28 THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO. [chap. i. 



history, and can determine approximately its latest move- 

 ments above and below the sea-level ; but wherever oceans 

 and seas now extend, he can do nothing but speculate on 

 the very limited data afforded by the depth of the waters. 

 Here the naturalist steps in, and enables him to fill up this 

 great gap in the past history of the earth. 



One of the chief objects of my travels was to obtain 

 evidence of this nature ; and my search after such evidence 

 has been rewarded by great success, so that I have been 

 enabled to trace out with some probability the past 

 changes which one of the most interesting parts of the 

 earth has undergone. It may be thought that the facts and 

 generalizations here given, would have been more appro- 

 priately placed at the end rather than at the beginning 

 of a narrative of the travels which supplied the facts. In 

 some cases this might be so, but I have found it impos- 

 sible to give such an account as I desire of the natural 

 history of the numerous islands and groups of islands in 

 the Archipelago, without constant reference to these gene- 

 ralizations which add so much to their interest. Having 

 given this general sketch of the subject, I shall be able to 

 show how the same principles can be applied to the 

 individual islands of a group as to the whole Archipelago ; 

 and make my account of the many new and curious 

 animals which^ inhabit them both more interesting and 

 more instructive than if treated as mere isolated facts. 



