ASPECT OF THE TOWN. 403 



was sheltered by a row of trees, behind which were 

 houses, some of them of a good size and appearance^ 

 and inhabited by Europeans, others smaller, be- 

 longing to natives, or half-castes. We shortly after- 

 wards came to some steps, where the roads diverged 

 on each side from the river, and where we were 

 told to land on the right hand side. Here was a 

 large building called the Waterhuis, where the 

 water of the river is filtered on a large scale, 

 and supplied to shipping by a floating tank, at a 

 reasonable rate. Turning up a narrow street, 

 we passed the hotel without knowing it, and pro- 

 ceeded between some white walls, enclosing the 

 naval arsenal and other public buildings, with an 

 occasional row of trees on each hand. We then 

 reached a kind of square, in which was a church, 

 and inquired our way to Mr. Fraser's, who, we 

 understood, was the principal English merchant. 

 We here came again on the river, over which was a 

 large wooden bridge, leading to the Chinese quarter. 

 Above the bridge, shaded by a fine row of tamarind- 

 trees, were a number of large houses and stores, 

 where the principal merchants had their offices. 

 As it was now nearly four o'clock, we found Mr. 

 Fraser had gone out to his country-house, to which 

 Captain Blackwood proceeded, while Mr. Bell 

 and I returned to the hotel. Here we found a very 

 fair table d'hote, where were several Dutch officers, 

 and other young men, and one or two ladies. After 

 dinner we procured a carriage, a kind of old caleche, 

 drawn by two ponies, and drove round the town, 



2 d <2 



