340 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 



style. It is situated in the middle of a large, oblong 

 lawn, that is surrounded with a row of trees much 

 like our locust-trees, and which are now in full bloom. 

 Near the gate are a guard-house and long series of sta- 

 Ijles. Dismounting here, I walked up to the broad 

 piazza, where the major sat smoking his pipe in the 

 Dutch style, and discussing in the Dutch language 

 the state of the weather, the croj^s, and such things 

 as interested the Dutchmen of those lands. His 

 manners were polished, and he received me in a most 

 stately way. His friends were going to Menado, so 

 that I should have companions the rest of the way. 

 Our dinner was in European style, which seemed the 

 more remarkable to me because it differed so much 

 from the way I had been entertained by the rajahs 

 of the Moluccas. In our dining-room was a fine-, 

 series of pictures representing scenes in that most 

 charming tale, " Paul and Virginia." We were just at 

 the foot of Mount Klabat, but we could not see its 

 summit on account of thick rain-clouds that covered 

 its sides, and now and then rolled down and poured 

 out heavy showers over the village. As one of these 

 floated away to the east, the sun came out brightly 

 and changed the falling drops into a remarkably 

 broad and brilliant rainbow, which seemed sus- 

 pended from the cloud, and floated along with it in 

 a most magical manner. 



Here I saw for the first time the plant from 

 which " manilla hemp " is manufactured. It is a 

 species of banana, Musa textilis, and grows to a 

 height of twelve or fifteen feet It appears to be 

 indigenous, and can be raised here from the seed. 



