from a photograph. I had much difficulty in persuading
the subject to let me take a picture of him, as he
said it was wicked. But “ backsheech” induced him
to overlook the sin. When, some days afterwards, I
showed him a print of himself, he merely asked if it
was intended for him, and did not express any surprise
or astonishment at all, although it must have been the
first time he had ever seen his own face.
The Chinese do the greater portion of the trade in
Labuan, and nine out of ten of them are not too
honest, especially the boys, who come to be engaged
as servants. They have a kind of “ trades’ union ” or
secret society, whose orders they must obey. If the
society forbids a boy to accept a certain sum per
month, he cannot choose but obey, as any boy who
fights against the society is very soon worried into
submission.
I I .
Bungalow life in Labuan is pleasant for a while,
but soon becomes monotonous. The bungalow in
which I lived was built on piles, and stood about four
feet from the ground. A large verandah ran round
three sides of the house, which was almost surrounded
with tall cocoanut-trees. In front the verandah “ expanded
” into a kind of open room—that is, a room
without walls—and this is the pleasantest place to sit
in in all eastern houses. One large room served the
purpose of dining, drawing, and writing room. This
was about sixty feet long, and thirty feet wide, and
had no less than eight doors in it. The following is a
plan of it, and may be taken as a general idea of the
familiar bungalows of Singapore and the Straits
Settlements.
THE BUNGALOW AT LABUAN : A QUIET CORNER.
Drawn by Helen H. Hatton, from a photograph by Frank Hatton.
To face page 124.