290 TIMOB. [chap. xiii. 



The inhabitants of Coupang consist of Malays, Chinese, 

 and Dutch, besides the natives ; so that there are many- 

 strange and complicated mixtures among the population. 

 There is one resident English merchant, and whalers as 

 well as Australian ships often come here for stores and 

 water. The native Timorese preponderate, and a very- 

 little examination serves to show that they have nothing 

 in common with Malays, but are much more closely allied 

 to the true Papuans of the Aru Islands and New Guinea. 

 They are tall, have pronounced features, large somewhat 

 aquiline noses, and frizzly hair, and are generally of a 

 dusky brown colour. The way in which the women talk 

 to each other and to the men, their loud voices and 

 laughter, and general character of self-assertion, would 

 enable an experienced observer to decide, even without 

 seeing them, that they were not Malays. 



Mr. Arndt, a German and the Government doctor, 

 invited me to stay at his house while in Coupang, and I 

 gladly accepted his offer, as I only intended making a 

 short visit. We at first began speaking French, but he got 

 on so badly that we soon passed insensibly into Malay ; 

 and we afterwards held long discussions on literary, 

 scientific, and philosophical cmestions, in that semi- 

 barbarous language, whose deficiencies we made up by the 

 free use of French or Latin words. 



After a few walks in the neighbourhood of the town, I 



