364 MY LIFE 



which confined me to the house for a month, and partly 

 because the locality was not a good one, I did not get the 

 rare species of birds of paradise I had expected. I obtained, 

 however, a number of new and rare birds and a fine collection 

 of insects, though not so many of the larger and finer kinds 

 as I expected. The weather had been unusually wet, and 

 the place was unhealthy. I had four Malay servants with 

 me, three of whom had fever as well as myself, and one of 

 my hunters died, and though I should have liked to have 

 stayed longer, we were all weak or unwell, and were very 

 glad when the schooner arrived and took us back to Ternate. 

 Here wholesome food and a comfortable house soon restored 

 us to good health. 



When I unpacked and examined my collections I found 

 that the birds I had obtained were very numerous and beauti- 

 ful, and as my journey and residence in New Guinea had 

 created much interest among my numerous Dutch friends in 

 Ternate, I determined to make a little exhibition of them. I 

 accordingly let it be known that I would be glad to see visitors 

 on the next Sunday afternoon. I had a long table in the 

 verandah which I had covered with new " trade " calico, and 

 on this I laid out the best specimens of all my most showy 

 or strange birds. There were numbers of gorgeous lories, 

 parrots, and parrakeets, white and black cockatoos, exquisite 

 fruit-pigeons of a great variety of colours, many fine king- 

 fishers from the largest to the most minute, as well as the 

 beautiful racquet-tailed species, beautiful black, green, and 

 blue ground-thrushes, some splendid specimens of the Papuan 

 and King paradise-birds, and many beautiful bee-eaters, roll- 

 ers, fly-catchers, grakles, sun-birds, and paradise crows, mak- 

 ing altogether such an assemblage of strange forms and 

 brilliant colours as no one of my visitors had ever imagined to 

 exist so near them. Even I myself was surprised at the 

 beauty of the show when thus brought together and displayed 

 on the white table, which so well set off their varied and bril- 

 liant colours. 



I now received letters informing me of the reception of 

 the paper on " Varieties," which I had sent to Darwin, and 



