In the
animal world nature exhibits less variety. How I envy its
universal tongue! the birds sing the same song, and all the
various nocks have the same voice—their instincts are uni-
versal. This morning flies bit the horses, swallows skimmed
over the ground, and rain followed in torrents ; the cattle all
turned their backs to the beating storm, and the sea-birds
flew to the shore. I was amused by watching a chameleon
which crossed my path, about eighteen inches long, and with
its tail curved upwards, walking exactly as we should do on
all fours; its forelegs had the same motion as our hands
would have, at each step contracting the palms and lifting
the feet unnecessarily high from the ground. The motion
of this singular but beautiful little animal is very slow, its
rolling eyeballs and quick tongue moving almost too rapidly
to be perceptible ; I observed that its colour varied, without
the animal being in any way alarmed, as it passed the several
shades of the earth, the grass, and the rocks. We have
shot a few of the birds of gay plumage, the Bee-eater and
the Boiler, for their skins; but the trouble of preparing
the whole myself is greater than I can undertake, knowing
from my collection on the last journey that few of these birds
differ from those which annually visit England. Among
the flowers, the most striking now in bloom is the splendid
snake-grass {Arum Dracunculus). The beauty of this is
quite overlooked by the flower-admiring Turk, who holds it
in disgust entirely on account of its fetid smell; while the
most minute flower, and even the budding leaves of the
walnut and other trees, are continually presented from one
to another on account of their sweetness.
May 3rd.—We have hitherto had but few disappointments
e 3
369
IN
«i
■ ■••■■• -.;
K
»*.
- ■ :■ ;*:
bination of sublime grandeur with the most luxuriant rich-
ness of vegetation. The stems of many myrtles, through
extensive woods of which we rode yesterday, were a foot in
diameter, and generally six or eight inches ; the strawberry-
arbutus and the daphne-laurel are here large trees. In the
animal world nature exhibits less variety. How I envy its
universal tongue! the birds sing the same song, and all the
various nocks have the same voice—their instincts are uni-
versal. This morning flies bit the horses, swallows skimmed
over the ground, and rain followed in torrents ; the cattle all
turned their backs to the beating storm, and the sea-birds
flew to the shore. I was amused by watching a chameleon
which crossed my path, about eighteen inches long, and with
its tail curved upwards, walking exactly as we should do on
all fours; its forelegs had the same motion as our hands
would have, at each step contracting the palms and lifting
the feet unnecessarily high from the ground. The motion
of this singular but beautiful little animal is very slow, its
rolling eyeballs and quick tongue moving almost too rapidly
to be perceptible ; I observed that its colour varied, without
the animal being in any way alarmed, as it passed the several
shades of the earth, the grass, and the rocks. We have
shot a few of the birds of gay plumage, the Bee-eater and
the Boiler, for their skins; but the trouble of preparing
the whole myself is greater than I can undertake, knowing
from my collection on the last journey that few of these birds
differ from those which annually visit England. Among
the flowers, the most striking now in bloom is the splendid
snake-grass {Arum Dracunculus). The beauty of this is
quite overlooked by the flower-admiring Turk, who holds it
in disgust entirely on account of its fetid smell; while the
most minute flower, and even the budding leaves of the
walnut and other trees, are continually presented from one
to another on account of their sweetness.
May 3rd.—We have hitherto had but few disappointments
e 3