FIRST IMPRESSIONS “OF THE COLONY. 61 
plate the dread possibility. of all mankind passing through 
this mortal vale with their legs encased in absurd cylin- 
ders:of cloth, Spare the Coolie at least from being com- 
pelled to conform to the sartorial ugliness of “ civilisation.” 
Speaking of clothes, one soon learns to envy the Chinese 
of the colony their eminently rational costumes, which 
seem to represent the beau-ideal of tropical dress, so far 
as the tunics are concerned, at allevents. It is astonish- 
ing to the new comer to notice the extremely English 
appearance of the business and professiona! classes of 
the colony. Except for the head-gear—which itself is as 
a rule quite insufficient to proteét the head unless supple- 
mented by an umbrella—there is little to distinguish 
nine out of every ten of the whites of the colony 
from their brethren oversea. Here and there you occa- 
sionally .see a man in a drill suit, and he is only a little 
less conspicuous than Mr. T. G. BOWLES, M.P., in the 
House: of Commons during the Dog Days. But on the 
whole cloth, frequently dark and heavy-looking, prevails. 
I. am,told that there has.been a considerable decline 
recently in the popularity of the top hat and frock coat. 
One would not imagine so after watching the streams of 
top-hatted black gentlemen who fill the streets on a 
Sunday morning; but if there is a revolt in the colony 
against: this preposterous style of headgear, fam inclined 
to congratulate the people of British Guiana upon the 
fact. 
I did not set out upon this article with the purpose of 
telling all I saw and did within the first few weeks of 
my arrival in the colony, so that I: cannot stay to speak 
of visits to sugar estates and other little experiences, 
which, though-entirely novel to me, would seem very 
