No. 58. — 1907.] JOAN GIDEON LOTEN, F.E.S. 



227 



He was himself not unskilful at painting in colours. This 

 appears from the plate with a representation of a sea animal 

 belonging to the jelly-fishes, the so-called " Bezaantje " (Phy- 

 salia),* it being apparently his own drawing, done by himself 

 on the outward voyage to India in 1732, or perhaps a copy of 

 his own drawing. Further, I imagine that both the too deep- 

 red coloured representations of the atlas moth made at Ma- 

 cassar, and thus before he knew de Bevere, are also from his 

 own hand, whilst from other notes written by him it seems 

 apparent that he himself drew other plates besides, or at least 

 assisted in them. 



An active man like Loten naturally did not remain quite 

 quiet after his departure from the Company's service, although, 

 as we saw just now, he had for some time to wrestle with less 

 good health. 



His view of life we are enabled to know from, amongst 

 others, the cover of a packet, " Notes to serve provisionally 

 for bringing into order what I have successively collected, both 

 in painting from life and in writing, in order to be able to con- 

 tribute some light upon the natural history of East India and 

 especially of Java, Celebes, and Ceylon," dated 25th December 

 1754, and underneath quoted Ecclesiastes ix. 10. 



If we turn up this text of the " Preacher " we find : " What- 

 soever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might ; for there 

 is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the 

 grave, whither thou goest." 



From the papers that he was able to examine, Prof. Veth 

 saw that Loten, among other things, left on 4th November 

 1775, as I imagine, with a commission,! on board the East 

 India Company's ship Alkemade, accompanied by two other 

 ships, for the Cape of Good Hope, where he arrived on 17th 

 February 1776, and on 7th March of the following year set 

 out on the homeward voyage in the ship Delf shaven, accom- 

 panied by three other ships, and on 13th June anchored at 

 Texel. 



* The " Portuguese man-of-war," common on the beach at .Colombo 

 after storms (see Tennent's Nat. Hist, of Ceylon 400). 



f This surmise is incorrect : Loten visited the Cape on private busi- 

 ness (see second paper). 



