liY THE REV. J. E. TENISON- WOODS. 



145 



Xavier, and here his body for some short time found a sepul- 

 ture. The old streets and suburbs of Malacca contain many an 

 historic record. There is no place out of Java which so well 

 repays attentive examination. 



Penang. — From Malacca I went to Penang, the seaport next in 

 importance to Singapore and then the most northerly of the 

 Straits Settlements. It is one of the most purely Chinese colonies, 

 though the city and all its surroundings have been much modified 

 by European, or say British, influence. Penang and the opposite 

 province of Wellesly on the mainland are thriving colonies sup- 

 porting a large imputation of industrious well-to-do people. I paid 

 many visits to Penang in my journeys backwards and forwards. 

 It was one of the central points of my travels to which I repeatedly 

 returned. To the north of the province of Wellesly is the native 

 state of Keddah, divided from the province by the river Salama. 

 Twice I made boat expeditions up this river as far as Salama. 

 This village may be called a Sumatran colony settled here for the 

 purpose of mining for tin, which is very abundant. In one of my 

 visits to this village I had the misfortune to witness the loss of a 

 boatman's life through his having been carried off by a tiger. 



PERAK. 



After a short stay at Penang at the time of my first visit, I 

 returned south to the native state of Perak, then under the 

 administration of Sir Hugh Low. The port of entry was Matang, 

 a low-lying mangrove swamp of the most unwholesome surround- 

 ings, and connected with the capital by a well-made road eight 

 miles in length. Since that time, (1883) a railway connects the 

 capital with Port Weld, a better harbour slightly nearer to 

 Penang. Thaiping was then the capital, a Chinese niiaing town 

 of about 10,000 inhabitants. It was well laid out in fine wide 

 straight streets, in which the light sordid-looking bamboo shops 

 and houses were rapidly being displaced by solid brick tenements. 

 The old capital of Perak, or, at any rate, the residence of the 



