It is not an improbable supposition, that the _ova_ of these curious crustaceous animals are deposited in the empty shells lying upon the beach; and the changes these _crustacea_ undergo is one of the most interesting subjects of investigation which could engage the attention of a practical naturalist. It is a curious fact that, no matter whatever form the univalve shell may have, the posterior or soft parts of the animal inhabiting it are accommodated to it; thus causing persons not accustomed to observe the changes of natural objects to regard this as the original inhabitant; and it is oftentimes difficult to persuade them of the reverse: the posterior portion of the animal being naked, and the anterior crustaceous, the former evidently requires some protection. One morning (having previously received a general invitation) I visited the rajah at his habitation: the situation was an extensive plot of ground, containing numerous houses in the usual Malay style of building, being the residences of the rajah, his wives, and attendants; the whole enclosed by lofty waving bamboos, forming a close and impenetrable fence; and the interior planted with a number of fruit trees and flowering shrubs. The entrance was by a gateway, over which was a small room, in which his highness receives visitors, or wiles away a leisure hour in smoking, talking, or sleeping. I ascended to it by a bamboo ladder, and found myself in a cool but dirty room, containing a small bed, over which a mat was laid; the curtains about it seemed to have remained in ignorance, since they came from the loom, of the application of water. Some carved boxes, (one of which served me for a seat,) a native shield, and a few other trumpery articles, constituted the furniture of the apartment. And here I was received in a cordial manner by the rajah. His highness was attired in a common Madras cloth _sarong_ and _sandalong_, which, like the curtains, seemed never to have undergone ablution; he wore, in lieu of a turban, the usual particoloured Moorman’s cap or cupia, which merely covered the top of his head. The personal appearance of the rajah reminded me of the tribe of animals they abhor for uncleanness—I allude to the hog, of which he informed us there were _plenty wild_, if we were desirous of hunting them. Cocoa-nut water was introduced, being the usual beverage in the country, and proving both wholesome and refreshing. The cocoa palm abounds, and they have numerous varieties. The Malay name for the nut is Kalapas; in the Acheenese language the tree is called Ba, hu, (_ba_ signifying tree, and _hu_ cocoa-nut,)—a ripe nut, Hu, massa,—and a green one, Hu, mudar.[147] This palm forms a beautiful and picturesque object in the tropical landscape. In the Appendix I purpose giving an account of this valuable, ornamental, and useful palm, and the various uses for which it is employed in the different countries where it abounds.[148]