to hunt them. They are proud of taking Christian vessels, and
of selling Christians as slaves.

There are some valuable plants in Malacca. There is one which has a seed
called "pepper." There is a tree which has in the stem a pith called
sago. Who collects the pepper and the sago? There are mines of tin. Who
digs up the tin? The idle Malays will not take so much trouble, so the
industrious Chinese labor instead. The Chinese come over by thousands to
get rich in Malacca. As there is not room for them in their own country,
they are glad to settle in other countries. But though the Chinese set an
example of _industry_, they do not set an example of _goodness_; for they
gamble, and so lose their _money_, they smoke opium, and so lose their
_health_, and they commit many kinds of wickedness by which they lose
their _souls_.

As for the Malays, they are so very idle, that when trees fall over the
river, and block up the way, they will not be at the trouble of cutting a
way through for their boats,--but will sooner creep _under_ or climb
_over_ the fallen trees.

The capital of Malacca is Malacca, and this city belongs to the English;
but it is of little use to them, because the harbor is not good.

SINGAPORE.

This city also belongs to the English, and it is of great use to them,
because the harbor is one of the best in the world. Many ships come there
to buy, and to sell, and amongst the rest, the Chinese junks. The city is
built on a small island, very near the coast. There are many beautiful
country houses perched on the hills, where English families live, and
there are long flights of stone steps leading from their houses to the
sea.

But many of the Malays have no home but a boat, hardly large enough to
lie down in. There they gain a living by catching fish, and collecting
shells, and coral, to exchange for sago, which is their food. These men
are called "Ourang-lout," which means "Man of the water." Does not this
name remind you of the apes called "Ourang-outang," which means "Man of
the woods?" There are Ourang-outangs in the forests of Malacca, and they
are more like men, and are more easily tamed than any other ape. Yet
still how different is the _tamest_ ape from the _wildest_ man; for the
one has an immortal soul, and the other has none.

The Malay language is said to be the easiest in the world, even as the
Chinese is the most difficult. The Malay language has no cases or
genders, or conjugations, which