The only part of the business I envied them was the drive.
It was a glorious night, despite the oppressive heat and the almost intolerable biting of mosquitoes and sandflies.

In the wake of the departing trap flew a solitary beetle, making a noise exactly like a scissor-grinder at work.

Soft and silent moths--some as big as small birds--went past my face, I fear to the hanging lamp behind me.

Passing footfalls echoed bluntly from the wooden pavement, and in the far-away distance the bull-frogs croaked monotonously.

And down below, as I looked upon the trees, I could see fireflies coming and going, like pulsations of light, amongst the leaves.
O'Brien waited on me with the utmost care and civility; served me an excellent supper with plenty of ice and cooling drinks, and taught me the use of the "swizzle stick" for mixing them.