About Four O'clock We Struck Some More Plantations, And Passing
Through These, Came To A Path Running North-East, Down Which We
Went.
I must say the forest scenery here was superbly lovely.
Along this mountain side cliff to the mangrove-swamp
The sun could
reach the soil, owing to the steepness and abruptness and the
changes of curves of the ground; while the soft steamy air which
came up off the swamp swathed everything, and although unpleasantly
strong in smell to us, was yet evidently highly agreeable to the
vegetation. Lovely wine palms and rafia palms, looking as if they
had been grown under glass, so deliciously green and profuse was
their feather-like foliage, intermingled with giant red woods, and
lovely dark glossy green lianes, blooming in wreaths and festoons of
white and mauve flowers, which gave a glorious wealth of beauty and
colour to the scene. Even the monotony of the mangrove-belt
alongside gave an additional charm to it, like the frame round a
picture.
As we passed on, the ridge turned N. and the mangrove line narrowed
between the hills. Our path now ran east and more in the middle of
the forest, and the cool shade was charming after the heat we had
had earlier in the day. We crossed a lovely little stream coming
down the hillside in a cascade; and then our path plunged into a
beautiful valley. We had glimpses through the trees of an
amphitheatre of blue mist-veiled mountains coming down in a crescent
before us, and on all sides, save due west where the mangrove-swamp
came in.
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