IN THE MOLUCCAS. 295 



no special dress except on Sundays. To-day we had the 

 honour of seeing the Potentate of Wai proceed to church in 

 state, in his bhxck trousers — which, being rather short, displayed 

 a good deal of white cotton stocking — black * swallow-tail ' 

 coat made for a stouter and taller individual than himself, 

 probably his father, and a beaver hat, tall and narrow, of an 

 ancient pattern, while over his head a youth carried his 

 gilded state umbrella. The whole population attended the 

 service, all of them in black calico attire ; but their religion 

 seems to lie on them like an awesome thraldom. 



June Sth. Began packing up in order to return to Amboina 

 in time for the Timor-laut steamer of the 16th. We have had 

 a delightful sojourn here notwithstanding the heavy rains that 

 set in soon after our arrival, which prevented me much to my 

 regret, from reaching the summit of Silahutu. The later hours 

 of every afternoon have been looked forward to by us both as 

 the most pleasant of the day, when the hunters' spoils were 

 displayed to be admired, examined and labelled. Among but- 

 terflies we have added a few more of the fine Ornithoptera 

 found at Paso, numbers of " Swallow-tails," chief among them 

 the deep blue Papdio nlysses, species of Helomoia and Pieris, 

 Cliaraxes euryolus, and many " Blues " ; among beetles we 

 have added to our collection many species of all the finest 

 families, Longicorns, Eose-chafers, Tiger-beetles and golden 

 Pupresfidse ; among birds may be mentioned the beautiful 

 raquet-tailed Kingfishers of the genus Tanysiptera, which I 

 was rather surprised to find in large chattering corrobories in 

 the tops of high trees ; Maleos, whose terra-cotta eggs are 

 eagerly hunted for by the natives as a table luxury; Mega- 

 lurus amhoinensis, an isabelline Beed-warbler found chirping 

 among the tall Kussu grass; bright orange Thick-heads 

 (Pachyeephala), Lories, and among our favourite pigeons num- 

 bers of the beautiful black and cream-white nutmeg-eaters 

 (Myristieivora hicolor) of which the little islet of Pulu Pombo, 

 lying a few miles off the coast, is a densely popidated colum- 

 barium. The most interesting of the plants are species of 

 Myrmecodia, on which I have been able to continue the observa- 

 tions begun at Kosala in Java (see pages 79-82). 



To-day I had a long talk with the rajah and some of the 

 people of the neighbouring Mahomedan village, from whom I 



