To those who are fond of the banana it must be a delight to spend time where they can fully gratify their taste for it. The Sandwich Islands gave us the best specimens.—I cannot say it would be easy for me to enlarge this description of foreign fruits; indeed it would be painful, for the mention of these fruits is a vivid reminder of lost joys, joys pure, innocent, health-giving, a source of gratitude to the Giver of all good, stimulating the anticipation of future pleasure, which divine revelation does not consider it beneath itself to specify among the promised pleasures of heaven. It used to be a pleasant theme of meditation in those East India regions, that in the fields of the blest there is a species of tree (not, of course, one solitary tree) which bears twelve manner of fruits, and yields fruit every month. It was a harmless fancy of an invalid which twelve of all the fruits known to him he would select for that species of tree to bear. His taste would make grave mistakes in putting the watermelon, for example, on the same tree with the plum; which led him to question whether the structural nature of the tree might not be supposed to be as far beyond his present botanical knowledge as the yield of the tree would surpass his present experience. His acquaintance with the almost perpetual banana gave him some idea of the practicability of vegetation reaching to the extent, even, of yielding fruit every month; so that without consulting with the botanical critic he would load his tree with the East Indian mango, mangastenes, apricots, muskmelons, peaches, pears, grapes, apples, quinces, watermelons, banana, figs; and then he would consider how inadequate was a pomological catalogue to express the known objects which stood ready to tempt his appetite. The queen of Sheba, herself from the East, perhaps admonished him by seeming to say that a greater than Solomon would hereafter ‘feed him and lead him to living fountains of waters.’
THE CASSOWARY.
At Manila one object after another would be continually presenting itself to our notice, leading the thoughts into the still remote parts of the eastern world. In the yard of a gentleman stood this singular creature, which you felt obliged to call a bird yet you would prefer that it should be classed as an animal, for it seemed to belong among animals, though it is a biped. Its enormous legs, eighteen inches long, its fleshy protuberance on its head, coarsely imitating the tuft on the head of the peacock, left you in doubt how to assign it a place among the tribes of the animal kingdom, reminding you of the exploit in rhyming which a wit perpetrated with its name and its place of nativity, making Cassowary to rhyme with ‘missionary,’ and Timbuctoo with ‘hymn-book too.’
LEAVING MANILA.
We left Manila Jan. 20th, with great regret. We were taking leave of valued friends, besides bidding adieu to scenes of interest which had not been surpassed in our experience. We had reached the eastern limit of our long voyage; we were to turn and find our way to the western continent. Objects of thrilling interest were yet to be passed. But how could we help feeling the need of special assistance in the great undertaking of going round the other half of the globe? These words came to me, and some lines were suggested by them:
“When the even was come he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.” Mark iv. 25.
They went, and as they sailed
A storm came down upon the lake;
It made the boldest spirits quake;
Their faith forsook them, so their courage failed.