In the meantime Dr. Simon had removed our invalid to the
hospital.
Malacca looks exceedingly pretty from the sea. It is a regular Malay
village, consisting of huts, built on piles close to the water,
overshadowed by cocoa palms and other forms of tropical vegetation.
Mount Ofia rises in the distance behind; there are many green islands,
too, in the harbour. By one o'clock we were again under way, and once
more _en route_ for Penang.
[Illustration: MALACCA]
_Wednesday, March 21st_.--During the night we had heavy thunder
storms. About 11 a.m. we passed a piece of drift-wood with a bird
perched on the top, presenting a most curious effect. Several of the
men on board mistook it for the back fin of a large shark. About 5
p.m. we made the island of Penang. After sunset it became very hazy,
and we crept slowly up, afraid of injuring the numerous stake nets
that are set about the Straits most promiscuously, and without any
lights to mark their position. Before midnight we had dropped our
anchor.
_Thursday, March 22nd_.--At 5 a.m., when we were called, the whole sky
was overcast with a lurid glare, and the atmosphere was thick, as if
with the fumes of some vast conflagration. As the sun rose in raging
fierceness, the sky cleared, and became of a deep, clear, transparent
blue.
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