4 TEBNATE. [chap. xxi. 



common mode of building in these islands. There is of 

 course only one floor. The walls are of stone up to three 

 feet high ; on this are strong squared posts supporting the 

 roof, everjrwhere except in the verandah filled in with the 

 leaf-stems of the sago-palm, fitted neatly in wooden 

 framing. The floor is of stucco, and the ceilings are like 

 the walls. The house is forty feet square, consists of four 

 rooms, a hall, and two verandahs, and is surrounded by a 

 wilderness of fruit trees. A deep well supplied me with 

 pure cold water, a great luxury in this climate. Five 

 minutes' walk down the road brought me to the market 

 and the beach, while in the opposite direction there were 

 no more European houses between me and the mountain. 

 In this house I spent many happy days. Eeturning to it 

 after a three or four months' absence in some uncivilized 

 region, I enjoyed the unwonted luxuries of milk and fresh 

 bread, and regular supplies of fish and eggs, meat and 

 vegetables, which were often sorely needed to restore my 

 health and energy. I had ample space and convenience 

 for unpacking, sorting, and arranging my treasures, and I 

 had delightful walks in the suburbs of the town, or up the 

 lower slopes of the mountain, when I desired a little 

 exercise, or had time for collecting. 



The lower part of the mountain, behind the town of 

 Ternate, is almost entirely covered with a forest of fruit 

 trees, and during the season hundreds of men and women, 



