n, education and physical and moral
improvement of the inhabitants (non-European) is entirely left to these
French missionaries, who without the slightest assistance from our
Government devote their lives to the Christianising and civilising of
the varied populations which we rule over.

Here the birds are abundant and most beautiful, more so than on the
Amazon, and I think I shall soon form a most beautiful collection. They
are, however, almost all common, and so are of little value except that
I hope they will be better specimens than usually come to England. My
guns are both very good, but I find powder and shot in Singapore
cheaper than in London, so I need not have troubled myself to take any.
So far both I and Charles have enjoyed excellent health. He can now
shoot pretty well, and is so fond of it that I can hardly get him to do
anything else. He will soon be very useful, if I can cure him of his
incorrigible carelessness. At present I cannot trust him to do the
smallest thing without watching that he does it properly, so that I
might generally as well do it myself. I shall remain here probably two
months, and then return to Singapore to prepare for a voyage to Cambodia
or somewhere else, so do not be alarmed if you do not hear from me
regularly. Love to all.--Your affectionate son,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

* * * * *

TO HIS MOTHER

_Singapore. September 30, 1854._

My dear Mother,--I last wrote to you from Malacca in July. I have now
just returned to Singapore after two months' hard work. At Malacca I had
a pretty strong touch of fever with the old Rio Negro symptoms, but the
Government doctor made me take a great quantity of quinine every day for
a week together and so killed it, and in less than a fortnight I was
quite well and off to the jungle again. I see now how to treat the
fever, and shall commence at once when the symptoms again appear. I
never took half enough quinine in America to cure me. Malacca is a
pretty place, and I worked very hard. Insects are not very abundant
there, still by perseverance I got a good number and many rare ones. Of
birds, too, I made a good collection. I went to the celebrated Mount
Ophir and ascended to the top. The walk was terrible--thirty miles
through jungle, a succession of mud holes. My boots did good service. We
lived there a week at the foot of the mountain, in a little hut built
by our men, and I got some fine new butterflies there