canoes first came. The transition from
the monotony of a sea-life to the loquacious bustle of barter with
a half-civilized people is so sudden, that the mind at once feels in
a strange land, and the commonest productions proclaim the luxuriant
climes of the tropics. Until this impression is made, we hardly know
why we have been sailing onward for four months past, so quiet and
unvarying is the daily tenor of a life aboard ship.

"_1st June, Singapore._--On reaching Singapore I was most hospitably
received by the kind inhabitants, and took up my abode with
Mr. Scott. The quiet and repose of my present life, the gentle ride
in the cool of the morning and evening drive after an early dinner,
are already restoring my shattered strength, and I trust soon to be
enabled to prosecute my farther undertaking. In the mean time the
Royalist is undergoing a refit after her passage, and, like her owner,
is daily improving in good looks.

"I could say much of Singapore, for it is the pivot of the liberal
system in the Archipelago, and owes its prosperity to the enlightened
measures of Sir Stamford Raffles. The situation is happily chosen,
the climate healthy, the commerce unshackled, and taxation light; and
these advantages have attracted the vessels of all the neighboring
nations to bring their produce to this market in order to exchange
it for the manufactures of England.

"The extent of the island is about 27 miles by 11 broad. The town
of Singapore stands on the south side, facing the shores of Battam,
and is intersected by a salt-water stream, which separates the native
town from the pleasant residences of the European inhabitants; the
latter stretch along the beach, and cover a space which extends to the
foot of a slight eminence, on which stands the governor's house. Off
the town lie the shipping of various countries, presenting a most
picturesque and striking appearance. The man-of-war, the steamer,
and the merchant-vessels of the civilized world, contrast with the
huge, misshapen, and bedizened arks of China! The awkward prahus
of the Bugis are surrounded by the light boats of the island. The
semi-civilized Cochin-Chinese, with their vessels of antiquated
European construction, deserve attention from this important step
toward improvement; and the rude prahus of some parts of Borneo claim
it from their exhibiting the early dawn of maritime adventure.

"_27th July._--After various causes of delay I sailed on this day from