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56 by a strong hand, he too frequently becomes so impudent and insolent as to be utterly intolerable. The Dutch must have been aware of this when they introduced their system of mulcting the Celestials, who, when they enter Java as settlers, when they become citizens, and when they leave the country, are heavily taxed by these unrelenting masters. Spite of all, however, they get on well—some as merchants and planters, others as shopkeepers, the poorer of their countrymen contriving to gain a livelihood in the towns as hawkers.

Their quarter in Batavia being near the city, the very heart of business, is that which best suits a Chinaman; for in general he prefers the close pent-up noisy streets of a town to the free pure air of the country.

After the work of the day, the traveller will find him seated on a cool stone bench under his portico, indulging in the luxury of a very loose