10 A NATUBALI8T IN CELEBES ch. r 



black tail-coat, a white shirt with a black tie, a white pair 

 of pants, and, pro forma, a hat. The visit should take 

 place between six and seven o'clock in the evening, when it 

 is presumed the ladies and the gentlemen of the household 

 have put aside the usual deshabille in which they spend a 

 considerable portion of the day, and are ' dressed ' in the more 

 civilised but uncomfortable European costume. On arrival 

 at the house he will probably find his host sitting in the 

 ' voorgallerij ' or verandah; if not, he must shout 'Spada,' 

 a contraction of 'Siap'ada* (Who's there!) until some one 

 comes. In the verandah is a round table bearing a num- 

 ber of wine decanters and a box of cigars. The decanters 

 contain Geneva, port wine, Madeira, and bitters. To any 

 one accustomed to English ideas of diet, it does not seem 

 quite natural to partake of these strong drinks and smoke 

 cigars immediately before dinner, but the Dutchman looks 

 upon his ' pijtje ' before dinner as one of the necessities of 

 life in the East, and seems none the worse for it. 



I never became quite naturalised to ' gin and bitters,' 

 nor could I believe that it is a prophylactic against fever 

 and other tropical diseases, as some of its admirers wished 

 me to, nevertheless I think it is quite as wholesome as any 

 other form of spirits imported into the East. The first visit 

 should not last longer than an hour, and is usually brought 

 to a conclusion by a friendly shake of the hands and a stiff 

 German bow. A few days after the introductory visit, the 

 gentleman, if he wishes to maintain the acquaintance, 

 returns the call, and then the friendship is cemented by 

 card parties, drives, or other entertainments. 



To return now to my introductory visit to the Eesi- 

 dent of Manado. He talked English correctly, but with 

 some difficulty, and I was then unable to maintain a 

 conversation in Dutch, so that we were some little time in 

 understanding one another. However, I soon learnt that 



