14 EAMBLES OF A NATUEALIST. £0g. I. 



and white creatures with yellow beaks, and conspicuous for 

 their long pointed tails. Four of these birds appeared about 

 the ship on two successive days in the Indian Ocean, on the 

 second of which we were 800 miles from land. As long as 

 I was able to watch them I did not see them settle upon the 

 water, nor did they appear to attempt to catch the flying 

 fishes, which at the time were on the wing in considerable 

 numbers. 



An hour's walk in Penang gave the first glimpse of 

 Chinese life, and one could not fail to be struck with the 

 activity and energy displayed here as everywhere by the 

 celestial race, — all astir and busy, though but just daylight. 

 The verdure of the place, and the elegance and grace of the 

 various specimens of palms which met the view, were an 

 agreeable relief to the eye after a week at sea. The dense 

 jungles and sandy beaches of the Malacca peninsula were 

 visible as we proceeded towards Singapore, and at night 

 many fires were visible, which made one speculate on the 

 occupation and characters of the inhabitants of this tiger- 

 haunted land. At Singapore, after threading the green, 

 wooded islets which conduct to the harbour, having ridden 

 through hedges of bamboo, groves of cocoa and betel-nut, 

 mangrove swamps on which were built villages, forcibh' 

 recalling to mind the ancient lake-habitations, — streets 

 peopled by Malays, Chinese, and Klings or Madrasees in 

 every variety of picturesque costume, I at length found 

 myself in the verandah of a bungalow, and overlooldng a 

 garden in which many strange trees and plants were 

 growing. Among these was the Traveller's tree (Urania 

 speciosa), the banana-like leaves of which spring in a 

 beautifully imbricated fashion from the two opposite sides 

 only of the stem, the whole tree representing a gigantic 



