down anywhere, without the slightest regard
for appearances. I am ready, Chennery,
whenever you are—equally ready, my good
friend, for the garden and the story about
the sale of Porthgenna Tower. You said it
was a curious story, did you not?"

"I said there were some curious
circumstances connected with it," replied the vicar.
"And when you hear about them, I think
you will say so, too. Come along! you will
find your camp-stool, and a choice of all the
umbrellas in the house, in the hall."

With those words, Doctor Chennery opened
his cigar-case, and led the way out of the
breakfast parlour.

THE COCO-PALM.

THE Spaniards call apish tricks "cocos,"
and the phrase "es un coco" means, "you
monkey." The black bogies of the Spanish
children are " cocos." The word " coco"
is of genuine quadrumanal origin; being
derived from the monkeys themselves, the
Indian species of which, called Maimons, cry,
"Co-co! " Undoubtedly, the monkeys have
a right to name themselves; and the Indians
and the Spaniards only acted sensibly in
adopting the name of the highest authorities
in monkey-science. Monkey, or little monk,
is a name which paints them well; and
there is a nut which resembles the head
of a coco sufficiently, for the Spaniards to
frighten their children with it, by making
them believe it is a monkey or a bogie. There
is even a point formed by the joinings of the
shell, which is not a bad model of the little
pug-nose. As the nut came to be called the
coco from its resemblance to the animal, the
tree became known as the tree of the coco-
like nut. It is a mistake to call it the cocoa-
nut tree, as the word " cocoa " belongs to a
tree of a different family. The tree of the
monkey-nut is a palm. The rude resemblance
to the face of a monkey having given a name
to the nut, the likeness of the leaf to the
palm of the hand gives a name to the tree;
and the coco-palm ought consequently to be
the name of the tree. When described
according to the place in which it likes best
to grow, this palm-tree would be called the
shore-palm; but, the nut is far more widely
known than the habitat.

The coco-palms are the trees of the tropical
shores. Stray coco-palms may be found,
indeed, as far south, and as far north, as
twenty-seven degrees of both latitudes, or, in
other words, seven degrees further north than
the tropic of Cancer, and further south than
the tropic of Capricorn. Voyagers within the
tropics describe in rapturous terms the
astonishing beauty and magnificence of the
coco-islands. When the low-lying coco-
islands are seen from afar they resemble
magnificent tables standing up in the sea.
As the tallest trees border the ocean, and
the shortest grow inland, the green tables
seem to slope from their edges towards their
centres. The scene changes when nearer.
Then, under a clear sky, every tree suggests
a resemblance to an umbrella planted upon
the water. The top of the gigantic umbrella
is green, the span of it is about forty feet, and
the height of the grey handle is from seventy
to a hundred feet. It is set in a white bank
of coral sand. The gleam of the water, and
the white of the sand, set off well the grey of
the trunk and the green of the leaves of the
coco-palm. High up the trunk, the cluster
of the monkey-heads or cocos is observable
just where the leaves will best shelter them
from the blaze of the sun. Homely
comparisons to tables and umbrellas must not be
allowed to obscure the lofty grace and glorious
loveliness of the scenery of the palm-islands.
The Grecian architects borrowed from the
palm-trees the ideal of the columns which give
dignity and elevation to their architecture.
The trunks of the coco-palms are curiously
scarred by the marks of the fallen leaves.
The tidal waves, by washing away the white
sand, occasionally lay bare the roots, which
often run out forty feet long and below the
high-tide mark, and which are of a brown
colour turning to red. What frequently
completes the strange beauty of these tropical
shores is a line of blue painted on the
white strand by the innumerable ianthine or
blue snail shells left at high-water mark by
the tide.

The dazzling whiteness of the shores
obliges the natives to protect their eyes with
green visors. Something of enchantment is
given to the view of the hilly islands when the
coco-palms are seen climbing up the sides of
the hills, and. wearing their crowns of green
leaves and their gigantic sheaths of golden
flowers. Moreover the electric touch and
thrill of human feeling is added to heighten
the effect of all, when the simple islanders
are seen in their canoes laden with cocos.

The general aspect of the coco-palm forests
is often singularly modified by the winds,
which play fantastical tricks with these
grand umbrellas of the sea-shore. Bernardin
de Saint Pierre mentions the effects of the
hurricanes upon the coco-palms of the Mauritius
in bending them like bows about two-
thirds up, and thickening them at the bend.
When the coco-palms do not grow in forests
close enough to protect each other, they
gradually stoop before the reigning south-
east winds. The long leaves, instead of
surrounding the trunk regularly, are all
turned in one direction, and seem to take
flight in the way of the wind. Sand-slips
and hurricanes frequently upset the coco-
palms; but, when these accidents happen,
they only call forth and bring into
action the marvellous resources of nature.
One of the most interesting objects ever
seen upon the tropical shores is a fallen
coco-palm, three mouths after having been
felled by a storm. The lower part is still