OBSERVATIONS ON SINGAPORE, EAST INDIES. 351 



Birds and beasts of prey, the dog and the hare, are forbiddea 

 as food. Their faith inculcates general benevolence, to be 

 honest in bargains, to be kind to one's cattle, and faithful to 

 masters ; to give the priests their due, physicians their fees, 

 and these last are enjoined to try their sanitory experiments 

 on infidels before practising on Parsees. They never willingly 

 throw filth either into fire or water. This reverence for the 

 elements prevents them from being sailors, as in a long voyage 

 they might be forced to defile the sea. 



When a relation is dying, they recite over him prescribed 

 prayers, and have a dog at hand to drive away the evil spirits 

 that flock around the bed ; after death the body is dressed 

 in old but clean clothes, and conveyed on an iron frame to the 

 tomb on the shoulders of the bearers, who are tied tcgetner 

 with a piece of tape, in order to deter the demons, which are 

 supposed to be hovering near, from molesting the corpse. It 

 is well known that they neither burn nor bury their dead. 

 They have circular towers called dockmehs, in which are con- 

 structed inclined planes, and on these they expose the bodies, 

 courting the fowls of the air to feed upon them. They even 

 draw augeries regarding the happiness or misery of the de- 

 ceased, according as the left eye or the right eye is first picked 

 out by the vultures. 



There are several pleasant rides about Singapore The sur- 

 rounding country is interspersed with groves and gardens, 

 and the roads are good, and free from dust, for almost 

 every day in the year the island is visited by one or two re- 

 freshing showers. The vehicle most used is the palankeen, 

 which is capable of containing two persons ; it is drawn by a 

 single horse, and the driver, who is usually a Malay, runs by 

 the side of a carriage ; the charge for a whole day is a dollar, 

 and it is customary to give something to the driver. 



