rilliant sunsets all over the
world, while the force of the tidal wave was such as to affect the level
of the water in the river Thames. In travelling from Batavia to
Singapore, I was fortunate enough to meet with an officer in the employ
of the Netherlands India Steamship Company, who was able to give me an
actual narrative of his personal experience of this wonderful eruption.
Mr. S---- was at that time second engineer on the steamship
_Governor-General Lowden_, belonging to the same company. I cannot do
better than close this chapter with his narrative.

"We were anchored off Telokbetong, in Sumatra, when the chief officer
and myself observed a dark line out at sea which bore the appearance of
a tidal wave. While we were remarking this, the captain (who was just
then taking his bath) rushed on to the bridge, and telegraphed to the
engine-room to steam slow ahead up to the anchors. I was engaged in
carrying out this order when the wave came up to the ship. First she
dropped; then heaved up and down for some five minutes. There were three
waves. When I came on deck again, the long pier, which had been crowded
with Europeans who had come out of the town (they had experienced a
shock of earthquake during the night),--this pier, the houses and
offices, had disappeared, in fact, the whole town was gone. A Government
steamboat lying at anchor (with steam up) in the bay was landed high on
the tops of the palm trees in company with some native boats. That was
the first intimation we received that Krakatoa was in eruption, and from
that time, eight o'clock, onwards through the day the rumbling thunders
never ceased, while the darkness increased to a thick impenetrable
covering of smoky vapour. Shortly after this we got under way, and
proceeded until the darkness made it impossible to go on further. It was
while we were thus enveloped in darkness that the stones and cinders
discharged by the mountain began to fall upon the ship. In a short time
the canvas awning and the deck were covered with ashes and stones, to
the depth of two feet, and all our available men were employed in
removing the falling mass, which would otherwise have sunk the ship. We
had a large number of natives on board, and a hundred and sixty European
soldiers. The latter worked with the energy of despair at their task of
clearing the deck, in spite of the twofold danger of being burnt and
stunned by the hot falling stones. While we were engraved in this
stru