198 VOYAGE FROM INDIA TO SIAM AND MALACCA. 



under sail, and we had to follow in our boat, but reached th« 

 ship before sunset. 



29. — We could still see the land in the distance. 



30. — My slave-boy died, and was sunk at eight o'clock. 



31. — We had almost calm, and advanced but little. Rain- 

 showers refreshed my plants. 



1. — We had alternate showers, calm and wind from all 

 directions, and the waves were very high, and made a plaintive 

 noise. We saw to-day the Dorados several times. The Eng-lish 

 call them Ripling". 



2. — We had some showers of rain and wind from all direc- 

 tions. At last it grew favourable for us. 



4. — In the afternoon we saw the large Neckkebahr island 

 (Nicobar), which is very mountainous. 



We sailed past the before-mentioned island, and saw that it 

 was covered with woods and had many valleys. The weather 

 was fine, with soft north-westerly wind. 



6. — We lost sight of the land and our captain had sailed 

 quite straight according to our compass. We were between the 

 6th and 7th degree of N. Latitude. 



8-9. — During these days we had little wind but it was not 

 contrary. We were little more than six degrees of N. Latitude 

 in these days. 



10. — Friday. Millions of the shiny Scyllaea passed our 

 ship in the early morning, we were at that time just on the 

 seventh degree of N. L. I tried to catch some, but they were 

 too low in the water, and the wind began to blow strongly from 

 the south-west. They also varied in colour here, from blue to 

 g'reen and silver. 



I obtained a piece of rotten wood ; upon it were Nereis and 

 the Penna Marina. 



On this 10th of April we were at seven and a half degrees of 

 N. L. and at least two degrees of longitude from the nearest land. 

 In the afternoon a sea-snake passed us, which was two and a half 

 feet long, brown on the back, and at the sides it had a yellow 

 stripe, the stomach was white. 



13-14. — We had dead calm and heavy showers of rain, and 

 from all this it was clearly to be seen that a change of weather 

 was shortly to be expected. 



16. — The rainshowers were exceedingly strong, and the ho- 



