There is a very pretty little theatre in which
operas are excellently performed. We were also surprised at seeing
large booksellers' shops, with well-stored shelves;--music and
reading bespeak our approach to the old world of civilisation; for
in truth both Australia and America are new worlds.
The various races of men walking in the streets afford the most
interesting spectacle in Port Louis. Convicts from India are
banished here for life; at present there are about 800, and they
are employed in various public works. Before seeing these people, I
had no idea that the inhabitants of India were such noble-looking
figures. Their skin is extremely dark, and many of the older men
had large mustaches and beards of a snow-white colour; this,
together with the fire of their expression, gave them quite an
imposing aspect. The greater number had been banished for murder
and the worst crimes; others for causes which can scarcely be
considered as moral faults, such as for not obeying, from
superstitious motives, the English laws. These men are generally
quiet and well-conducted; from their outward conduct, their
cleanliness and faithful observance of their strange religious
rites, it was impossible to look at them with the same eyes as on
our wretched convicts in New South Wales.
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