es of white plumes, not
unlike _reva-reva_, made from the pith of the silver-grass. The beds
and bedrooms are clean, but limited in number, there being only three
of the latter altogether. The rooms are separated only by partitions
of grass, seven feet high, so that there is plenty of ventilation, and
the heat of the fire permeates the whole building. But you must not
talk secrets in these dormitories or be too restless. I was amused to
find, in the morning, that I had unconsciously poked my hand through
the wall of our room during the night.

The grandeur of the view in the direction of the volcano increased as
the evening wore on. The fiery cloud above the present crater
augmented in size and depth of colour; the extinct crater glowed red
in thirty or forty different places; and clouds of white vapour
issued from every crack and crevice in the ground, adding to the
sulphurous smell with which the atmosphere was laden. Our room faced
the volcano: there were no blinds, and I drew back the curtains and
lay watching the splendid scene until I fell asleep.

_Sunday, December 24th (Christmas Eve)_.--I was up at four o'clock, to
gaze once more on the wondrous spectacle that lay before me. The
molten lava still flowed in many places, the red cloud over the fiery
lake was bright as ever, and steam was slowly ascending in every
direction, over hill and valley, till, as the sun rose, it became
difficult to distinguish clearly the sulphurous vapours from the
morning mists. We walked down to the Sulphur Banks, about a quarter of
a mile from the 'Volcano House,' and burnt our gloves and boots in our
endeavours to procure crystals, the beauty of which generally
disappeared after a very short exposure to the air. We succeeded,
however, in finding a few good specimens, and, by wrapping them at
once in paper and cotton-wool and putting them into a bottle, hope to
bring them home uninjured.

On our return we found a gentleman who had just arrived from Kau, and
who proposed to join us in our expedition to the crater, and at three
o'clock in the afternoon we set out, a party of eight, with two
guides, and three porters to carry our wraps and provisions, and to
bring back specimens. Before leaving the inn the landlord came to us
and begged us in an earnest and confidential manner to be very
careful, to do exactly what our guides told us, and especially to
follow in their footsteps exactly when returning in the dark. He
added, 'There ne