ch. xv.] The Durian Fruit . 307 



this " delectable epitome of all that is perfect in fruit 

 food." It is a paradox, " the best of fruits with the 

 worst of characters," and, as the Malays say, you may 

 enjoy the durian, but j r ou should never speak of it outside 

 your own dwelling. Its odour — one scarcely feels justified 

 in using the word " perfume " — is so potent, so vague, 

 but withal so insinuating, that it can scarcely be tolerated 

 inside the house. Indeed Nature here seems to have 

 gone a little aside to disgust us with a fruit which is 

 perhaps of all others the moSt fascinating to the palate, 

 when once one has " broken the ice," as represented by 

 the foul odour at first presented to that most critical of 

 all organs of sense, the nose. As a matter of course, it 

 is never brought to table in the usual way, and yet the 

 chances are that whoever is lucky enough to taste a good 

 fruit of it to begin with, soon developes into a surrep- 

 titious durian eater; just as a jungle tiger becomes a 

 " man-eater " after its first taste of human blood. 



There is scarcely any limit to durian eating if you once 

 begin it ; it grows on one like opium smoking, or other 

 acquired tastes; but on the other hand, the very sug- 

 gestion of eating such an " unchaste fruit " is to many as 

 intolerable as the thoughts alone of supping off cheese 

 and spring onions, washed down with " stout and mild," 

 followed by a whiff from a short " dudeen " by way of 

 dessert, and yet, while these incongruities are consumed 

 at home with enjoyment, one must not be too hard on 

 those abroad who relish the fragrant durian. About the 

 middle or end of July durian fruit are very common in 

 Singapore, and their spiny skins lie about the streets in 

 all directions. As you pass along you become aware of a 

 peculiar odour all around you — an odour like that of a 

 putrid sewer when half suppressed by holding a perfumed 

 handkerchief to the nose — a blending of a good deal that 



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