488 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 



whom I obtained a number of tbe same species of 

 shells that I had gathered before at the Spice 

 Islands and other places in the eastern part of the 

 archij)elago. The common nautilus - shell is occa- 

 sionally found there, and a very perfect one was given 

 me that had been brought from Engano. It is, how- 

 ever, probable that the animal does not live in these 

 seas, and that these shells have floated from the vicin- 

 ity of the island of Rotti, off the southern end of 

 Timur, where, as already noticed, these rare moUusks 

 are said to live in abundance. 



Bencoolen is also well known throucrhout the 

 archipelago as having been the residence of Sii* 

 Stamford Raffles, who was governor of the English 

 possessions, on this coast, fi'om 1818 to 1824. From 

 1811 to 1816, while the whole archipelago was under 

 the English, Sir Stamford was governor-general, and 

 resided near Batavia, and it was contrary to his 

 most earnest representations that Java and its de- 

 pendencies were ceded back to the Dutch ; and 

 the great, direct revenue which those islands have 

 yielded to Holland, since that time, has proved, in 

 an emphatic manner, the correctness of his foresight. 

 Ever since I arrived at Batavia, I have frequently 

 heard his name mentioned by the Dutch officials, 

 and always with the greatest respect. 



Governor Raffles's taste for natural history was 

 very marked. During his visit to London, before 

 coming here, he founded the Zoological Society, and 

 began the Zoological Gardens, which now form one 

 of the chief inducements to strano-ers to visit that 

 great and wealthy metropolis. When he sailed from 



