players, dressed out in the figure of the various
animals of the forest, personate their habits and
exhibit their manners. The matter is so well man-
aged as to make us almost helieve that we are in
the disagreeable company of the tiger, the leopard,
or the wild boar.
Whatever strangers may think of the dramatic
entertainments of the Indian islanders, they excite
a deep and lively interest in a native audience. By
means of them, even the most illiterate gain a considerable
acquaintance with the legendary history
of their country. The habit of listening to such
performances convinces me that it would be no dif-
ficult matter to introduce among the Javanese at
least, a more improved drama. In the first instance,
such performances might be adapted to their
tastes, by being built on the foundation of their
own legends. A judicious paraphrase of The Tempest,
for example, composed on this principle, I
have little doubt would be eminently successful.
The effects of such exhibitions, as an instrument
of civilization, need not be insisted upon.
CHAPTER V.
MANNERS OF FOREIGN SETTLERS,
Different descriptions o f foreign colonists.— Settlers from
Hindustan.—Their character.—?The Chinese.— Their character
and manners.— Arab settlers.—European settlers.—
Character o f the Dutch colonists.— Off the Spanish colonists.
T h e object of this chapter is to furnish a brief
sketch of the character, habits, and manners, of the
principal foreign settlers among the Indian islanders.
These consist of Indians, Chinese, Arabs, and
Dutch, Stragglers of other nations are found
among the Indian islanders, but, in a general view,
they are not deserving of a particular consideration.
The natives o f Hindustan, who visit the oriental
islands, are inhabitants of the western, but chiefly
of the eastern, coast of the Peninsula, Europeans
denominate them generally by the name of Chu-
lia, and the natives of the country call them, more
properly, Kaling. The numerous vessels of their
nation bring annually, with the setting in of the
westerly monsoon, shoals of these people, literally
to seek their fortunes in a country richer by m<