154 A NATUBALI8T IN CELEBES ch. vii 



pagne and smoking the cigars of Havanna in that cranky- 

 old house, whose timbers were bored by solitary bees and 

 beetles and whose beams were rotten with white ants ; but 

 it was really an extremely pleasant experience, and the feast 

 was a credit to our host's hospitality. 



Captain van Eyck, an excellent and careful seaman, of 

 what we should call a typically Dutch figure and physique, 

 was the life of the party. His unending series of anecdotes 

 of sea and land, his jokes and quibbles, and even his hearty 

 laughter itself, kept us in a state of perpetual merriment 

 until the early hours of the morning. 



The next two days were spent in the unpleasant occupa- 

 tion of coaling the ship, and it was not until an early hour 

 in the morning of Saturday, the 14th, that we left Talisse 

 for the northern islands. 



It was one of those beautiful mornings which are rather 

 the rule than the exception in those parts of the world, and 

 the refreshing sea-breeze we met as we passed through 

 the straits between Kinabohutan and Banka gave us addi- 

 tional zest for the enjoyment of the lovely little bits of 

 coast scenery and the glimpses of the distant azure moun- 

 tain peaks of the islands and the mainland. The sun was 

 shining brightly in a clear blue, cloudless sky, and the 

 caves and grottoes of the Tanjong Aros stood out in bold 

 relief against the familiar forests of the island, and the 

 broad white sands of Kinabohutan glistening in the sunshine 

 afforded a striking contrast to the deep blue waves that 

 broke upon them. I was in the mood then for the enjoy- 

 ment of the beautiful scenes of the tropical seas, for the 

 pleasant winds of the open sea in the early morning hours 

 were a wonderful relief from the stifling and ever-present 

 heat and moisture of my little island home, and it really 

 seemed as if for a time at least I could gaze upon the 

 brilliant colours of sea and sky and land with about the 



