298 TWO YEARS IN THE JUNGLE. 



shade, and usually stands at about ten degrees lower than that 

 There are absolutely no seasons, and nothing to mark the climatic 

 changes which occur elsewhere. It rains nearly every day, copious 

 showers of short duration, quite unlike the all-day down-pour of 

 the monsoons in India. The air is very humid, so that the heat is 

 far less noticeable than would otherwise be the case. One does 

 not swelter as in Calcutta or Madras, although a daily bath is as 

 necessary to comfort as daily bread. Taken altogether, Singapore 

 is really a delightful resting-place for a traveller, full of interesting 

 sights, and pleasant walks and drives. The Kaffles Library and 

 Museum, the well-kept Botanic Gardens, the Fort, the markets, the 

 Joss houses, and various bazaars, are all well worth visiting and 

 enjoj'ing. The harbor in front of the town often contains some 

 queer craft, including lumbering Chinese junks and Malay trading 

 proas of thoroughly antique design. 



With the exception of shells, star- fishes, and corals, I found 

 nothing on the island that I cared either to collect or buy, and 

 even these were not nearly so abundant as I expected to find them. 

 The Malays assured me it was not the right time of the year for 

 them ; but I believed this was only an excuse with them, until I 

 returned from Borneo in December, when they brought me shells 

 and coral, star-fishes, and huge Neptune's cups, Uterally by the boat 

 load. 



Had I been a showman or collector of Hve animals, I could have 

 gathered quite a harvest of wild beasts in Singapore, at very small 

 cost. I was offered a fine tiger at $150 ; baby orangs at $20 to $30, 

 a fine pau' of proboscis monkeys at $100 ; a pair of full-grown 

 tapirs at the same price ; manis and slow lemurs at $2 ; and a rhi- 

 noceros at $250. These were the asking pi-ices, and it is qmte 

 certain that much smaller sums than those named would have pur- 

 chased the animals in question. The greatest bargain I heard of, 

 was the sale of a full-grown orang-utan (Simia satyrus), four feet 

 two inches in height, to the Hon. H. A. K. Whampoa, for the ridic- 

 ulous sum of $65, or $35 less than the price first asked. My desire 

 to see this animal led me to pay a visit to the country seat of his 

 owner, a very wealthy Chinese merchant, quite advanced in years 

 and honors. I went by invitation, and the call was one to be re- 

 membered. 



On one side of a quiet street in the suburbs, there is a wall en- 

 closing a spacious garden. Passing through an open gate, the 

 posts of which are very high and ornamented with carved figures 



