VIEW FROM THE CREST. 
251 
swaying branch, and a pure white cockatoo with 
bright yellow crest nestles into the shade of 
some dark stem. 
On we climbed, under tall trees, sparse but 
frequent enough to afford shade without imped- 
ing the view, sometimes brushing through grass 
which cut our faces and drenched our gar- 
ments, clambering over fallen trees, leaping 
little chasms, and ever and anon resting to take 
in the magnificent and ever - extending view. 
Plateau succeeds plateau, carpeted with richest 
verdure, from which we frightened herds of goats 
and wild pigs as we seated ourselves on one of 
the fallen trees to rest our limbs, that ached 
from continuous climbing. But buoyant from 
delight, and exhilarated by the freshness of the 
mountain air, we pressed on till the ascent be- 
came less arduous : stretches of glade, with “ tall 
ancestral trees ” that might have grown in the 
parks of the " stately homes of England,” tempted 
us onward ; and then with one other slight effort 
we gained the crest. Standing in an atmosphere 
quite keen, the freshest I had breathed since 
entering the tropics, we commanded a view on 
each side which held us dumb with wonder. 
Right before us lay the land of Timor, with its 
curious natural features of sharp-pointed moun- 
