88 
THE PEOPLE OF WAAL 
more harm than good was effected by the pun- 
ishment. 
That they are not sensitive in conscience, we 
find to our cost. Their end in life at present is 
to obtain all they can out of us ; and in pursu- 
ance of this aim they beset our door with all 
sorts of things for sale — insects, birds, plants, 
food, &c. — which they oiler at prices that are a 
constant source of amusement to us. A meagre 
chicken is offered for Is, 8d,, while the highest 
price that would he given in the Amboina mar- 
ket would be one-third of this. For a fair-sized 
fish a rupee and a- half is complacently asked, 
though the vendor takes 60 cents, and knows 
he has had a fair bargain. We met a woman by 
the shore bringing a basketful of tapioca roots 
from the gardens, and we tried to bargain for 
some, but thought her price of 25 cents each 
rather exorbitant. Next day we were offered at 
our own door four for 10 cents. 
And the guile of those children ! They 
walk boldly up to us in the verandah with 
a bright flower, which has dropped from some 
tree, stuck upon a twig pulled from a hedge — 
“Fifty cents, master. Very rare; never seen 
before ! ” 
Another follows with a butterfly wdiose wings 
