It was also dreadfully hot in the afternoon, and after a few days I got a sharp attack of fever, which determined me to move.

I accordingly fixed on a place about a mile off, at the foot of a forest-covered hill, where in a few days Mr.M.built for me a nice little house, consisting of a good-sized enclosed verandah or open room, and a small inner sleeping-room, with a little cookhouse outside.

As soon as it was finished I moved into it, and found the change most agreeable.
The forest which surrounded me was open and free from underwood, consisting of large trees, widely scattered with a great quantity of palm-trees (Arenga saccharifera), from which palm wine and sugar are made.

There were also great numbers of a wild Jack-fruit tree (Artocarpus), which bore abundance of large reticulated fruit, serving as an excellent vegetable.

The ground was as thickly covered with dry leaves as it is in an English wood in November; the little rocky streams were all dry, and scarcely a drop of water or even a damp place was anywhere to be seen.