the country thinly peopled and in a wretched condition. He ascended the Hill of Mists', and was so pleased with the situation as to have a portion of the forest cleared, and a 'com'fortable cottage' built, notwithstanding the terrors of the natives, who prophesied terrible things from the tigers and the elephants. The former are never opposed, and they seem to know it, for they carry off whom they please, and without the smallest ceremony. When one of these fierce animals makes his appearance in a village, the people lay fruit and rice in his way, in hope of inducing his departure without mischief,―ineffectually enough, as it should seem, since, on the banks of a single river, a hundred people were, in one year, the prey of tigers. In one of the Governor's exploratory tours, the coolies who carried his baggage, came suddenly on a tiger crouching in the path, when, instead of assuming an attitude of hostility, they began gravely to address the creature in petitionary language, explained their errand and their circumstances, and begged his permission to pass without injury. Their appeal was, in their own opinion, quite successful, for the beast got up and stalked away into the recesses of the forest, without waiting for the completion of their harangue.

In one of these tours, Sir Stamford Raffles visited the Passumah country, with a view to terminate the quarrels that were continually taking place between the colonists and the natives, and in which the former were invariably the aggressors. He found the Passumahs, instead of being, as had been represented, a'savage, ungovernable race', a reasonable and industrious' people, quietly cultivating the soil, and perfectly willing to acknowledge the supremacy of the English Government. To gain this region, a lofty range of mountains had to be crossed, affording magnificent prospects, and embosoming the country as within the circle of a mighty amphitheatre. At one place, the party remained two nights, experiencing the most cordial hospitality from the inhabitants.

The utmost good-humour and affection seemed to exist among the people of the village; they were as one family, the men walking about holding each other by the hand, and playing tricks with each other like children; they were as fine a race as I ever beheld; in general about six feet high, and proportionably stout, clear and clean skins, and an open, ingenuous countenance. They seemed to have abundance of every thing; rice, the staple food of the country, being five times as cheap as at Bencoolen, and every other article of produce in proportion. The women and children were decorated with a profusion of silver ornaments, and particularly with strings of dollars and other coins hanging two or three deep round the neck. It was not uncommon to see a child with a hundred dollars round her neck. Every one seemed

anxious for medicine, and they cheerfully agreed to be vaccinated. The small-pox had latterly committed great ravages, and the population of whole villages had fled to the woods to avoid the contagion.

The pleasure of this journey was great to Sir Stamford, as it opened to him a field of future usefulness. He saw that it was not only the barren coast which he had to improve, but a country rich in all the bounties of nature, and a people ready and willing to profit by his influence and advice. One old chief, on taking leave, actually fell on his neck and wept ; and soon after, walked the whole way from Tanjungalum, the most distant place visited, to see him again at Bencoolen, Such simple, uncivilized people are soon won by kindness; they are like children, easy to lead, hard to drive. It was Sir Stamford's extreme simplicity of mind and manners that rendered him so peculiarly attractive to them, as they are always ready to be kind and attentive, provided they meet with encouragement and sympathy.'

On this journey was first discovered that extraordinary flower, the Rafflesia Arnoldi, or, in its native nomenclature, the Devil's Betel-box. It is parasitic, fungous in structure, brilliant in colour, red, yellow, and purple. The breadth averages three feet, and the central cup is capacious enough to hold twelve pints. Yet, with all its splendour and its gigantic proportions, it must be an odious object, with its brick-red petals, its pale, pustular spots, and its carrion scent. Vegetation here is on a grand scale. Forest-trees are seen, to which the largest oak 'is a mere dwarf'; and creepers, thicker than a man's body, and more than a hundred feet in length, sweep from tree to tree.

In October of the same year (1818), Mr. Presgrave visited the same districts, for the purpose of exploring a volcanic mountain; but it does not appear that matters went on quite so smoothly with him, or that the couleur de rose was quite so prevalent in the details of this attractive picture. The Tourist's life was threatened by a man whose father had been shot in a former war with the Europeans. Goitres of a fearful size were found prevalent among the inhabitants of the hill country; and one of these deformed persons, tall, gaunt, and like a ghost from Erebus, bolted out upon the party, surveyed them with scrutinizing eye, and at length exclaimed-These are the white men we 'have so often heard of; here they are, like devils.' The journey itself was interesting, although its special object was not attained. The guide, Panglimo, though active and faithful in his service, was a bold and reckless desperado, discarded by his family, and confessedly attached to his European employers by the sole tie of liberal pay. He acknowledged that he had been one of the fiercest resaus-reiver or plunderer-in the country; his countenance indicated his character; and a few dollars would have armed his hand against his nearest relative. Yet, he was

a man of honour after his own fashion; fulfilled his engagements, whether for good or evil; ran in debt when pennyless, but paid honestly enough when he was in cash. By attending the Governor in his previous tour, he had earned a hundred and twenty dollars, which he had transferred to his creditors; and he was now to have twenty for guiding Mr. Presgrave to the volcano; but, as he was himself ignorant of the road, he had promised five to an Imam, or priest, who was to answer a double purpose: his knowledge of the country would enable him to point out the shortest path, and his interest with the gods would avert their anger at the violation of their domain;-for, like the fire-goddess of Hawaii, they are jealous of encroachment, and prompt to avenge intrusion on their sanctuary. The access was difficult enough of itself, without the aggravation of superstitious terrors. The first stage lay through paths trodden only by the elephant, and the traces of that powerful animal were visible in all directions. The next was athwart the region of tigers, through which runs a river that transforms whosoever may traverse its current, into tiger-shape; but, when he re-crosses the stream, restores his original form. Then came the 'ladders of the mountain '; a succession of levels, reached by acclivities of about one hundred feet in height; and, soon after 'passing these, the Travellers emerged from the forest, and entered on a wild scene of stunted vegetation, bushes and thorns rending the clothes, and lacerating the flesh. The Fire-king now seemed to be getting angry in good earnest; the thunder rolled, the lightning flashed, the volcano roared, and night came upon them in the midst of all these horrors. To sleep, had it been possible, would have been the height of imprudence: the cold was bitter; the torrents of rain made it impossible to light a fire; and, to crown their misery, their tasteless food, rice without salt, ran short. The scene which day-light presented, was striking and strange. Low brushwood and briars covered the ground; but, in all directions, there stood around them the branchless stems of lofty trees, black and scorched as by some fiery visitation. The thorns too grew thicker and stronger, presenting a dense barrier, which, with the other circumstances of their situation, made even the firm spirit of Panglimo to quail. The gods', he exclaimed, have shut up the road against us "they will bewilder us in this desert place we cannot proceed.* The Imam had long before been frightened out of his wits; and when his companions attempted to enliven the affair by a little joking, entreated them to forbear, and not to provoke the already incensed deities of the place. One further attempt was made, Panglimo taking the lead, by walking over, instead of through thorns, and by this effort the fence was cleared. The next obstacle shall be described in the words of the report.

Instead of thorns and briars, we had now to walk over the trunks of trees, that were thrown down and piled on each other. They appeared to have lain in this state for a long time, for some were decayed, others decaying, and the whole covered over with a sort of vegetation which sprang from their mould. We were two or three hours walking over these wrecks of the forests, at the imminent hazard of slipping through the interstices of the trunks, and thus of being buried alive, or else of breaking our bones. During the whole time, we did not once set our foot on firm ground, or see the soil over which we were walking; nor, by putting our sticks through, could we reach the bottom. The vegetation of ages appeared to be piled up here in a widely-extended and confused mass; and we seemed to have approached the brink of general destruction and desolation. We found that we were on a ridge of the mountain: on each side of us was a precipice of immense depth. The ridge grew narrower at every step. The day was bright; and looking down the country immediately subjected to our view, was beyond imagination beautiful; extensive plains, scattered over with smoking villages; pools of water, reflecting the rays of the sun; to the north, the Musi river, called by these people the sea of Musi. Having staid a short time to contemplate this scene, we again set forward, and made another effort to gain the top of the mountain. Our path was now comparatively smooth, but steep of ascent; we no longer found any of our former obstacles. The only vegetation on this part is a sort of shrub, very much resembling the box-tree; the natives call it Kayu umur panjang, or the tree of long life, and say, it is only to be met with on the top of this mountain. The shrub is about six feet high, and appears to be checked in its growth. Its branches and leaves were covered with a sort of dust, which being shaken off as we passed along, proved very troublesome and disagreeable, almost choking us. We thought this rather singular, as the rain which fell the preceding night, if it had reached this part, ought to have entirely washed away the dust; but the earth appeared as dry as the trees. Although we had not, as I have just noticed, our former difficulties to encounter, we were not less affected by feelings of a different nature.

'Our path had now become less than two fathoms wide, bounded by deep precipices, the bottom of which the eye could not penetrate, and whose naked sides filled us with terror; and narrowing at every step, we were threatened with being ingulfed in these unfathomable depths. We had now gained the summit of this narrow ridge, and disappointment was the only recompense we found for our troubles and difficulties; for our guide told us, we had ascended the wrong ridge, and could not get to the crater, which was the grand object we had in view when we undertook the task; nor were we even on the highest part of the mountain, for the place where we stood was overtopped by Gunung Berapi; this was entirely bare, and might be three or four hundred

feet above where we stood.'

It afterwards appeared from the report of the natives, that the volcano, though it had, within the memory of man, thrown out ashes and inflamed matter, was at that time inert, and that the smoke which rolled its dark volumes from the summit, was

caused by the ebullition of a hot spring, which occupied the crater. May not the tranquillity of this mountain be accounted for by the fearful activity of the Sumbawa volcano, whose tremendous eruption is described in a previous part of the volume? The latter appears to have been unequalled for its destructive effects and extensive operation, by any on record, excepting, perhaps, some of the phenomena of the volcanic region in Iceland. In April 1815, the Tomboro mountain, in the island of Sumbawa, burst forth with destructive force. The ravages were dreadful; but the phenomena are not described with sufficient precision to render a clear and philosophical account practicable. One circumstance alone may give some notion of the extraordinary character of this convulsion: the cloud of ashes was so dense, and its range so extensive, as to produce ' utter darkness' at a distance of 300 geographical miles from the centre of projection.

In the interior of Sumatra, there exists a state which could not but present to the active and inquiring mind of Sir Stamford Raffles, an object of peculiar interest. Menangkabu is revered by the Malays as the cradle of their race; and although the authority of its princes, which was once paramount throughout Sumatra, has long been the mere shadow of a mighty name, they are still regarded with a veneration derived from remote and lofty associations, the hallowed traditions on which the Malay patriot delights to dwell. The gold and iron mines of this region appear to contain a rich ore; and by its reputation as an Eldorado, it has hitherto been chiefly known to Europeans. With these districts, Sir Stamford Raffles determined to make a personal acquaintance, partly from motives of scientific curiosity, but mainly from a wish to avail himself politically of the influence still exercised by the sultans of this parent state. The restoration, nominally, of the supremacy of Menangkabu, would have given him an engine of scarcely calculable power, for the management of the Malay countries; and he was not a man to pass by such an opportunity, without making a vigorous effort to turn it to account. He took Lady Raffles with him in his visit; but, though she behaved admirably, and was quite as much entitled to the intellectual advantages of the tour as any one concerned in it, we must for ourselves say, that, should we have occasion to explore the interior of Sumatra, or the interior of any island, save the Isle of Wight, we will have no ladies of the party. The route led through the Tiga-blas districts, the chiefs of which acknowledge the authority of the sultan of Menangkabu. These petty rulers seem to have been somewhat puzzled by Sir Stamford's visit, and not to have known precisely how to treat him. They were civil enough, but evasive in their manner; they assembled in council in the open air, and request