sea-level, should have been so extensively submerged; but it
seems to have been in the very centre of the area of this vast
earthquake, which convulsed the whole basin of the sea between Lampong
Bay, on the south coast of Sumatra, and the opposite shores of Java,
extending across a diameter of more than sixty geographical miles. The
disturbance of the sea and consequent flooding of the shores, both those
of Sumatra to the north and those of Java to the east of the volcanic
outbreak, had the most destructive effects upon the Dutch settlements at
Telok Betong, at the head of the bay in Sumatra, and likewise in Java,
at the well-known commercial port of Anjer, where all homeward-bound
ships of every nation were accustomed to call in passing the straits to
obtain needful supplies for the voyage across the Indian Ocean; and
where also, it may be mentioned, Java sparrows, those delicate little
feathered creatures that might teach wiser humanity a lesson in their
touching fondness for each other, used to be purchased by sailors for
presents to their friends at home--though few, alas, of the poor
"sparrows" ever reached England alive of the thousands brought away from
their native clime, the majority dying at sea on the first cold night!

The homeward-bound voyager, too, who passes the Straits of Sunda, is
sometimes fortunate enough to witness, at the western extremity of the
channel, a strange yet beautiful optical illusion, probably akin to the
mirage of the desert. It presents a magnificent display of natural
architecture, commencing at one particular point--always at the same
place--off the coast of Sumatra. Huge granite pillars tower to the sky
at nearly regular intervals, beginning at the outlet of one of the
valleys, and extending five miles out to sea. So solid and massive is
the aspect of the apparent structure that the eye refuses to accept its
unreality; binoculars are involuntarily seized, questions are poured
into the ear of the captain; or, if no ship's officer be near, such
guidebooks or sailing directions as may be within reach are consulted
for a solution of the splendid sight. But, before the pages can be
turned the gigantic columns begin to waver and vibrate in the intensely
heated air: now they come nearer, and the sun glances upon their
crystalline sides, anon they retreat and fade, until the whole fabric is
transformed into, or lost in, a luxuriant expanse partly covered with
enormous trees. It is pro