A BRIEF VISIT TO MALACCA. 281 



and then off again and out of sight down the hillside ; I don't 

 known why he (or she ?) was in such a hurry ; usually, I think, 

 they are not remarkably fast fliers. 



A pretty little purple Lycaenid (Arhopala apidanus, Cr.) 

 caught my attention in a bush close by, working its hind wings 

 up and down in a manner characteristic of so many tailed 

 Lycasnids here. The genus Arhopala is confined to Indo-Malaya, 

 where some two hundred different species are recognized ; they 

 usually frequent shady jungle, but occasionally catch the eye as 

 they flit across a sunlit patch. Borneo appears to be their head- 

 quarters, as no fewer than sixty species are found in that island. 



The common Junonia atlites was noticed flying over the 

 bushes on the hillside ; then a large carpenter-bee (Xylocopa 

 latipes) hummed over head, settling clumsily on a flower for a 

 moment. On the top of the hill in the old ruined fort a snake 

 slid stealthily away through the coarse grass. A magnificent 

 view lay before me to the east over long flat paddy fields and 

 jungle to Mount Ophir, some thirty odd miles in the distance. 

 By some this is supposed to be the Mount Ophir of Biblical 

 fame, the source of gold in King Solomon's time ; but actual 

 proof is unfortunately wanting, though I understand gold has 

 been worked there on a small scale in recent times. To the 

 west I could see the Malacca hill crowned with the ruined 

 church of St. Paul ; while on neighbouring hills or undulating 

 ground to the north one remarked Chinese graveyards, which, as 

 is usual in the East, occupy the best building sites in or near 

 most of the big towns. The inevitable rubber was of course in 

 evidence, small patches being planted at the foot of this hill. 



Descending again slowly I noticed a worn female Catopsilia 

 pyranthe, chased for a short time by a large Delias, apparently 

 D. hyparete, who might well be excused for mistaking the worn 

 Catopsilia for its own kind. The common brown dragonfly 

 Neurothemis jiuctuans was in evidence, also a large hornet with 

 brown-banded abdomen, probably Vespa cincta, Fab. 



A pretty little Lampides (L. celeno, Cr.) fluttered into the 

 shelter of the trees as I passed ; further on the large Papilio 

 P. polytes (a male) flaunted gaily ahead of me, and then one of 

 those pretty dark Euthalias with light blue marginal border to 

 the hind wings. A gorgeous moth, with blue and white markings 

 above and bright yellow abdomen, fluttered slowly out of reach 

 into the dark bushes by the side of the path. 



As one returns to Malacca along the well-kept road at the 

 foot of the hill, bordering neat and picturesque Malay houses 

 nestling among cocoanut plantations ; and, leaving that, as one 

 comes to the outskirts of the town, heralded by Chinese noises 

 and Chinese smells, all implying peaceful prosperity, it is hard to 

 remember the very different scenes that these same shores have 

 witnessed in the years gone by. 



