a little bread, with two or three glasses of
canary, he, with Thomas's assistance, went
to bed."

A CHINAMAN'S BALL.

Singapore, February 21st, 1852.

SUCH of your readers as have visited the
Golden Chersonese, with the pretty and
thriving little island situated at its southern
extremity, must have observed with some
curiosity the confluence on that spot of a
hundred different streams of population. From
the west and from the east, from the south
and from the north, strangers are perpetually
arriving in search of health, pleasure, or profit.
Chief among these immigrants are the natives
of the Celestial Empire  who, allured by
rupees (although an emigrant from China
makes an outlaw of himself), would, at any
time of the day or night undertake the
circumnavigation of the globe. At Singapore
they have long formed the most active and
important class of inhabitants. Arriving
frequently with an empty purse, they apply
themselves fearlessly and without the least
fastidiousness to any kind of labour that presents
itself. They live sparely, lie on boards, and
display an example of economy which in Western
Europe would inspire even misers with
despair. The consequence of all this, is, that
in some cases they amass large fortunes, and
either return to China,or remain where they are
already comfortable, resolving for the remainder
of their days to feast on the juiciest of dogs.

Yet, though these hardy adventurers abound
not only here in Singapore, but in every other
part of the East, few things appear to be less
understood than their real habits and charac-
ter. Sometimes, one finds, them represented
as a pacific and timid, but industrious people,
with little of the spirit of enterprise, and no
feeling of independence. Elsewhere they
are regarded as fierce, turbulent, insatiable;
addicted to material indulgences; faithless,
cruel, and seldom touched with sympathy for
other men.

There are certainly some contradictions in
the character of the Chinese, which will
supply colour to either of these sketches. Vain
they certainly are, of being, according to their
own theory, the only nation that is gifted
with two eyes. At the same time, they often
condescend to use, in a most servile way, the
eyes of Europeans. Until the present time,
however, they would seem to have resisted all
temptation to indulge in balls and routs, to
enliven their time by familiar social colloquies
with ladies, or to give champagne suppers.
At length, however, even in this respect the
time has come when the ethics of Confucius
have proved too weak to resist the demoralising
impulse of example. Civilisation makes
sad havoc among the principles of Buddhism.
Instead of approaching through opium the
joys of Nibb?n, or absolute quietude, the men
of long tails and angular physiognomy have
entered with a horrible energy upon the
career of Western dissipation: late hours,
fiddling, dancing, and rich collations liberally
sprinkled with champagne.

Kim Sing, a merchant well-known as an
Antonio on the Bialto of Singapore,
conceived a few weeks ago the intrepid design
of giving the first Chinese ball ever beheld
in this part of the world. Having recently
erected a spacious Godown, or suite of
chambers and warehouses, he resolved to
convert one of these into a magnificent
banqueting-hall and dancing-room. Europeans
probably aided him in organising the preliminaries
of the entertainment, in selecting the
musicians, and in the judicious provision of
refreshment for his guests. Numerous
invitations were issued to gentlemen and ladies
of all tribes and tongues, who were requested
to be present in their respective costumes on
the appointed evening at the Godown of Kim
Sing. A detail of the ethnological display
made at this party might be taken for a bad
joke, but I am perfectly serious and deliberate
in stating generally that the company included
Englishmen, Frenchmen, Dutchmen, Scotchmen,
Irishmen, Germans, Portuguese from
Malacca, Spaniards from the Philippines,
Malays, Klings, Bombayises, Cambodians,
Tonquinese, Mandarins from Cochin China,
Siamese, Peguans, Arabs, Javanese, Jews,
Parsees, Chinese, and half-castes.

I considered myself extremely fortunate to
have arrived just in time to be present at this
entertainment. I had of course about me (as
every body else had) the usual prejudices of my
own race, and therefore, on being presented to
the master of the house, with his pig-tail, sharp
features, and Mongolian eyes, it was with much
difficulty that I kept my mirth under polite
restraint. I had been introduced under the
best possible auspices, and soon felt myself
quite at home, both with the Celestial and
the terrestrial visitors. The ladies of the
company being in a decided minority, each
having about two gentlemen to her fair share,
I, being quite a stranger, began to apprehend
a paucity of partners. I was mistaken: a
young lady of Dutch descent, but dark in
complexion as a Malay, soon found herself, I
know not how, my vis-à-vis, and away we
went, whirling and pirouetting down the
apartment, to the great amazement of the
Asiatic neophytes. I must pause here to
observe, by way of parenthesis, that the ballroom
was not smaller than the body of a
good-sized English church, with a row of pillars on
each side under the galleries, behind which
the spectators thronged. Next after us,
followed a Jew in the costume of Bengal with a
delicate young damsel fresh from England.
Then, came a fire-worshipper with a Parisian
belle, and then a multitude of unimaginable
combinations, until the floor was crowded with
dancers glancing hither and thither beneath,
the glitter of the splendid chandeliers.

The harmony of dance and music was,
however, presently disturbed by an uncivil French-