We took leave of our many kind friends, and proceeded on a more interesting voyage than usually falls to the lot of a man-of-war. Our orders were, after having removed the garrison and stores from Port Essington, to visit Sydney and Auckland, and call at the Friendly and Society Islands on our way to Valparaiso. With these instructions came a private letter from Rear-Admiral J. W. Deans Dundas, Second Sea Lord, from which I quote the following:-- I need not recommend Lead and Look Out to ye, but the Straits are difficult and so are Society Islands. Keep _Mæander_ off the ground, and when there is a doubt, put her head round. God speed ye.--Yours faithfully, J. W. D. DUNDAS. The _Australia_ was sent in advance, with directions to wait for us in the Straits of Sunda. We ran between the Islands of Banca and Billiton on the 29th, and anchored in Anjer roads on October 1. Anjer is nothing in itself: a small Dutch town and fort, clean, as Dutch places are, with a large, comparatively dirty-looking Malay village attached, inhabited partly by Chinese. The tree of Anjer is a striking object, a Banyan of great size, growing close to the landing-place. From its summit rises a flagstaff, from which floats the tricoloured flag of the Netherlands Government. [Sidenote: Oct. 1.] Anjer is the resort of vessels passing through the Straits, and may be considered the key of the Eastern Archipelago. Letters left here, properly addressed, find their way to any part of the world. The boats which come alongside are laden with a variety of fruits, vegetables, live-stock, monkeys, parrots, etc., to suit the tastes and wants of the outward or homeward bound traders. Having despatched the schooner to Sydney by the western coast of Australia, we weighed on the afternoon of October 3. Our route to the eastward for the next 3000 miles lay between the 6th and 10th degrees of latitude, during which we should pass a succession of beautiful islands, with the sea in all probability so smooth that a canoe might live in it: the finest weather and the prevailing winds in our favour. [Sidenote: Java, Oct. 6.] A short run carried us into Batavia Roads. On nearing this spacious anchorage, in which the flags of all nations may be seen, from the prahus of the Spice Islands to the fine traders of the United States, you are at once impressed with the idea that you are approaching a large and opulent city. We passed inside the fortified island of Onrust, on which stands the great Naval Arsenal. Saluted the Dutch Admiral, while running in, with 13 guns, and the Netherlands flag with 21. A United States ship near us had a cargo of Wenham Lake ice, the master of which sent to inform our officers that they were welcome to as much ice as they liked. I have always found much generosity and frankness among the officers of the American marine.