a little softened and sublimated when one passes from Hong-Kong, where the devil is worshipped in his naked deformity, to this place where he displays at least some of the feathers which he wore before he fell.  So you must pardon me, if my letter reflects in some measure the phase through which my mind is passing.

[Sidenote:  State of the Island.]

I found next me at breakfast the Chief of the Secretariat, an intelligent man, speaking French.  He confirmed a good many of the impressions which my own observations had led me to form respecting the state of affairs here.  The army is composed of natives; officers and non-commissioned officers, Spanish.  The artillery, or a portion of it, also Spanish.  The native Indians pay a capitation tax of $1 a head; half-castes double; Chinese $50, $30, or $12.  As usual, my poor Chinamen are hated and squeezed.  They are not obliged to become Catholics, but the native Indian women can/will not marry them unless they are, and they are not allowed to make public profession of any other religion....  After breakfast came in an English merchant, who made the passage from Suez to Singapore with me in 1857.  He says foreigners are very well treated here, but they have some difficulties about customs duties, which I have asked him to state in writing to me, that I may say a word about them if occasion offers.  The greater part of the trade here is in English hands.

[Sidenote:  Indian women.]

To pass from the higher thoughts which suggested themselves when I visited the churches this morning, I may tell you that I saw some of the devout Indian women when they left the churches on their return.  They were generally very plain, to say the least of it.  Round their waists and over their under-dress they pass a piece of silk, which is wrapped tight round the person.  The result is as nearly as possible the opposite to the effect produced by a crinoline.

[Sidenote:  Cigar making.]

I have returned from a very hot drive to visit a sugar refinery and a cigar manufactory.  I saw little to interest at the former, except the process of making chocolate by mixing cocoa, cinnamon, and sugar.  At the latter, some 8,000 girls were employed, not very pretty, but cheerful-looking.  A skilful worker can make 200 a day, so that these young ladies can poison mankind to the tune of 1,600,000 cigars a day.

[Sidenote:  The cathedral.]

Sunday, January 27th.—­Ten A.M.—­In my early morning’s walk I again visited the churches, which were in greater activity than yesterday.  In the cathedral I came in for a sermon which began ’Illustrissimo Senor’ so I suppose the Archbishop was present, and probably had me in his eye.  I could understand very little, so I did not stay it out.  It was delivered without notes (having evidently been learnt by heart), in rather a monotonous way; with a