220 THE MOLUCCAS. [chap 



bird its English name, are of a rich golden yellow, and tlie pectoral 

 shield, when spread, shows to advantage its tipping of metallic 

 emerald. These exquisite creatures were fed on the fruit of the 

 Pandanus, with an occasional cockroach as a honne houchc. In 

 devouring the insects, which they did by throwing them in the air 

 and catching them again, they displayed the wonderful grass-green 

 colouring of the inside of the mouth and throat. The feelings of 

 admiration with which I watched these birds, which are among 

 the most exquisitely beautiful of all li\'ing beings, I need not 

 attempt to descril^e. My reader, if a naturalist, will divine them ; 

 if not, no description of mme w^ould ever make him realise the 

 intense pleasure of the first sight of such masterpieces of colouring. 

 As we were anxious to overhaul gear and get some small repairs 

 and alterations done on board, w^e endeavoured to find some Icind 

 of cottage or house in the town in which we might instal ourselves 

 until we were ready to put to sea. Only one was available, and, 

 as it was actually unfinished, as well as unfurnished and very damp, 

 we found ourselves in a difficulty, from which, however, we were 

 at once relieved by one of our kind Dutch friends — Mr. de Bruijn 

 Prince — who took us bag and baggage to his house, and made us 

 his guests until our departure. I mention this as only one of the 

 many acts of kindness we experienced at the hands of the Dutch 

 merchants and officials in the Malay Archipelago, — kindness to 

 which our very pleasant recollections of civilisation in these parts 

 are in no small degree due. In this instance it was of the greatest 

 service to us, enabling us to dry and arrange the specimens we 

 had already collected, and to clear the ship of useless lumber in 

 order to make room for the "trade" it was necessary to lay in 

 before starting for the New Guinea region.^ The house stood at 



^ The following is a list of the articles with which we were provided : — 



30 pieces Turkey red 

 50 ,, prints 

 20 ,, dark blue cotton 

 30 cotton shirts 

 10,000 needles 



Reels of cotton 



2 gross packets of pins 



6 doz. axes 



12 bottles of sweets 



Beads, assorted 



