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With the torture, for such it was, of the musquitto bites, and the effect of the insidious and poisonous vapours that were each moment thickening around me, I was already in a high state of fever, alternately glowing with heat and shivering with cold, my tongue parched, my eyelids throbbing, my brain seemingly on fire. There was a heavy thump upon the ground.
The rapidity and excitement of our ride seemed to have the effect of calming our various sufferings, or of making us forget them; and we soon thought no more of the fever, or of stings or musquitto bites. It was a ride for life or death, and our horses stepped out as if they knew how much depended on their exertions.
Come, thought I, rather too much for a modest young man this too; and deuce take me, as I am a gentleman, if the whole bevy did not disrobe in cold blood, and squatter, naked as their mother Eve was in the garden of Eden, before she took to the herbage, right into the middle of the stream, skirting and laughing, as if not even a male musquitto had been within twenty miles.
In the principal bedroom, a negro girl was working at the elegant musquitto curtains. Old Sybille, in a calico gown of the most glaring colours, her face shining with contentment, was brushing away some invisible dust from the furniture in the parlour.
Here we found a Spanish lieutenant and several soldiers quartered, all of them suffering more or less from dysentery; and after passing a very comfortless night on hard benches, we rose at grey dawn, with our hands and faces bhstered from musquitto bites, and our hair full of wood ticks, or garapatos.
As for the dear little Wave, I can compare her to nothing but a musquitto, and the large 500 ton West Indiamen lying off Kingston, five miles nearer, were but as small cock boats to the eye.
Bang's kind heart, for by this time a glass of water had cured him of his faintness, shone conspicuous on this occasion. "Why, Reefy little Reefy you are not hurt, my man Surely you are not wounded such a little fellow, I should have as soon thought of firing at a musquitto." "Indeed, sir, but I am; see here." Bang looked at the hurt, as he supported the wounded midshipman in his arms.
The other rooms were in a still worse state: one of the negroes had taken up his quarters in my bed-chamber, from which the musquitto curtains had disappeared, having passed, probably, into the possession of the amiable Mrs Bleaks. I hastened to leave this scene of disorder, and walked out into the court, my indignation and disgust raised to the highest pitch.
All this while there was a heavy firing of champagne and other corks, and the fun grew so fast and furious, that I remembered very little more of the matter, until the morning breeze whistled through my muslin curtains, or musquitto net, about noon on the following day. I arose, and found mine host setting out to bathe at Madame Le Clerc's bath, at Marquesan.
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