Then there are always a lot of ropes foul of each other, and all the sails can never be set (though they are so few) without a good part of their surface having the wind kept out of them by others.

Yet praus are much liked even by those who have had European vessels, because of their cheapness both in first cost and in keeping up; almost all repairs can be done by the crew, and very few European stores are required.
Dec.

28th .-- This day we saw the Banda group, the volcano first appearing,--a perfect cone, having very much the outline of the Egyptian pyramids, and looking almost as regular.

In the evening the smoke rested over its summit like a small stationary cloud.

This was my first view of an active volcano, but pictures and panoramas have so impressed such things on one's mind, that when we at length behold them they seem nothing extraordinary.
Dec.