There Is A Mystery And An Uncertainty As
To The Amount Of Danger We Incur, Which Gives Greater Play To The
Imagination, And To The Influences Of Hope And Fear.
These
remarks apply only to a moderate earthquake.
A severe one is the
most destructive and the most horrible catastrophe to which human
beings can be exposed.
A few days after the earthquake I took a walk to Tondano, a large
village of about 7,000 inhabitants, situated at the lower end of
the lake of the same name. I dined with the Controlleur, Mr.
Bensneider, who had been my guide to Tomohon. He had a fine large
house, in which he often received visitors; and his garden was
the best for flowers which I had seen in the tropics, although
there was no great variety. It was he who introduced the rose
hedges which give such a charming appearance to the villages; and
to him is chiefly due the general neatness and good order that
everywhere prevail. I consulted him about a fresh locality, as I
found Rurúkan too much in the clouds, dreadfully damp and gloomy,
and with a general stagnation of bird and insect life. He
recommended me a village some distance beyond the lake, near
which was a large forest, where he thought I should find plenty
of birds. As he was going himself in a few days, I decided to
accompany him.
After dinner I asked him for a guide to the celebrated waterfall
on the outlet stream of the lake.
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