292 Banda. 



. CHAPTER XIX. 



pANDA. 



DECEMBER, 1857, MAY, 1859, APRIL, 1861. 



The Dutch mail-steamer in which I travelled from Macas- 

 sar to Banda and Amboyna was a roomy and comfortable ves- 

 sel, although it would only go six miles an hour in the finest 

 weather. As there were but three jjassengers besides myself, 

 we had abundance of room, and I Avas able to enjoy a voyage 

 more than I had ever done before. The arrangements are 

 somewhat different from those on board English or Indian 

 steamers. There are no cabin servants, as every cabin passen- 

 ger invariably brings his own, and the ship's stewards at- 

 tend only to the saloon and the eating department. At six 

 A. M. a cup of tea or coffee is provided for those who like it. 

 At seven to eight there is a light breakfast of tea, eggs, sar- 

 dines, etc. At ten, Madeira, gin, and bitters are brought on 

 deck as a whet for the substantial elcA^en-o'clock breakfast, 

 which diflfers from a dinner only in the absence of soup. Cuj)S 

 of tea and coffee are brought round at three p. m. ; bitters, etc., 

 again at five, a good dinner, with beer and claret, at half past 

 six, concluded by tea and coffee at eight. Between whiles 

 beer and soda-water are supplied when called for, so there 

 is no lack of little gastronomical excitements to while away 

 the tedium of a sea voyage. 



Our first stopping-place was Coupang, at the west end of 

 the large island of Timor. We then coasted along that isl- 

 and for several hundred miles, having always a view of hilly 

 ranges covered with scanty vegetation, rising, ridge behind 

 ridge, to the height of six or seven thousand feet. Tui-n- 

 ing off" toward Banda, we passed Pulo-Cambing, Wetter, and 

 Roma, all of which are desolate and barren volcanic islands, 

 almost as uninviting as Aden, and offering a strange contrast 

 to the usual verdure and luxuriance of the Archipelago. In 

 two days more we reached the volcanic group of Banda, 



