PRESENTED WITD A PYTHON. 



m 



to tlie Governor of the Straits Settlements, wlio re- 

 ceived me in the most polite manner and kindly offered 

 to assist me in any way in Ms power. At my request, 

 lie gave me notes of introduction to tlie Governor 

 of Hong Kong and the admrral commanding her 

 Majesty's fleet in the seas of China and Japan. A 

 few days of rest after my long journeys over Suma- 

 tra soon glided by, and I was ready to continue my 

 travels. 



From Singapore my plan was to proceed directly 

 to China, hni finding in poii; a French ship which 

 was bound lor Hong Kong, via Saigon, the capital of 

 Cochin China, I engaged a passage on her in order to 

 see something also of the French possessions in the 

 East. Just as we were ready to sail I met a gentle- 

 man who had lately rettimed from a long journey to 

 Cambodia, whither he had gone to photograph the 

 ruins of the wonderfiil temples in that land. He had 

 a specimen for me, he said, which I must accept before 

 I knew what it was, a condition I readily complied 

 with, but when the specimen " appeared I must con- 

 fess I was not a little suiprised to find it was an enor- 

 mous j^^^Aan. It had been caught by the natives of 

 Bankok after it had gorged itself on some unfortu- 

 nate beast, but that was some time before, and the 

 brute was evidently ready for another feast. My 

 cans containing alcohol were already on boai'd the 

 ship, but I took the monster with me when I went 

 off to her late in the evening, designing to tli-own it 

 in its box and then transfer his snakeship to a can. 

 The captain, with the greatest politeness, met me at 

 the rail, and showed me my state-room in the after- 



