“But the true lover of Nature almost loses any sense of fatigue in the excitement and pleasure afforded by the infinitely varied and beautiful forms of vegetable and animal life that are around him. The tall trees of innumerable species, in fierce competition with their neighbours, rearing their great trunks heavenwards that they may spread out their foliage, and open their blossoms in the light above, the fantastic foldings and twistings of the snake-like lianas, the countless shapes and tints of the leaves, the bright colours of some brilliant beetle, the delicately traced wing design of some happy butterfly, the merry chirping of some gaily adorned bird, the hurried steps of the busy little ants, the languid movements of a chameleon, with its strange skin and stranger eyes, the patient watching for prey of a red three-cornered spider, the tiny mosses and delicate ferns nestling snugly among their big brothers under the rocks—all these and a thousand other objects of interest and beauty help one to forget the exertion and the toil caused by the difficulties of the road, and make one feel that it is with a lavish and artistic hand that their great Maker has formed and bedecked them all. Moreover, there is in travelling in the forest a strange and fascinating illusion, a vague feeling of expectancy, which persistently recurs, in spite of disappointment, that somewhere on in front something of exceptional interest will be found.” [Sidenote: A NIGHT IN THE FOREST] I have of course, during many journeys in Madagascar, spent many a night in small villages surrounded by forest, but I have not had quite the experiences described by Mr Baron in another passage which I shall venture to quote. Mr Baron says: [Sidenote: NOCTURNAL NOISES]