CHURCH AND SCHOOL. 371 



tion had apparently some tinge of native blood, and 

 were generally pale and sallow looking. The Malay 

 children were clean, neat, and many of them good- 

 looking and intelligent. The schoolmaster produced 

 a few Malay hymn-books, and seating himself at a 

 small pedal organ, he made them sing some hymns 

 and psalms. The hymn-books had an appearance 

 of considerable antiquity, and the musical notation 

 under the words was of that ancient kind that in 

 England one only sees in old manuscript music in 

 cathedrals, the long notes or "breves," being of a 

 square form. The children sang very fairly, and 

 seemed very docile and attentive. The Dutch clergy- 

 man here has taken much trouble with the Malay 

 inhabitants, many of whom are Christians. He had 

 resided here ten years, and had just received an 

 order from the King of Holland for his services. 

 At this end of their East Indian possessions, indeed, 

 the Dutch have been much more attentive to the 

 native population than in their more important do- 

 minions of Java and its neighbourhood. Several of 

 the islands off the eastern end of Timor are entirely 

 Christian, and remained so even when there were 

 no Dutch missionaries left among them.* 



In walking about the town I had an opportunity 

 of seeing, for the first time, something of the man- 

 ners of the Chinese. They all wear their national 

 dress, and are generally a plump, laughing, good- 



* See the " Voyage of the Dourgain the Molucca Archipelago, 

 by Mr. Kolf," translated by Mr. Earl. 



€ B 2 



