418 SINGAPORE. 



Some persons, who were said to be Arabs from the east coast of 

 Africa, were also pointed out to me, who were quite different from all 

 the other races. They had what would be termed woolly hair, with 

 large whiskers, and one of them was remarkable for his large blubber 

 lips. Their complexion did not strike any of us as being much 

 darker than that of the Hindoos or Malays. Their face was long, and 

 the nose by no means prominent : one of these had a strange appear- 

 ance about his head, and it was some time before it was discovered 

 that it was owing to his beard and whiskers, which were long, being 

 in gray and black stripes. Although it was undoubtedly clone by 

 some artificial process, yet it seemed quite natural. 



Individuals of the Caffre tribe, from the east coast of Africa, were 

 also met with, and it is said that there are many of them in Hindoo- 

 stan, whither they have been carried by the English from Mozam- 

 bique; but they are rarely met with so far east as Singapore. They 

 resembled those seen by us at Rio, though we had no opportunity of 

 identifying them by their tattooing. 



The Chinese burial-place is about a mile from the town, situated 

 on the side of a hill, at the apex of which is the josh-house, which, as 

 usual, is filled with hideous idols. This building has a light and 

 pretty effect, principally arising from its situation. 



This burial-place is almost filled with graves; and there was a 

 small bench or platform in front of many of the tombs, on which were 

 the remains of josh-sticks, which, I was told, were here burnt annually, 

 in remembrance of the dead. The Chinese appear to be fond of 

 monumental inscriptions, for there were but few graves without one. 

 I was very desirous of hearing some of these translated, but we had 

 no interpreter with us. 



On our road to Mr. Balestier's, we passed the burying-place of the 

 Gentoos : it is quite open, and apparently a dense shrubbery ; but 

 near the town end is a chunam pedestal, surmounted with a lotus, 

 for a drawing of which I am indebted to Mr. Peale : this sketch will 

 be found at the end of this chapter. On its sides are inscriptions in 

 Cingalese, and one in English, the latter of which states that "This 

 burying-ground belongs to the Hindoo people of Madras and Singa- 

 pore. 1828." The design was tasteful, but our admiration was some- 

 what lessened on finding that the material is not stone, to which it 

 has a very strong resemblance. 



I spent a large portion of a day at the magnetic observatory, which 

 is under charge of Lieutenant Elliot, of the Indian army. The 



