The greater portion of the Christian inhabitants of Maykor had come to Duryella, partly to attend to their own interests, and partly for the purpose of being present at the preachings of M. Kam, on which occasions a large number of people were admitted as members of the Christian Church. I occasionally invited the chiefs to dinner with me, which was always considered by them as a great honour, and they never failed to come attended by a numerous retinue, Arafuras as well as Christians, who crept on board from all sides in an instant. The chiefs of the more distant islands, not having been informed of my arrival, had come in their usual dress, the tdejako, or waist-cloth, as they never adorn themselves with their best clothing except on festive occasions. These chiefs were much ashamed of their _deshabille_, and made repeated excuses; but being informed of the cause, I rejoiced them by having _kabayas_ and breeches prepared for them, when they made their appearance with much greater confidence. On one occasion a number of chiefs, who had dined on board, remained to spend the evening with me, many of whom, particularly the Arafuras, declared to me that they had never before been on board a ship of war. To give them a good idea of such a vessel I ordered several of the great guns to be fired, and although we had informed them of what was coming, they were terribly frightened, and it was truly ridiculous to see them jump into the air at every shot, like harlequins. Many of them, indeed, jumped overboard, while others hid themselves under the table which stood on the deck, and in any corner they could find. These islanders generally can carry off an inconceivable quantity of spirits. Although at our festive meetings on board more than thirty jugs of arrack were often drunk, they would still take a quantity on shore with them to finish the evening at home.