CHAP. X.] TERN ATE. 217 



of wonderfully graceful outline. That of the island of Tidor, which 

 shelters the anchorage to the south, rises majestically from a mass 

 of wild and gloomy-looking hills, but Ternate consists of the 

 volcano alone, which leaves little room for the town to nestle at 

 its foot. Eastward, across a wide strait, are the rugged blue 

 mountains of the island of Gilolo, or Halmaheira as the Dutch 

 call it, whose quaint and spidery shape is almost a replica of 

 Celebes upon a small scale. The view is a very beautiful one, 

 and it was none the less appreciated by us from the fact that, for 

 once in our lives, we were not obliged to lay out anchors all round 

 the ship, or to " tie her up to a tree." 



Were a traveller placed at haphazard in any one of these Dutch 

 Malaysian villages — for one can hardly dignify even Ternate by 

 the name of town — he would, I am sure, have no little difficulty 

 in discovering his whereabouts for a moment or two, even if a 

 native of the place. If he were to catch sight of the volcano — for 

 there is always one close at hand — he would, of course, soon get his 

 bearings, as he would too if he were to come across the white- 

 washed " Harmonic " where the Dutchmen are drinking their 

 pijtjes. But the streets themselves present an iteration of tropical 

 vegetation and native huts, of bamboo-fenced compounds and low, 

 verandahed houses that would baffle even a resident. Ternate has 

 its avenue — a magnificent row of yellow-leaved, scarlet-blossomed 

 Galdas — winding along close to the edge of the sea, so close indeed 

 that the waves lap the roots of the outer trees, beneath whose 

 shade are pulled up praus of all sizes, from the smallest " dug-out " 

 to the large Ceram or Banda trader. Opposite, facing seaward, are 

 the houses of the Europeans, with coloured glass balls, and yet 

 more atrocious red and white striped tlower-pots, in their front 

 gardens. Walking inland, past the dark, cool fruit-orchards where 

 mangoes, durians, citrons, and a dozen other tropical fruits are 

 growing, we come to a vast collection of old tombs — Dutch, 

 Chinese, Portuguese, even Spanish perliaps, for they too are among 

 the alien races who spilt their blood in the struggle for wealth 



