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contents. I need only say that a box similar to the one you 
now see, when full of negatives, fell to the ground from an 
elephant’s back : the box was a little worse, and that was 
all. A nest of three ebonite funnels will be found very 
useful: glass funnels are certain to be broken. The developing 
cups may also be of ebonite, but I must say I prefer glass. 
On arriving at Singapore the keys of my boxes could 
nowhere be found. A couple of Chinamen kindly undertook 
to pick the locks and make new keys. Their “ little bill” 
amounted to three dollars — about thirteen shillings ! During 
my stay in the island there was scarcely a morning when the 
foliage was absolutely still. At sunrise a breeze nearly 
always sprung up, and continued more or less till sunset ; 
then it became perfectly calm, and during the night there 
was frequently heavy rain, with thunder and lightning. 
My first attempt at photography was rather disagreeable. 
I had placed the camera under the shade of a large bamboo, 
and was focussing carefully. I ought to mention that the 
morning dress in Singapore is made as light and cool as 
possible. Loose trousers of silk or calico, grass slippers, and 
a flannel shirt. In this costume I was suddenly attacked by 
a swarm of great red ants. They had dropped down from 
the branches overhead, and were all over me before I noticed 
them, biting ferociously. At first I thought a snake had 
bitten me. As soon as I got clear of the focussing cloth and 
saw the ants, I had nothing for it but to run indoors and 
plunge into a bath of cold water. After this I carefully 
avoided bamboo trees. These red ants make nests by gum- 
ming the leaves together, in the same way as caterpillars in 
this country. 
The scenery in Singapore is more suitable for the stereo- 
scope than for large pictures. Knowing nothing of the 
language, and having to do everything myself, small plates 
were quite as much as I could manage. At first the tre- 
mendous heat inside the tent made me feel very sick and 
giddy, but it soon ceased to be an inconvenience. 
