ards saw some in their houses that the owners refused 300
dols. (L60) for! The latter were, however, _bona fide_ ones, some 400
years old, and came from China. Worthless imitations have been sent
out from England and Holland of late years, but they proved a bad
speculation to the importers, for the Dyak is, in his way, as good a
judge of jars as the veriest chinamaniac at home of Sevres or Dresden.

The Chinese are, as I have said, the principal householders in the
Bazaar, the richest among them being the Brothers Ken-Wat, a firm
trading in gutta, gold-dust, and diamonds, with Singapore and China.
Borneo has ever been famous for its diamonds, and, although scarce in
quantity, I have heard good judges affirm that they are the finest in
quality of any in the world. Some large stones have been found in
Sarawak territory, and, only lately, one was discovered by a Chinaman,
and sold to Government, weighing 87 carats.

The silver coinage in use in Sarawak is the Mexican dollar, but the
copper coinage of cents and half-cents bear the head of the Raja.

A walk under the arcades of the Bazaar in the busy part of the day
(11.30 a.m.) is well repaid by the curious spectacle
presented--thronged as it is with the quaint dark blue dresses of the
Chinese and the gaudy, rainbow-hued garments of the Malays, while now
and again a land Dyak from up river may be seen, clad in his "chawat"
(waist-band) and turban, evidently quite out of his element, and
half-scared at the busy scene around him.

The public health of Kuching, which has a mixed population of 20,000,
is good, notwithstanding a severe outbreak of cholera which occurred
in 1877 and carried off a great number of the inhabitants; and the
climate, for a tropical one, is exceptionally healthy. Although the
mid-day heat is during six months in the year excessive, the nights
are nearly always cool, for a day seldom passes without a squall of
wind and rain during the latter part of the afternoon, which clears
the atmosphere. Consumption is unknown in Sarawak; and an English
officer who came out to join the government service, afflicted with
this complaint, completely recovered after a residence of three years
in the country. Indeed, if due attention be paid to diet, and the
excessive use of stimulants avoided, a long period may elapse in this
climate without returning home to recruit; and there is now an officer
living in Kuching who has not been out of the place for eighteen
years