It was very soon known throughout the island that a Dutch ship of war had arrived, and the people flocked from all parts of the country to bid us welcome. Among these was an Amboynese teacher, who had arrived here about two years previously. He expressed a wish that I would visit the school-room, which also served the purpose of a church since the building had been destroyed by the fire already mentioned. To this I willingly consented. The scholars, a number of boys and girls, were arranged in a row, and, as I approached, they commenced singing a hymn. After it was concluded, I inspected the school-house, a wretched building, the whole furniture of which consisted of a long table and some bamboo benches. The teacher resided in an adjacent hut, around which a small garden had been laid out. Every thing that met our view presented an appearance of poverty and decay. Two years previous to our visit, this group of islands had been visited by a violent hurricane, which, especially on Lette, caused frightful devastation: on several tracts of land over which I passed, all the cocoa-nut and other fruit-trees had been levelled with the earth. This disaster had been followed by a drought, which had destroyed the produce of their plantations, and created a great mortality among the cattle, many dying for want of provender. The hurricane had also caused the bees to desert the island, a serious loss to the inhabitants, since wax and honey were among the chief exportable productions of the island. These repeated misfortunes had induced many of the inhabitants to emigrate to Kissa and Roma; in fact, the scarcity of provisions had been so great, that some had actually died from want. This unlucky island, like ancient Egypt, had indeed been harassed and afflicted by a series of plagues. It presented a sad spectacle, especially when compared with the prosperous island of Kissa, the beauties of which were still fresh in our remembrance.