town of Malacca is crowded along the banks of the small river, and
consists of narrow streets of shops and dwelling houses, occupied by the
descendants of the Portuguese, and by Chinamen. In the suburbs are
the houses of the English officials and of a few Portuguese merchants,
embedded in groves of palms and fruit-trees, whose varied and beautiful
foliage furnishes a pleasing relief to the eye, as well as most grateful
shade.
The old fort, the large Government House, and the ruins of a cathedral
attest the former wealth and importance of this place, which was once
as much the centre of Eastern trade as Singapore is now. The following
description of it by Linschott, who wrote two hundred and seventy years
ago, strikingly exhibits the change it has undergone:
"Malacca is inhabited by the Portuguese and by natives of the country,
called Malays. The Portuguese have here a fortress, as at Mozambique,
and there is no fortress in all the Indies, after those of Mozambique
and Ormuz, where the captains perform their duty better than in this
one. This place is the market of all India, of China, of the Moluccas,
and of other islands around about--from all which places, as well
as from Banda, Java, Sumatra, Siam, Pegu, Bengal, Coromandel, and
India--arrive ships which come and go incessantly, charged with an
infinity of merchandises. There would be in this place a much greater
number of Portuguese if it were not for the inconvenience, and
unhealthiness of the air, which is hurtful not only to strangers, but
also to natives of the country. Thence it is that all who live in the
country pay tribute of their health, suffering from a certain disease,
which makes them lose either their skin or their hair. And those who
escape consider it a miracle, which occasions many to leave the country,
while the ardent desire of gain induces others to risk their health, and
endeavour to endure such an atmosphere. The origin of this town, as the
natives say, was very small, only having at the beginning, by reason of
the unhealthiness of the air, but six or seven fishermen who inhabited
it. But the number was increased by the meeting of fishermen from Siam,
Pegu, and Bengal, who came and built a city, and established a peculiar
language, drawn from the most elegant modes of speaking of other
nations, so that in fact the language of the Malays is at present the
most refined, exact, and celebrated of all the East. The name of Malacca
was given to this town, which, by the convenience of its situation, in
a short time grew to such wealth, that it does not yield to the most
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