The Straits of Malacca. 281 



favourable conditions of atmosphere, ninety miles off, is 

 another conspicuous object, and our eyes rest lovingly and 

 fondly upon beautiful Water Island, rising sheer out of the 

 sea, and presenting all the variety of colour and form of 

 which gorgeous foliage is capable. The greatest breadth 

 from land to land in the Straits of Malacca is 160 miles, and 

 the narrowest about twenty. During the monsoon, which 

 blows from November to May, you have thus over 500 miles 

 Of exquisite voyaging, perpetual glimpses of tropic-land, an 

 enjoya*ble temperature, and a prevalence of zephyrs rather 

 than breezes. 



One remembers how people at home laughed when the 

 importance of the Straits of Malacca was advanced by Mr. 

 Disraeli as a paramount national consideration. But after 

 making personal acquaintance with this great highway to the 

 East, one somehow moderates one's mirth, and the convic- 

 tion grows that our possessions upon the Malacca side of 

 the Straits are of immense consequence to us. It so hap- 

 pened that, giving the island of Penang a wide berth, we 

 missed a view of one of our most delightful settlements. 

 With Malacca we fared better. This rare old town, once 

 the trading emporium of the Archipelago, was concealed 

 behind the gauzy curtains of early morning, but as we neared 

 it the hastening sun came up in all his majesty. The sudden 

 beams, like willing fingers, seemed to search for and promptly 

 loosen the strings confining the vapoury veil, and in suc- 

 cession there appeared the white houses, the bungalows 

 amidst the rich foliage, the barracks, stadt-house, and other 

 prominent buildings; the bold hill of St. Paul's with its 

 remnants of the old Portuguese fort, and the ruins of the 

 church, erected in a bygone era by the conqueror Albu- 

 querque, to be the scene of the heroic labours and reputed 

 miracles of St. Xavier, 



