Fil> 17, 1887] 



NA TURE 



371 



Andes and the Alps, and liad watched the sun rise on 

 Cotopaxi, on Etna, on Fujiyama, and a dozen other moun- 

 tains of equal note. But here all questions of comparisons 

 would ha\ e been a sacrilege ; and floating noiseless over 

 the unruffled surface of the river, we sat spellbound drink- 

 ing in the view. The sun sank slowly as we crept along, | 

 and slope and peak, at tirst a dazzling white, turned 

 slowK to a glowing gold. On either hand the fast- | 

 appro.aching night had changed the glories of the autumn 

 tints to a sombre shade of violet, and behind us the river 

 was a mere streak of light. The glow of the fire upon the 

 other raft lit up the bearded faces of our Russian guides 

 around it ; and when the daylight had fairly waned, the 

 head of Kluchefskaya stood out a pale greenish white — a 

 spectral mountain .against the fast-darkening sky. Come 

 what might, even if we were never again to get a glimpse 

 of them, we had seen the great volcanoes, and we felt that 

 the sight was one. that we should not easily forget for 

 many years to come " (vol. i. p. 149;. 



After rejoining the \acht the party visited the weli- 

 known breeding-places of the furseal at I3ering Island; from 

 thence back to Kamschatka, and then to Yokohama to refit 

 and repair. .1 brief history of Russian discovery in these 

 seas, and a record of a little-known defeat of the allied 

 forces of England and France in 1854 at Avatcha, will 

 also be found in this volume. 



In Volume 1 1. the scene changes from the snowy north 

 to the tropics, where for a long time the Marchesa wan- 

 dered from one island of the Indian Ocean to another. 

 The little-known Islind of Cagayan Su'.u is described as 

 perhaps the most beautiful of all tropical isl inds. Are- 

 vised chart of the island is given; and its three crater-lakes, 

 one of the most interesting phenomena to be met with in 

 the Eastern seas, were visited and described. The third 

 lake had escaped the notice not only of Admiral Keppel, 

 who had twice visited this island, but also of Captain 

 Clvnimo, who had in 1S71 surveyed Cagayan .Sulu. This 

 lalfe was of rather smaller size than the others, being two- 



fifths instead of three-fifths of a mile in diameter : but 

 the basin was perfectly circular, and filled with water to 

 about the level of the second lake. Thick jungle clothed 

 its precipitous sides, but the latter, instead of running 

 sheer down into tlie water, left room for a small beach 

 on which wild bananas were growing. 



The islands of the Sulu Archipelago are described in 

 Chapters II. to IV. of this volume. Natural history 

 rambles were made over Sulu ; and the Sultan, with and 

 without his wives, visited the yacht. Some days were spent 

 with the Spaniards at Jolo, a fortress on the northern side 

 of the island. The fauna and flora of the Philippines and 

 Borneo are contrasted with tho jc of Sulu, and the Sulu 

 Archipelago is determined to be, zoographically, purely 

 Philippine, the Sibutu Passage forming the boundary line. 



The newly-acquired territories of the British North 

 Borneo Company were ne.xt visited, and some details are 

 given of the existing state of things in this new colony. 

 The colony at Labuan was found to be retrogressing. The 



Sultan was interviewed ; and Brunei, the Venice of the 

 East, in which, except its market, there is little of 

 interest, was explored. The great dexterity of the boat- 

 men in the use of their paddles is noted. " From a rapid 

 and beautifully clean stroke of forty or more to the 

 minute, they would drop instantaneously to a long steady 

 swing of twenty, without any apparent signal having been 

 given, and without a hair's-breadth of deviation from the 

 perfect time." 



We pass over the chapter on Sumbawa, and next find 

 the vacht at Celebes. Macassar is the Hong Kong of 

 the butch, and is not attractive from the sea. 



" The town is much as other Dutch Malayan towns. A 

 row of white shops and merchants' offices lines the sea ; 

 and dust of a lightness and powderiness that is not ex- 

 celled even in California or the Diamond Fields covers 

 the streets to the depth of an inch or more. These are 

 otherwise clean enough, and the spare time of the native 

 servants, and they appear to have plenty of it, is occupied 



