XIV.] VIEJF FROM PAPENBERG. 333 



JS'eira is about two miles in length, and with the exception of 

 Papenberg or Flagstaff Hill — an abrupt jungle-covered rock of 700 

 feet which dominates the town — is of no great elevation. To this 

 uithijh we one day climbed, — a steep ascent through an almost 

 uninterrupted series of nutmeg plantations. The view, looking 

 down upon the harbour, is very beautiful, and, indeed, what \-iews 

 are not in these favoured islands ? It has not, of course, the grandeur 

 of Ternate, with the noble peak of Tidor and the mountains of 

 Gilolo glowing a deep blue across the magnificent sweep of lake-like 

 sea, but in an unpretentious way it is nearly as lovely. At our 

 feet lay the town — the houses of the better class with red-tiled 

 roofs, but all furnished with the snowy white pillars and stoeiis that 

 are the leading characteristics of Dutch ]\Ialaysia, Across the 

 landlocked harbour rose the steep precipices of Banda Lontou\ dark 

 with the large forest-trees shading its nutmeg " parks " and fringed 

 with broad shores of sandy mud. Westwards we looked down on 

 the Zonnegat dotted with fishing praus, the slopes of the volcano 

 rising steeply from its farther bank. Behind us, from the foot of 

 an almost perpendicular cliff", the open sea stretched away to the 

 horizon, with the little island of Suangi in the distance. A lovely 

 view indeed, bathed in the soft haze that enhances the beauty of 

 every tropic landscape. So peaceful and quiet was it that it was 

 hard to realise the loss of life and property caused by past 

 eruptions, and to reflect that others quite as terrible and destructive 

 are, in all human probability, in store for the unfortunate islanders. 

 The Krakatau eruption, we were told, was felt here as a kind of tidal 

 wave rushing through the harbour from west to east, but no 

 damage of any importance was caused by it. 



Although, as I have akeady mentioned, considerable quantities 

 of nutmegs are grown upon Banda Xeira, it is upon Banda Lontoir 

 that they are chiefly cultivated. They are articles of export from 

 many settlements in the vast possessions of Holland in these seas, 

 but nowhere do they grow to such perfection as in the Banda group, 

 for the tree is here indigenous, and is attacked by few of the 



