210 FIELD FOR A TRAVELLER. 



few fowls or other things he brought, and then 

 receiving payment himself for the whole at once. 

 He provided both officers and men with an excellent 

 dinner, and seemed anxious to please them in all 

 respects. At parting, he begged very hard for the 

 boat's ensign, saying he wished much for an English 

 flag to hoist at his own house. This however, of 

 course could not be given him. He sent word that 

 if more things were required, and we would anchor 

 and fire a gun, the beach should next morning be 

 crowded with people, bringing in buffaloes, poultry, 

 and vegetables from the country. The prices fixed 

 were 1 dollar a dozen for fowls, 2 dollars a dozen 

 for ducks, 2 for a bullock, &c. Cloth and muskets 

 would eagerly be taken in exchange, the latter esti- 

 mated at 5 dollars a piece. 



To a man fond of field sports and a wild life, 

 speaking Malay, and quick at catching up other 

 dialects, of a frank and courteous demeanour, and 

 capable of adapting himself to the habits of the 

 people, what a delightful field for travelling, or for 

 a temporary residence, might be found in these 

 islands. To a botanist or zoologist, their interiors 

 are almost virgin ground, and though their fauna 

 and flora would no doubt greatly resemble those of 

 Java, yet there would be much also peculiar to 

 themselves and new to science. To the geologist 

 they are almost equally attractive in their great 

 tertiary formations, mingled with volcanic pheno- 

 mena developed on so grand a scale. There would 



