Hotel, though the delight of finding an
English-speaking landlord atones for a somewhat ungracious reception
after a long and painful pilgrimage, which should serve as a solemn
warning against the rash attempt to penetrate the wilds of the Minahasa
under native guidance.

Tondano, with houses and verandahs gleaming in spotless whiteness among
green spaces and luxuriant trees, appears a typical Dutch town,
incongruous but picturesque. The absolute purity and transparency of
the atmosphere give value and intensity to every shade of colour, and
the scarlet hybiscus flowers show the incandescent glow belonging
rather to lamps than to blossoms. The river Tondano forms a series of
lovely cascades below the town, situated four miles from the lake at
the present time, for the marshy flats have been reclaimed as
rice-grounds, thus somewhat diminishing the stretch of water. The steep
drive down to Menado offers a succession of lovely views. The little
port, in a nest of verdure, encircles the azure bay, where our steamer,
merely a white speck in the distance, lies at anchor. A turn of the
road discloses a glimpse of the mountain lake, a sheet of sapphire
sparkling in the morning sun, but retrospective thoughts in this
instance convey pain as well as pleasure, for "mounting ambition" has
for once "o'erleapt itself," and failure counterbalances success.
Menado, divided by the river, is inhabited by two distinct tribes of
the mysterious colonists who came from the farthest East to these
unknown shores. The ubiquitous Chinaman has found a firm footing in the
northerly port of Celebes, and the splendidly-carved dragons of a
stately temple, rich in ornaments of green jade, blue porcelain, and
elaborate brass-work, denote the important status of the wealthy
community. A busy _passer_ supplies the usual pictures of native life,
but the people of the Minahasa, here as elsewhere, lack both the gay
insouciance of the South, and the strenuous energy of the Northern
mind, the residuum of apathetic dullness, deprived of all the salient
characteristics which constitute charm and interest. European houses of
Dutch officials stand in ideal gardens of brilliant flowers and richest
foliage. The little Hotel Wilhelmina is a paradise of exotic blossoms,
but Menado, apart from a lovely situation, and the usual riot of
glorious verdure which makes every tropical weed a thing of beauty,
offers little inducement for a prolonged stay. The bay, exposed to