THE ORANQ DATING. 



227 



its pretty village, and to tlie left of this the dark, 

 smoking volcano ; and beyond both, on tlie right, Ba^ 

 nana Island, where the lepers live in solitary banish- 

 ment ; and still fcther seaward. Ship Rock, with the 

 swell chafing its abrupt sides, while, on our left, in 

 the distance, were Pulo Ai and Pulo Run, all lising 

 out of the blue sea, which %^as only ruffled here and 

 there by light breezes or flecked by shadows of the 

 fleecy clouds that slowly crossed the sky. 



The next day we again went over to Lontar, and 

 followed along the narrow band of low land between 

 the base of the old crater-wall and the bay, visiting 

 a number of the residences of the " Perkenniers " as 

 the proprietors of the parks are styled. Each of 

 these consisted of a rectangular area of a eighth or a 

 quarter of an acre, enclosed by a high wall. The 

 side next the sea is formed by the park-keeper's 

 house, and on the other three sides of the great open 

 yard are rows of store-houses, and the houses of the 

 natives who work on that plantation. Near the 

 place where we landed was a small area where all 

 the mace is xoJdts when the fi'uit is ripe and not red. 

 From the west end of the island we followed most of 

 the distance round its outer shore, and then crossed 

 to our landing. In the early morning, wliile we were 

 leaving on our excursion, preparations were made in 

 Fort Nassau for the execution of the Javanese we 

 had brought the day before from Amboina, whither 

 he had been taken to be tried for his capital crime. 

 Long lines of natives, most of them women, were 

 seen hun'ying along to witness the shocking sight, 

 apparently with exactly the same feelings they wouh 



