bject of the expedition was, as I have above stated,
to fall in with the pirates, our ostensible one was to survey the
islands off the Point Romania, which is the most unfrequented part of
the Malay peninsula. We arrived there late at night, as ignorant whether
the pirates were there, as the pirates would have been of our arrival.
We had, therefore, nothing to do but to anchor close under the land, and
keep a sharp look-out, in case of being the attacked instead of the
attacking party. As we were not indifferently provided with the creature
comforts which Sincapore afforded, we amused ourselves pretty well; but
if we occasionally opened our mouths, we took good care not to shut our
eyes, and were constantly on the alert. There is a far from pleasant
feeling attached to lying in an open boat, in a night as dark as pitch,
expecting a momentary attack from an insidious enemy, and wholly in a
state of uncertainty as to from what quarter it may be made, or as to
what odds you may be exposed. Under these circumstances, we remained in
watching and silence during a night which appeared interminably long;
and daylight was gladly welcomed by the whole party; and when it arrived
we found ourselves anchored among a crowd of small islands, which were
covered from the beach to their summits with the most luxuriant foliage.
Within shore of us was a beautiful little sandy bay; while the whole
coast, as far as the eye could reach, was one extended jungle, by all
accounts extending many hundred miles inland, and infested with tigers
and other beasts of prey. As for pirates, we saw nothing of them, or any
signs of their having been in that quarter; either they were away on
some distant marauding party, or, having received intelligence of our
approach and force, had considered us too strong to be opposed, and had
kept out of the way. Our warlike expedition, therefore, was soon changed
into a sort of pic-nic party--we amused ourselves with bathing, turning
of turtle, shooting, and eating the wild pine-apples which grew on all
the islands. We remained there for three days, during which nothing
occurred worth narrating, unless it is an instance of the thoughtless
and reckless conduct of midshipmen. We were pulling leisurely along the
coast in one of the boats, when we perceived a very large Bengal tiger
taking an evening stroll, and who, by the motion of his tail, was
evidently in a state of much self-satisfaction. We winded the boat's
head tow