IGO Loin BOCK. [ctTAF. X. 



cult one to answer. All animal substances moreover re- 

 quire some time to dry thorouglily, emit a very disagreeable 

 odour ^'liile doing so, and are particularly atti-active to 

 iUTts, flies, dogs, rats, cats, and other vermin, uuUing for 

 especial cautions and constant supervision, which under 

 the circumstances above described were impossjible. 



My readers may now partially understand why a travel- 

 ling naturalist of limited means, like myself, does so much 

 less than is expected or than he wonld liiniBclf wi*5b to 

 do. It would be interesting to preserve skeletons of many 

 birds and animals, reptiles and holies in epirits, skins of 

 the larger animals, remarkable fruits imA woods and the 

 most curious articles of manufacture and commerce ; 

 but it will be seen that under the circumstances 1 have 

 just described it would have been impossible to add 

 these to the collections which were my own more especial 

 favourites. "When travelling by boat the difficulties are as 

 great or greater, and they are not diminished when the 

 journey is by land. It was absolutely neeeasiiry therefore 

 to limit my collections to certain groups to which 1 could 

 devote constant personal attention^ and thus secure from 

 destruction or decay what had been often obt^iined by 

 much labour and pains. 



AVliile Manuel sat skinninpf his birds of an afternoon, 

 generally suiToumied by a little cmwd of Malays ami 

 Sassaks (as the indigenes of Lombock are termed), he often 

 held forth to them with the air of a teacher, and was 

 listened to with profound attention. He was very fond of 

 discoursing on the ''special providences" of which he be- 

 lieved he was daily the subject. " Allah has been merciful 

 to-day/* he would say — for although a Christian he adopted 

 the Mahometan mode of speech — " and has given us some 

 very fine birds ; we can do notliing without him," Then 

 one of the Malays would reply, " To be sure, birds are like 

 mankind ; they have their appointed time to die ; when 

 that time cotncs nothing can save them, and if it has not 

 come you cannot kill them." A mumur of assent follows 

 this sentiment, and cries of "Bntul! Butull" [Right, 

 right.) Then Manuel would tell a long stoiy of one of his 

 unsuccessful hunts ; — -bow he saw some fine bud and fol- 

 lowed it a long way, and then miaaed it, and again found 



