r parts of the island; and in the journal of Lieutenant Dare's
expedition it appears that during one night's halt on the summit of a
mountain, in the rainy season, he lost several of his party from the
severity of the weather, whilst the thermometer was not lower than 40
degrees. To the cold also they attribute the backwardness in growth of
the coconut-tree, which is sometimes twenty or thirty years in coming to
perfection, and often fails to produce fruit. Situations are uniformly
colder in proportion to their height above the level of the sea, unless
where local circumstances, such as the neighbourhood of sandy plains,
contribute to produce a contrary effect; but in Sumatra the coolness of
the air is promoted by the quality of the soil, which is clayey, and the
constant and strong verdure that prevails, which, by absorbing the sun's
rays, prevents the effect of their reflection. The circumstance of the
island being so narrow contributes also to its general temperateness, as
wind directly or recently from the sea is seldom possessed of any violent
degree of heat, usually acquired in passing over large tracts of land in
the tropical climates. Frost, snow, and hail I believe to be unknown to
the inhabitants. The hill-people in the country of Lampong speak indeed
of a peculiar kind of rain that falls there, which some have supposed to
be what we call sleet; but the fact is not sufficiently established. The
atmosphere is in common more cloudy than in Europe, which is sensibly
perceived from the infrequency of clear starlight nights. This may
proceed from the greater rarefaction of the air occasioning the clouds to
descend lower and become more opaque, or merely from the stronger heat
exhaling from the land and sea a thicker and more plentiful vapour. The
fog, called kabut by the natives, which is observed to rise every morning
among the distant hills, is dense to a surprising degree; the extremities
of it, even when near at hand, being perfectly defined; and it seldom is
observed to disperse till about three hours after sunrise.

WATERSPOUT.

That extraordinary phenomenon, the waterspout, so well known to and
described by navigators, frequently makes its appearance in these parts,
and occasionally on shore. I had seen many at sea; but the largest and
most distinct (from its proximity) that I had an opportunity of
observing, presented itself to me whilst on horseback. I was so near to
it that I could perceive what appeared