.MALACCA. 
t 
until some hours after the appointed time. The coast for the most part was bordered with 
mangrove-swamps, in which and amongst the- numerous small islands, used to lurk ever- 
watchful pirates, to pounce on unprotected Chinamen, robbing and murdering occupants of 
small boats; for which crime some seven men were hanged a few weeks before we arrived 
in Singapore. In the early morning the little steamer cast anchor off the town of Malacca, 
the sea being so shallow that even small craft have to anchor some distance from the shore, 
communication with which is carried on by means of lighters and sampans. 
Malacca is, we are told, an old Portuguese' settlement, dating back probably to the 
early part of the sixteenth century; the ruins of the forts and gates alone remain as 
emblems of the past. The inhabitants, as might be expected, are chiefly Chinese ; but there 
are also a good many half-castes, who call themselves Portuguese; Malays are also 
numerous. The houses are one-storied tiled dwellings of bricks and plaster, the water’s 
edge being fringed with pile-dwellings. A note of introduction to the Hon. Dudley Plervey, 
the Resident of Malacca, was sufficient to ensure a kindly reception, and as this gentleman’s 
tastes take a zoological turn, we soon became friends. Mr. Hervey had a few interesting 
pets, amongst them a porcupine which lived in a large box, one of the most evil-minded little 
animals I have ever seen. AVhenever the box was tapped the porcupine would back itself 
viciously into the sides, trying, no doubt, to spear with its quills the hands of its visitors. 
Mr. Hervey showed me a collection of birds that had been found in a Chinaman’s possession 
and confiscated, the law about the export of bird-skins being in force. In this collection 
were skins of three species of Pittas or Ground-Thrushes, birds bedecked with all the 
colours of the rainbow. I wondered if I should have the luck to meet with any of these 
gems of bird-life; but as long as I remained in Malacca I was doomed to disappointment. 
The following day I looked about for a bullock-waggon to convey my belongings to 
Alor-Gajah, where there is a government bungalow, built expressly for officers desiring a 
change. Now travelling in the East means taking everything with you, or going without; 
bedding and cooking-utensils, besides my collecting-boxes, with the Chinaman added, soon 
filled the cart, and we started. The distance between Malacca and Alor-Gajah is only some 
fifteen miles, but with bullocks this means the best part of a day’s journey. We drove for 
some distance through flat swampy rice-fields, which at this season of the year were becoming- 
bright emerald-green; there were few signs of forest, most of the trees having been felled 
for tapioca-planting. It was pitch dark when the bullock-cart arrived at the Alor-Gajah 
Rest House. The house was in a bad state of repair, the roof leaky, and somehow I felt 
uncomfortable and lonely on this my first night away from civilization. This was my first 
introduction to a lengthened course of chicken and tinned food, and my first real experience 
of mosquitoes. I remember going to sleep with a heavy heart, and thinking what a fool I 
was to venture into such a place; but how soon do we become accustomed to such a solitary 
existence ! a few years later I lived for over six months at a time without feeling the want 
of companionship. 
The Rest House was a roomy building of wood, thatched with palm-leaves, and ou one 
side a large verandah, under which we lived. The country round about is fairly well 
covered with trees, but there is no old forest; emerald-green rice-fields surround the hill on 
which the house is built, and a few distant forest-covered hills complete the scene. 
