1281'East .Longitude
itb jjarts of Bouru and Ceram.
and MVWaTlare's routes------
C H A P . XXV.] MR. V4N BER RECK. 75
tobacco. Besides a small cottage occupied by the workmen,
there was a large shed for tobacco drying, a corner of which
was offered me; and thinking from the look of the place
that I should find good collecting ground here, I fitted up
temporary tables, benches, and beds, and made all preparations
for some weeks’ stay. A few days, however, served to
show that I should be disappointed. Beetles were tolerably
abundant, and I obtained plenty of fine long-homed An-
thribidas and pretty Longicorns, but they were mostly the
same species as I had found during my first short visit to
Amboyna. There were very few paths in the forest, which
seemed poor in birds and butterflies, and day after day
my men brought me nothing worth notice. I was therefore
soon obliged to think about changing my locality,
as I could evidently obtain no’ proper notion of the productions
of the almost entirely Unexplored island of Ceram
by staying in this place.
I rather regretted leaving, because my host was one of
the most remarkable men and most entertaining companions
I had ever met with. He was a Fleming by
birth, and, like so many of his countrymen, had a wonderful
talent for languages. When quite a youth he had
accompanied a Government official who was sent to report
on the trade and commerce of the Mediterranean, and had
acquired the colloquial language’ of every place they
stayed, a few weeks at. He had afterwards made voyages