ClfAP. XX S v.] 



REMOVE TO THE VILLAGE. 



333 



towards my honise, was seen again witliiii two Imudred 

 yards of my housej and on retiu'uing over the bridge into 

 the villa'^e carried something under Ms arm, carefully 

 covered with his sarong. My box was stolen between the 

 honi*s he was seen going and returning, and it was so 

 sumll as to be easily carried in the way descriljed. This 

 seemed pretty clear circumstantial evidence. I accused 

 the man and bronfjht the witnesses to the CommaudanL. 

 The man was examined, and conressed having gone to the 

 river close to my house to bathe ; but said he had gone no 

 further, luiving climbed up a cocoa-nut tree and brought 

 home two nuts, which he had covered over, because he wdR 

 mftnnud to he seen carrying tJtem ! This explanation was 

 thought satisfactory, and he was acquitted. I lost my 

 cash and my box, a seal I much valued, with other small 

 articles, and all my keys — the severest loss by far. Luckily 

 iijy large cash-box was left locked, but so were others 

 wliich 1 rt3(|uired to open immetUatcly. Tliere was, how- 

 ever, a veiy clever blacksmith employed to do ironwork 

 for the mines, and he picked my locks for me when I 

 required them, and in a few days made me new keys, which 

 I used all the time 1 was abroad. 



Towards the end of November the wet season set in, and 

 we had daily and almost incessant rains, with only about 

 one or two liours' sunshine in the morning. The tiat parts 

 of the forest became ilooded, the roads filled with nmd, 

 and insects and birds were scarcer than e^'e^. On 

 December 13th, in the afternoon, we had a sharp earth- 

 quake shock, wliicli made the house and furniture shake 

 and rattle for five minutes, and the trees and shrubs wave 

 as if a gust of wind had passed over them. About the 

 middle of December I remo%'ed to the village, iji oi-der 

 more easily to explore the district to the west of it, and to 

 be near the sea when I wished to return to Ternate, I 

 obtained the use of a good-sized house in the Campong 

 Sirani (or Christian village), and at Christmas and the 

 New Year had to endure the incessant gun-firing, drum- 

 beating, and fiddling of the inhabitants. 



These people are very fond of music and dancing, and it 

 would astonish a European to visit one of their assemblies. 

 Wo enter a gloomy palm-leaf hut in which two or three 



