ACCOUNT OP CELEBES, AMBOYNA, &C. VJJ

fouth-weft, and the negrees Soya and Mandhika to the north-eaft; the Way nitoe,which divides the negree of Italong in two ; and the Way atlat, which runs betweenthis laft and the Moorifh negree.

The three firft have their fource in the mountains of Soya , and the laft defcendschiefly from the Roodenberg.

I have before obferved that thefe rivers in the good monfoons, or dry feafons, canonly be looked upon as little rivulets, moiftening but a fmall part of their beds; butthat in the bad monfoons, or rainy feafons, they fwell up to a confiderable height, andrun with fuch force and rapidity, upon the rain continuing any time, that they carryaway all before them, and even the bridges which are built over them.

Juft above the town, upon the Bato gadja, a garden has been laid out, and a goodhoufe built by Governor Van der Stel, at the expence of the Company, which verymuch refembles that called Vengleegen, which his brother, when governor at the Cape°f Good Hope, made in Hottentot Holland, alfo at the expence of the Company.This is the only garden of confideration that I faw at Amboyna, though there are herea nd there a few others which are called gardens, but which folely confift of a wood of%o trees, and a plantation of cocoa-nut trees; that, however, of Hative excepted,which at prefent belongs to the engineer Van Wagner, and which may be called ahandfome piece of ground for Amboyna.

As the keeping of the firft-mentioned garden was a confiderable annual, expence to theCompany, the government at Batavia thought fit, in the year 1769, to transfer the fameto the governor for the time being, for a certain fum of money, for which his fuccelfor

ls obliged, in his turn, to take it over: Mr. Van der V-paid, if I am not miftaken,

two thoufand rix-dollars * for it to the Company.

Near it is a menagerie, in which are kept, among others, fome very beautifultpeckled deer.

The governors generally refide at this place, when there is nothing to call for theirprefence at the town, or when there are no fhips in the bay.

The chief, if not the only fortrefs which the Company have at Amboyna is the caftle,®r fort; which, after it was rebuilt, was called New Victoria, as the old fort, called^ iftoria, which had been erected by the Portuguefe, being an oblong fquare, with fourbaftions, was fo much damaged by the earthquake of the year 1755, that it was thoughtRiore eligible to build an entire new fort, than to repair the old one.

It Hands clofe to the water-fide, a little to the weft of the mouth of the Way Nitoe,an d exactly oppofite to the road, where fhips commonly lie at anchor.

I took much pains to procure a plan of it, but the ftrift integrity of the prefent afling^gineer, Mr. H. E. Von Wagner, was proof againft the folicitations of friendship, andowever much in other things he proved both willing and anxious to give me every, . imoriy of his inclination to render me fervice, I could not in this inftance, perfuade. 1111 to lend me a plan of the fort for ever fo fhort a time, in order to take a copy of1 > I cannot therefore fay any thing refpedting the dimenfions of the works, and fhallnty defcribe the general appearance of the fort.

,. fhape is very irregular: on the iand-fide it has three entire and one demi-baftion,

, lc h, with their curtains, form part of a regular heptagon; on the water-fideer ® ar e two baftions, in the curtain between which Hands the water-gate, inkndf 2 manner as knd-gate opens between the two oppofite baftions on the

* About 4400I. fterling. Tr.

The