The Argosy — page 42: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

32 Alone in the Forest. [THE ARcosy, and the vivid but harmonious arrangement of colours, ansing from the mingling of these flowers, threw into the shade all I had previously seen, and the gorgeous effect of which it is impossible to depict. Equally futile would it be to attempt to give any just idea of the awe which the grandeur, the vastness, and the silence—if I may so call it— by which I was surrounded, inspired me. It will appear almost paradoxical to say that, amid profound silence, Nature raised her voice in a tuneful melody ; but yet it wasso. As I lay, a low, musical buzz, now nsing, now falling, came from all sides of me: it was the low, joyous humming of the mynads of insects which inhabited the moss on which I lay—one of the many voices of Nature, by means of which she can speak to the pious and susceptible heart of man, and reveal to him the power and wisdom of his Almighty Creator. Shortly after this, though there were fewer birds, I soon began to discover that this part of the forest was not without its inhabitants. First came the monkeys, who, refreshed by their siesta, executed the most extraordinary manceuvres; now chasing each other across the woody arches, now spnnging from the topmost branches, catching the pendant vines, and swinging in mid-air, uttering exultant cries at their own agility. Squirrels, birds, and other animals jumped from bough to bough, or sported among the vine-branches. In short, the whole forest seemed suddenly to swarm with hfe and echo with sounds of enjoyment. Reptiles and insects, too, began to show themselves in extraordinary numbers; in short, the grass and moss on which I lay was alive with them. Lizards, in the gayest and most bnilhant liveries, thrust forth their bright-eyed faces, gazed inquisitively at me, and then darted away, only to return and gaze again; while beetles and grass- hoppers of enormous size darted or crawled about near me. The picture was certainly a glorious one ; but its very tranquillity and beauty, and the calm tone of enjoyment which pervaded it, only ren- dered me more sad. Was I to perish alone in the forest, far from all who loved me, with no one to soothe my last struggle, or to close my eyes in death? The pang which shot through my heart as I mentally realized such a fate was excruciating, and I covered my face and burst into tears. My mind was in a perfect maze; I felt utterly powerless, lost irretrievably in the intricacies of these wilds, and without hope of receiving succour. Up to this I had been so supine, that though the monkeys had often been within shot, I had never attempted to fire at them. At last one fellow, more impertinent than the rest, paid the penalty for his curiosity, and was cooked for my supper. After this I sat and smoked, and as the shade grew deeper my feelings grew calmer. ‘The magic power of hope was gradually clearing -away the clouds which had obscured my mind. I saw that the whole of the animal world was, like myself, dependent on the bounties of comicaocks (GO)