CHAP. II.] 



THE CHINA BAZAAR. 



21 



liiglily respectable class of Parsee mercbants. Besides 

 these, there are numbei-s of Javanese sailors and domestic 

 servants, as well as traders from Celebes, Bali, and many 

 other islands of the Archipelago. The harbimr is ci owded 

 with men-of-war and tnidiiig vessels of ninny European 

 nations, and hundreds of ilalay pi-ans and Chinese junlvs, 

 from vessels of several hundred tons burthen down to little 

 fishing boats and passen*;er sampans ; and the town com- 

 priaea handsome public buildings and chnrcbes, Jlaborae- 

 tan mosques, Hindoo temples, Chinese joss-houses, good 

 European houses, massive warehouses, queer old Kling 

 and China bazaars, and long suburbs of Chinese and 

 Malay cottages. 



By far the most conspicuous of the various kinds of 

 people in Singapore, and those which most attract the 

 stranger's attention, ai'e the Chinese, whose numbers and 

 incessant activity give the place veiy much the appeaitince 

 of a town in China. The Chinese merciiant is generally 

 a fat round-faced man with an important and business-like 

 look. He wears the same style of clothing (loose whitt; 

 smock, and blue or black trousers) as the meanest coolie, 

 but of finer materials, and is always clean and neat ; and 

 bis long tail tipped with red silk hangs down to his heels, 

 lie has a handsome warehouse or shop in town and a good 

 1 louse in the count.r5% He keeps a fine horse and gig, ami 

 every e\'ening may be seen taking a drive bareheaded to 

 enjoy tlie cool breeze. He is rich, he owns seveitd retail 

 shops and trading schooners, he lends money at liigh 

 interest and on good security, he makes hard bargains and 

 gets fatter and richer every year. 



In the Chinese bazaar ai-e hundreds of small shops in 

 which a niiscellaneoios collection of hardware and dry 

 goods are to bo found, and where many things are sold 

 wonderfully cheap. You may buy gimlets at a penny 

 each, white cotton threatl at lour balls for a halfpenny, 

 and penknives, corkscrews, gunpowder, writing-paper, and 

 many other articles as cheap or cheaper than you can 

 purchase tliem in England. The shopkeeper is very good- 

 natured ; he will show you cveiythiiig he has, and does 

 not seem to mind if you buy nothing. He bates a little, 

 but not so much as the Klings, who almost always aak 



