I Trembled
With Excitement As I Took The First Out Of My Net And Found It To
Be In Perfect Condition.
The ground colour of this superb insect
was a rich shining bronzy black, the lower wings delicately
grained with white, and bordered by a row of large spots of the
most brilliant satiny yellow.
The body was marked with shaded
spots of white, yellow, and fiery orange, while the head and
thorax were intense black. On the under-side the lower wings were
satiny white, with the marginal spots half black and half yellow.
I gazed upon my prize with extreme interest, as I at first
thought it was quite a new species. It proved however to be a
variety of Ornithoptera remus, one of the rarest and most
remarkable species of this highly esteemed group. I also obtained
several other new and pretty butterflies. When we arrived at our
lodging-house, being particularly anxious about my insect
treasures, I suspended the box from a bamboo on which I could
detect no sign of ants, and then began skinning some of my birds.
During my work I often glanced at my precious box to see that no
intruders had arrived, until after a longer spell of work than
usual I looked again, and saw to my horror that a column of small
red ants were descending the string and entering the box. They
were already busy at work at the bodies of my treasures, and
another half-hour would have seen my whole day's collection
destroyed. As it was, I had to take every insect out, clean them
thoroughly as well as the box, and then seek a place of
safety for them. As the only effectual one, I begged a plate and a
basin from my host, filled the former with water, and standing
the latter in it placed my box on the top, and then felt secure
for the night; a few inches of clean water or oil being the only
barrier these terrible pests are not able to pass.
On returning home to Mamajam (as my house was called) I had a
slight return of intermittent fever, which kept me some days
indoors. As soon as I was well, I again went to Goa, accompanied
by Mr. Mesman, to beg the Rajah's assistance in getting a small
house built for me near the forest. We found him at a cock-fight
in a shed near his palace, which however, he immediately left to
receive us, and walked with us up an inclined plane of boards
which serves for stairs to his house. This was large, well-built,
and lofty, with bamboo floor and glass windows. The greater part
of it seemed to be one large hall divided by the supporting
posts. Near a window sat the Queen, squatting on a rough wooden
arm-chair, chewing the everlasting sirih and betel-nut, while a
brass spittoon by her side and a sirih-box in front were ready to
administer to her wants.
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