300 CHAEACTERISTICS OP THE POPULATION. 



also a creditable specimen of American naval archi- 

 tecture, and -which was likewise sold during our stay 

 in the port. Several other Americans came in : one, 

 the Spitlire, of Boston, last from Calcutta — in distress, 

 leaking badly — a noble clipper-ship, of tAvo thousand 

 tons; and the barque Agnes, of and from New York, 

 whence she had been seventy-six days on her pass- 

 age — also a handsome clipper. Besides these, seve- 

 ral clippers came in under the French flag, which, on 

 inquiry, we were informed had also been built in the 

 United States of America. It Avas a matter of con- 

 gratulation to us, so far from home, to know and 

 feel our national superiority in the construction of 

 that noblest of structures, viz., a clipper-ship, and at 

 the same time to feel the proud consciousness that 

 all the world admitted it. 



Just above the harbor there is a drj'' dock, on 

 which quite a number of vessels were hauled up for 

 repairs. 



Our boat now glided up to the steps of the land- 

 ing, which we mounted, and once more trod upon 

 terra firma. From the dilFercnt languages that fell 

 on our ears we were at a loss to tell what country- 

 men we were among. First, from the number of 

 turbans and white robes, with the faultlessly regular 

 oriental features, we were induced to think that we 

 had landed amid an Arabian population ; then, the 

 vast number of gaudy caps, surmounting shaven 

 crowns, caused us to change our opinion, and ima- 

 gine the greater portion of the mass before us derived 

 from farther down the Malabar coast ; but, again, 

 we saw the barbaric ornaments, dusky features, and 

 scanty clothing of the Madagascar native, followed 



