Ali perhaps knew that he was watched; at all events, his whole conduct was changed. No man could behave more respectfully to the officers, or could more carefully see that those under him did their duty, while he himself worked away as hard as any one. He seemed to bear no ill-will against Tarbox or any of the other men, while he appeared to have positively a kindly feeling towards Potto Jumbo, and to be especially patronising to Macco. Indeed, after this everything went on smoothly and pleasantly among the men, while perhaps the dangers they had gone through made the passengers even more sociable and pleasant than before.
Chapter Seven.
We enter the Eastern Seas.
Land was in sight, stretching out on either hand. On the port side was the island of Sumatra; on the starboard, the north end of Java. The Bussorah Merchant, with a light wind, was standing through the Straits of Sunda. Mr Hooker walked the deck, in spite of the heat, rubbing his hands with pleasure. He was now approaching the region he had long desired to examine; and he was pleasing himself with the thoughts of the wonders of Nature which would be revealed to his sight. Soon the straits were passed, and numerous low-lying shores of various islands, large and small, appeared in sight, covered with the richest vegetation, which seemed to flourish under the fearful heat which oppressed the spirits of us poor mortals who had come from so much cooler a region. It had been hot when passing the tropics: it was hotter still now; for no clouds overhead tempered the sun’s rays. The pitch, as before, in the sides and seams of the deck, melted and oozed out. The tar dropped from the rigging, and none of us willingly touched any piece of metal for fear of burning our fingers. Merlin wisely kept in the shade, and the young ladies followed his example. I, however, being now stationed in the mizzen-top, had to go aloft. I could not help often wishing, as I looked down into the clear sea, that I might take a leap overboard, and dive down into the depths below.
Singapore—that wonderful emporium of the commerce of the East, established by the sagacious foresight of Sir Stamford Raffles—was now reached. It was the first time our anchor had been dropped since we quitted the Thames. The only land sighted till Sumatra and Java were seen, was the small island of Tristan da Cunha.
“You see, my boy, the result of a sound knowledge of navigation,” observed Mr Hooker to me. “But the captain has to thank the astronomers, and the inventors and the manufacturers of his instruments, or he could not have thus easily found his way half round the world, as he has done. You see we depend upon each other; and that is what I want to impress upon you. You may not have much scientific knowledge yourself, but if you have observation, you can accurately note the various phenomena you meet with, and give your descriptions to those who will make good use of them. I had contemplated leaving the ship at Singapore; but I have made up my mind to go with you to Japan, and then to return in her to one of the ports in these Eastern islands which Captain Davenport purposes visiting.”
I was very glad to hear of Mr Hooker’s determination, for I should have been very sorry to have lost his society.
The town and island of Singapore exhibit a variety of Eastern races and different religions and modes of life. The ruling class are of course English, but the Chinese are the most numerous, and among them are found many wealthy merchants, most of the mechanics and labourers, and also agriculturalists. The sea-faring population are mostly Malays. There are a good many Portuguese, who act as clerks and shop-keepers. There are also Arabs and Klings of Western India, who are Mohammedans. There are also Parsee merchants, while the grooms and washermen are mostly Bengalees. These, with numerous Javanese sailors, as well as traders from Celebes, Bali, and numerous other islands of the East, make up this curiously mixed population. Then in the harbour are found men-of-war, merchant vessels of numerous European nations, large numbers of Chinese junks and Malay praus, with hundreds of little fishing and passenger boats. Chinese josshouses, Indian temples, Mohammedan mosques, rise up on either side with Christian churches. The warehouses are substantial, the residences of the Europeans large and commodious, contrasting with the long rows of queer little Malay and Chinese cottages, among which are found Kling and Chinese bazaars, where everything can be bought, from a reel of cotton to a sword or razor. Numberless vendors of various articles throng the streets with water, fruit, vegetables, soup, and a sort of jolly made of sea-weed. Here a man comes running along with a pole, having a cooking apparatus on one end and a table on the other, from which he will immediately furnish a meal of shell-fish, vegetables, and rice at a small cost.