om Goram by Ceram to Waigiou, and from
Waigiou to Ternate, occupying in all seventy-eight days, or only
twelve days short of three months (all in what was supposed to be the
favourable season), we had not one single day of fair wind. We were
always close braced up, always struggling against wind, tide, and
leeway, and in a vessel that would scarcely sail nearer than eight
points from the wind. Every seaman will admit that my first voyage in my
own boat was a most unlucky one.

Charles Allen had obtained a tolerable collection of birds and insects
at Mysol, but far less than he would have done if I had not been so
unfortunate as to miss visiting him. After waiting another week or two
till he was nearly starved, he returned to Wahai in Ceram, and heard,
much to his surprise, that I had left a fortnight before. He was delayed
there more than a month before he could get back to the north side of
Mysol, which he found a much better locality, but it was not yet the
season for the Paradise Birds; and before he had obtained more than a
few of the common sort, the last prau was ready to leave for Ternate,
and he was obliged to take the opportunity, as he expected I would be
waiting there for him.

This concludes the record of my wanderings. I next went to Timor, and
afterwards to Bourn, Java, and Sumatra, which places have already been
described. Charles Allen made a voyage to New Guinea, a short account of
which will be given in my next chapter on the Birds of Paradise. On
his return he went to the Sula Islands, and made a very interesting
collection which served to determine the limits of the zoological group
of Celebes, as already explained in my chapter on the natural history of
that island. His next journey was to Flores and Solor, where he obtained
some valuable materials, which I have used in my chapter on the natural
history of the Timor group. He afterwards went to Coti on the east coast
of Borneo, from which place I was very anxious to obtain collections,
as it is a quite new locality as far as possible from Sarawak, and I
had heard very good accounts of it. On his return thence to Sourabaya in
Java, he was to have gone to the entirely unknown Sumba or Sandal-wood
Island. Most unfortunately, however, he was seized with a terrible fever
on his arrival at Coti, and, after lying there some weeks, was taken to
Singapore in a very bad condition, where he arrived after I had left for
England. When he recovered he obtained e