The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido | Page 6

the debased and suffering negroes shall
possess this fertile land, and when some share of justice shall be
awarded to their cheerful tempers and ardent minds.
"Quitting Rio on the 9th, we cruised for a day or two with H.M.S.
Calliope and Grecian; and on the 11th, parting company, prosecuted
our voyage for the Cape of Good Hope."
The next notice runs thus:--"The aspect of Tristan d'Acunha is bold
even to grandeur. The peak, towering upward of eight thousand feet
above the sea, is inferior only to Teneriffe, and the precipitous cliffs
overhanging the beach are a fitting base for such a mountain. I regretted
not being able to examine this island for many reasons, but principally,
perhaps, on account of the birds of the South Atlantic I had hoped to
collect there, many of which are so often seen by voyagers, yet so little
known and so vaguely described.
"On the 29th March, after being detained a fortnight [at the Cape of

Good Hope] by such weather as no one could regret, we sailed again in
a southeaster, and after a passage of six weeks reached Java Head.
"I had been suffering for some time under a severe indisposition, and
consequently hailed the termination of our voyage with double
satisfaction, for I greatly required rest and quiet--two things impossible
to be had on ship-board. From Java Head we glided slowly through
Prince's Strait, and coasting along the island, dropped our anchor in
Anjer Roads. The scenery of this coast is extremely lovely, and
comprises every feature which can heighten the picturesque; noble
mountains, a lake-like sea, and deeply indented coast-line, rocks, islets,
and, above all, a vegetation so luxuriant that the eye never wearies with
gazing on its matchless tints. Anjer combines all these beauties, and
possesses the incalculable advantage of being within a moderate ride of
the refreshing coolness of the hills. We here procured water and
provisions in abundance, being daily visited by crowds of canoes filled
with necessaries or curiosities. Fowls, eggs, yams, cocoa-nuts, and
sweet potatoes, were mixed with monkeys of various sorts, paroquets,
squirrels, shells, and similar temptations on the stranger's purse or
wardrobe. Great was the bartering for old clothes, handkerchiefs, and
hats; and great the number of useless and noisy animals we received in
exchange. Great, too, was the merriment aboard, and the excitement
when the canoes first came. The transition from the monotony of a
sea-life to the loquacious bustle of barter with a half-civilized people is
so sudden, that the mind at once feels in a strange land, and the
commonest productions proclaim the luxuriant climes of the tropics.
Until this impression is made, we hardly know why we have been
sailing onward for four months past, so quiet and unvarying is the daily
tenor of a life aboard ship.
"1st June, Singapore.--On reaching Singapore I was most hospitably
received by the kind inhabitants, and took up my abode with Mr. Scott.
The quiet and repose of my present life, the gentle ride in the cool of
the morning and evening drive after an early dinner, are already
restoring my shattered strength, and I trust soon to be enabled to
prosecute my farther undertaking. In the mean time the Royalist is
undergoing a refit after her passage, and, like her owner, is daily

improving in good looks.
"I could say much of Singapore, for it is the pivot of the liberal system
in the Archipelago, and owes its prosperity to the enlightened measures
of Sir Stamford Raffles. The situation is happily chosen, the climate
healthy, the commerce unshackled, and taxation light; and these
advantages have attracted the vessels of all the neighboring nations to
bring their produce to this market in order to exchange it for the
manufactures of England.
"The extent of the island is about 27 miles by 11 broad. The town of
Singapore stands on the south side, facing the shores of Battam, and is
intersected by a salt-water stream, which separates the native town
from the pleasant residences of the European inhabitants; the latter
stretch along the beach, and cover a space which extends to the foot of
a slight eminence, on which stands the governor's house. Off the town
lie the shipping of various countries, presenting a most picturesque and
striking appearance. The man-of-war, the steamer, and the
merchant-vessels of the civilized world, contrast with the huge,
misshapen, and bedizened arks of China! The awkward prahus of the
Bugis are surrounded by the light boats of the island. The
semi-civilized Cochin-Chinese, with their vessels of antiquated
European construction, deserve attention from this important step
toward improvement; and the rude prahus of some parts of Borneo
claim it from their exhibiting the early dawn of maritime adventure.
"27th July.--After various causes of delay I sailed on this day