40 



inch, the maximum being about lo a.m. and lo p.m., and the 

 minimum about 4 a.m. and 4 p.m. This tide decreases the further 

 North or South you proceed, until it ceases altogether. One 

 noticeable thing about the trade regions is that the upper clouds 

 are all travelling in a contrary direction to the trade-wind itself. 

 The islands about the Straits of Malacca are sometimes visible 

 directly their top shows above the horizon. I was coming from 

 China to Bombay one voyage, and had among our passengers a 

 gentleman who was musketry instructor to the" Buffs' regiment at 

 Hong Kong. I may say this officer was recently stationed here, 

 and I had an opportunity of talking on what I am about to 

 relate. We had sighted land ahead at the entrance of the 

 Straits of Singapore, and I remarked to him, " Now you are 

 sure, or ought to be, a good judge of distance, how many miles 

 do you say that land is off? I will give you a margin of 25,000 

 yards." "Absurd," he replied. " Well, how far do you say.?" 

 " Thirty-five miles " was his reply, and it was 90 nautical miles. 

 He had not thought of asking the height of the island, which 

 was some 4,000 feet, and the top then showed out as black as 

 ink. 



Floating Pumice. 



For a considerable time after the eruption of Krakatoa in 

 1883, (when that island, although 2,000 feet in height, was 

 literally blown to atoms, and the town of Anjer destroyed), the 

 sea, for a space of 300 or 400 miles in a North and South 

 direction, was covered with a large quantity of pumice stone. 

 I was much surprised at the colour of this stone. It was not 

 unlike that of a sponge, and in size the pieces were from two 

 to three feet in length down to mere dust. I am not prepared 

 to say this ever was the result of the Krakatoa eruption, as it 

 may have been caused by a submarine one near the locality. 

 How far this pumice extended in an East and West direction, 

 I am unable to say. If it proceeded from Krakatoa it had been 

 carried 750 nautical miles to where I observed it on my voyages 

 to Australia. We passed through it, and it was at least a couple 

 of years before it all disappeared. 



Brilliant Colours of the Dolphin whilst Dying. 



The Porpoise is often described as the Dolphin, but it is not 

 the Porpoise to which I am alluding, but the Doiirado Coryphana 

 (the Dolphin of the Poets). This fish in its dying struggles is 

 constantly changing colour, often first a pale blue, then yellow, 

 pink, and a dark blue, but with no particular order. These 

 changes go on until life is out of the fish, and if two are caught 



