twisted round the head or allowed to hang down, and
as its length is the owner’s ambition, often a piece of
silk is added to bring it down to the heels. There is
little variety in the costume of a Malay, who always
wears his sarong, generally of a brownish colour, wound
round his hips and reaching to the knee, sometimes
below, a tight-fitting coloured jacket to the waist, and
a small turban made of some dark material.
> Having the better part of the day to dispose of, I
took a drive into the country, passed many rice and
cotton fields, pepper, coffee, and tobacco plantations,
also groves of nutmegs and cloves. The roadside was
dotted with native cottages and small temples, villas
and gardens belonging to Europeans; and about five
miles from the town I came upon a pretty waterfall,
after the manner of the Giesbach, as it rushes down the
mountain, once or twice interrupted in its course.
This is rather a show place, and there is a delightful
plunge bath surrounded by a screen of thick foliage.
Here also grows the Flamboyant, now in full bloom,
throwing every other plant into the shade; and butterflies
there were of such beauty that collectors would
have little reason to complain.
When the time allowed us by the captain to remain
.on shore had nearly expired, we made our way back to
the ship, accompanied by a smart shower of tepid rain,
passing a number of Malay fishing boats, with square
brown sails made of cocoanut fibre.
On the following day we passed Malacca, the shores
of the Peninsula and of Sumatra remaining nearly all
the time within view, and early on the following
morning the Strait Islands hove in sight, which required
very careful navigation, as we passed through
narrow passages and inlets, until we weighed anchor in
the harbour of Singapore. Here I had to waste a
couple of hours in the transfer of my luggage, part of it
to shore and part on board the Dutch steamer, “ Vice-
Admiral Fabius,” bound within a few days for
Batavia.
The island of Singapore, including a great number of
small islets, N. Lat. 1 ° 17', and E. Long. 103° 50', is
larger than Penang by about one third, became a
British free-port in 1819, and is the entrepot of produce
from all parts of the world for exchange and re-shipment
to its ultimate destination; besides, it has a considerable
home trade in gambeer, sago, cocoanut, and nutmegs,
produced on the island.
The population, in all barely a hundred thousand
souls, consists principally of Chinese and Malays, say,
about two-thirds of the former and one-third of the
latter ; they all speak the Malay language, and their