The people, the children especially, are very fond of these fireflies and frequently keep little cages of them for pets. They feed them on sugar-cane juice and bathe them as if they were birds. [Illustration: COUNTRY HOME OF THE BETTER CLASS.] Little crabs rattle gaily over the floor and sometimes crawl into our shoes, where we find them in the morning; friendly but ugly lizards croak from the walls and roof, where they pass the night hours in catching insects. These lizards are found in and about most of the houses and are harmless, useful little fellows. They are six or seven inches long, of a pale, yellowish color, mottled with brown. Instead of taking a morning bath in our rooms, we take a dip in the warm sea water. We find it hot, even very early in the morning; and as we walk to the shore in our bathing suits, we make a large palm leaf do duty as a sunshade. When we dress for breakfast we examine our clothes very closely, for the centipedes have a disagreeable way of taking strolls over one's clothing and the bedding. Our breakfast consists of turtle eggs, bread fruit, plantain and cocoanut milk. Our meals are served on the veranda, and there we spend the most of the day. Hammocks are swung from the beams, and, lying in them, we drink in the cool sea air and feast our eyes upon the beautiful surroundings. In the shallow water near the shore we find great pink conch shells. The fish in them we have made into soup for our dinner, and very good soup we find it. Sometimes we go out in the mountains with our host hunting for game, or for mountain cabbage for our dinner. Perhaps others would like to know what this mountain cabbage is, and we will tell them. It is the bud of a palm tree, a part of the trunk of which, when young, is edible. When cooked, it looks like very white cabbage; but the flavor is finer and more delicate. It is sometimes eaten raw, as a salad. The meat for our dinner consists of fish, and the flesh of the armadillo, the agouti and the iguana. These animals are queer looking creatures. As we wish to see them in their haunts in the woods and fields, we will accompany our host on some long walks and drives, in order to find out more about them. * * * * * ANIMAL LIFE. When Columbus visited the West Indies, he was delighted by the beauty in and about them. "I know not," he said, "where first to go; nor are my eyes ever weary with gazing on the wonderful verdure. The singing of the birds is such as to make one wish never to depart." The wonderful beauty of the country of which he spoke is unchanged; but we listen and look in vain for the singing birds. The hunter's gun has caused the disappearance of large numbers of the birds. Those remaining are found only in the forests. Columbus spoke also of the flocks of parrots "whose bright wings obscured the sun"; but we seldom see the brilliant plumage of these birds on our excursions. BIRDS.