The westerly monsoon sets in about October or November, and sometimes later; and then the rainy season comes on: the easterly sets in about April or May.

The general language spoken at Batavia is low Malay; and it is necessary that every person, who designs to stay long there, should learn it. This language is very different from the high and proper Malay, which is spoken on the continent of India; and may be compared to the Lingua-Franca, being a compound of several other languages; viz. of Malay, Portuguese, and those of the eastern isles. A short vocabulary of each is here annexed as a specimen; as also vocabularies of the lan-guages of other nations, in the neighbourhood of Batavia, which I collected from natives of the different places, during my stay in that city.

Voyaging Accounts