CHAPTER XL 



LOMBOCK: MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE TEOPLE. 



TTAVING made a very fine and interesting collection of 

 the birds of Labuan Tring, I took leave of iny kind 

 host, Inchi Daud, and returned to Ampanam to await an 

 opportunity to reach Macassar. As no vessel had arrived 

 bound for that port, I determined to make an excursion 

 into the interior of the island, accompanied by Mr. Eoss, 

 an Englishman born in the Keeling Islands, and now 

 employed by the Dutch Government to settle the affairs 

 of a missionary who had unfortunately become bankrupt 

 here. Mr. Carter kindly lent me a horse, and Mr. Eoss 

 took his native groom. 



Our route for some distance lay along a perfectly level 

 country, bearing ample crops of rice. The road was 

 straight and generally bordered with lofty trees forming 

 a fine avenue. It was at first sandy, afterwards grassy, 

 with occasional streams and mud-holes. At a distance 

 of about four miles we reached Mataram, the capital of 

 the island and the residence of the Eajah. It is a large 

 village with wide streets bordered by a magnificent avenue 



