vii.] A VISIT TO THE SULTAN. 143 



received us pleasantly, and told us that the English were a good 

 people, and that their Queen had sent him a gun, which was 

 brought for our inspection. As it was evidently of Belgian make, 

 we had our doubts as to the donor, but did not, of course, un- 

 deceive him. ^ Tea, cakes of banana meal, and a sort of wine were 

 brought in for us, and our objects and reasons for visiting Suml^awa 

 demanded, though in the politest manner. Such questions, as may be 

 imagined, are extremely difficult to answer in such a manner as to 

 be comprehended by the nati^'e intellect. The naturalist travelling 

 alone is, perhaps, within their grasp, but that any one would sail 

 about the w^orld in a large ship merely for the purpose of travel 

 and natural history is too much to expect any one to believe, 

 and our explanations were received with a politeness which only 

 half concealed the underlying doubt. As usual on these occasions, 

 we were the " cynosure of neighbouring eyes," which watched us 

 unremittingly from the tiny little windows of the ladies' apartment, 

 and behind us row after row of natives, for the most part wearing 

 a sarong and kris only, squatted on their haunches listening to the 

 conversation. Our interview ended by the Sultan arranging to 

 return our visit on the following day, and we eventually left the 

 town for our homeward ride late in the afternoon. It was long 

 after dark when we arrived at the beach. 



Next day our time and energies were devoted almost exclusively 

 to the entertainment of our guests. The Sultan, who had previously 

 bargained for a salute of twenty-one guns, made his appearance at 

 eight o'clock in the morning, and remained on board for some 

 hours. After his departure the Tungku Jirewi, who also intimated 

 by a special messenger that his rank required seven guns, came off 

 to the ship, and it was late in the afternoon before we finally got 

 rid of our \isitors. A shooting excursion that we had previously 



^ We afterwards found out from the authorities at ]\Iacassar that the storj^ was in 

 the main correct. The ship Invcrerne having been lost on the coast of Sumbawa, 

 the Sultan had taken charge of the crew, and treated them kindly until they were 

 taken off the island. The Dutch authorities had been commissioned to present him 

 with the gun. 



