1833.] and the Summit of Mount Ophir. 501 
After a short scramble, in which we were obliged in some places 
to draw ourselves up by the trees and roots, we attained the sum- 
mit, from which we caught hasty glimpses through the rolling cloud, 
fast clearing away, of a magnificent prospect beneath. To the 
southward the states of Segamat and Muar; to the north-west 
the mountains of Rumbowe and Serimenanti; and to the north-east 
Jompole and part of Pahang, celebrated for its gold. Turning west- 
wards lay the ruins of the ancient church of St. Paul’s, on the flag- 
staff hill at Malacca, and part of the town itself; its bight and the sea 
coast from Mount Formosa to Salengore, the glittering and placid 
surface of the water enamelled with numerous verdant islets. The 
view inland presented a vast amphitheatre of thick foliage (with 
here and there slight bare patches of sawah and pasture land), thrown 
into various shades and tints by the rays of a setting sun. 
Theextreme apex of the mountainis formed of a block of greyish gra- 
nite, surrounded by others, lying on astrip of table ground about 40 yards 
long by ten broad, on which grew some stunted trees, a few of the fir 
kind, some lichens and mountain shrubs, among which are found the 
Petis Patis, Samoot, the Russam, and Pruik Krek; the Malays were 
unable to tell the names of many of the shrubs, never having seen them 
in the valley. 
A thunder cloud growling and flashing a thousand feet beneath us 
now interrupted the prospect; owing to its influence, probably, the wea~ 
ther had been sultry during the afternoon; the thermometer (Fahr.) 
although in this elevated situation not sinking below 76° at 4 Pp. m. at 
7 p. M. sunk to 69°, and at half past five a. m. the following morning 
to its greatest depression 654. The height of the loftiest peak above 
the surface of the sea, as calculated by the thermometer and boiling 
water, is 5693 feet. 
The storm gradually ascending the mountain’s sides induced us to 
seek shelter under an extraordinary overhanging rock, a short way un- 
der the summit, called Battu Seroodang. 
The thunder storm had abated and finally ceased a little after sunset, 
when a host of fire flies, sole possessors of these heights, contending 
with the stars in liquid brilliance, floated around us, now soaring to the 
loftiest peak (for we had taken up our bivouac for the night at the foot 
of the rock near the summit) now sinking and gradually lost, sparkling 
and twinkling as they went, in the dizzy depths below. The Malays 
who were with me, complained much of the cold during the night and 
particularly before sunrise ; but a brisk walk down the mountain side, 
