SPECTATOR'S LIBRARY.

VOYAGES AND TILAVELS,

Sarawak ; its Inhabitants and Productions : being Notes during a Residence in that Country with H. H. the Rajah Brooke. By Hugh Low, Colonial Secretary at Labuh-an Bentley. Borneo and the Indian Archipelago. With Drawings of Costume and Scenery. By Frank S. Marryat, late Midshipman of H. M. S. Semarang, Surveying Vessel.

Longman and Co.

Germany, England, and Scotland; or Recollections of a Swiss Minister. By J. H.

Merle IFAubigne, D.D. Biznpkin and Marshall; Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh. Rumor,

Brian O'Linn ; or Luck is Everything. By the Author of " Stories of Waterloo,"

" Wild Sports in the West," &c. In three volumes. Bentley.

LOW'S SARAWAK: MARRYAT'S BORNEO AND THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

THE enterprise and success of Mr. Brooke has not only turned attention towards Borneo and its vicinity, but has been the means of drawing voyagers thither. His presence at home, as a real live Rajah, has also given a temporary attraction to the subject of the Indian Archipelago, which its intrinsic importance would not so readily have attained. In addition to Captain Keppell's work embodying Mr. Brooke's journal, two publications relating to the same region are before us, and another is promised in the advertisements. Of the works that have now arrived, Mr. Hugh Low's is the more scien- tific, minute, informing, and complete. Mr. Marryat's embraces a wider extent of region ; has more narrative and adventure, greater rapidity of narrative, and a more sketchy style, yet cleverly exhibiting the lead- ing outlines of what comes before the observer. In the Sarawak of Mr. Low, the reader is presented with very full information respecting the district assigned to Mr. Brooke as Rajah, with observed or collected in- formation respecting other parts of the island. In Mr. Marryat's Borneo and the Indian Archipelago, the country Mr. Low explored is also visited, but with a tourist's rapidity, and of course superficially, though the externals are well presented. Mr. Marryat's naval duties, however, took him to very many places in the Archipelago besides Borneo. To give a fuller idea of both books, it will be necessary to consider them separately.

Mr. Hugh Low is now Colonial Secretary at Labuan or Labah-an,:the uninhabited island off. Borneo ceded by the Sultan of that country to the English : but, if he held the appointment on the cession of the place, there was nothing then to do, and he passed thirty months at the town of Sarawak, in pursuit of his calling as a naturalist, more especially a bota- nist; making continual trips into the interior, to obierve nature, col- lect specimens, and acquire knowledge from and about the inhabitants. He-also accompanied Mr. Brooke. 013 excursions, and more than once visited, the capital city Bruni. His tours, however, are only alluded to incidentally ; and consist for the most part of anecdotes illus- trative of the subject under discussion. The title, "Sarawak, its In- habitants and Productions," succinctly expresses the contents of the book. In successive chapters, Mr. Low considers the geography of the island—so far as it is known, its mineral treasures, and its animal and vegetable productions ; the diatxict of Sarawak being, of course, more elaborately treated. The inhabitants are discoursed of in like manner, with some historical touches on the question of race. In this part, as in the division relating to natural history, the fullest. and most lifelike ac- counts refer to the country under Mr. Brooke's dominion. The Malays or conquering race, the sea Dyaks or pirates, of whom we have heard so much, and the land Dyaks, analogous to the serfs of Europe, are described in their persons, institutions, customs, and character, with that specific and truthful manner which arises from original knowledge.

It will be seen that Mr. Low's arrangement bears some resemblance to that of a geographical dictionary : it has, however, but little of the dry- ness of such a work. Though not remarkable for animation or art, Mr. Low writes sufficiently well; he is engaged upon his own science, or analogous subjects ; and he considers them with that precision and know- ledge which induce perfect distinctness, and impart an air of life. When he wanders into the forest or the jungle, we seem to see, without visible effort on his part, the strange forms with the rich foliage and flowers of Tropical vegetation. In his rambles through the country, or his so- journs in the town, we obtain a very distinct idea of the cultivation, houses, dress, (or no dress,) and customs of the natives; while his de- scriptions and anecdotes convey a good picture of their social state. The novelty and freshness of the subject, as well as the interest it possesses, may contribute to the attraction of the volume. Mr. Low states, in apology for the incompleteness of some sections of his work, that he had left part of his notes behind him, not having contemplated publication when he came. home. The book, however, may be recommended as the latest and fullest account we have of an island some portion of which in likely soon to be ours.

When the licentious tyranny of the chiefs is put an end to, some ap- proach made to a bearable government, and the security of the neighbouring seas established by the destruction of the pirates or the abolition of piracy, Borneo promises to be a place of great commerce, as well in what it. gives as in what it takes. Its mineral and vegetable productions are numerous and important; some rare; some, we believe, new. Coal is found there; and the most attractive of all, gold itself, is met with under singular cir- cumstances.

" The gold is found in three situations: in crevices of limestone rocks, in allu- vial soil, and in the sand and gravel of the rivers; it is found chiefly on the West- ern and Southern portions of the island, but is not obtained in any quantities to the Northward. In Sarawak, Sambas, Sangow, and Banjar, it appears most to abound. In Sarawak, it is found in all parts of the country on the right-hand or Western branch of the river, beyond the influence of the tides; it is found also in the Southern branch, but in less considerable quantities. In the crevices of the limestone above mentioned it is worked by Malays. " Last year I accompanied Sir. Brooke on a visit to the rocks. The place they were then working was about four miles inland from the river, and about that distance from &gnaw= and Tundong. This place was called Battu Kaladi, ant

was a limestone hill about 200 feet in height, the surface of which was worn, like all the limestone rocks of the country, apparently by water, into ridges so sharp that it would have been exceedingly dangerous to have fallen upon them. Amongst these ridges were holes, very small, continuations of which penetrated into the heart of the mountain, some of them being forty or more feet in depth. The only difficulty appeared to be in the labour of making the aperture sufficiently large to admit the miner; but this accomplished, on his descent he found the bottom, which invariably opened to a cave, covered with earth of a loamy nature. This, on being brought to the surface in baskets, was washed, and we were told pro- duced a bengkal of gold, about one and three quarters of an ounce, from each bushel of earth; from six to ten or twelve bushels being found hi each cave, ac- cording to its size. It was accordingly a very gainful speculation, and the work- ing of it was carried on by all the idle and poorer classes of the community of Sarawak; so much so, that it was difficult to hire men for ordinary work.

" Gamblers repaired to this employment, and a few weeks' exertion soon re- paired their ruined fortunes; so that, by supplying them with funds to encourage them in this vice it is perhaps no advantage to the settlement. The Chinese, who were not permitted by the Malaya to work in the rock, were quietly trenching the earth at the foot of the hill, which they had long worked for the same purpose, and with more certainty of profit, as it is not always that the caves, after the la- bour expended in getting into them, are found to produce the coveted metal.

" How the gold should be discovered in these fissures at all is very remarkable, and perhaps may afford a curious fact for the study of geologists and mineralo- gists: it cannot have descended from any place higher, as the caves are found on the highest as well as on the lowest parts of the surface of the flat-topped hill; nor, after repeated examinations of the limestone, is the slightest trace of the i metal discoverable in it: the surface of the rock is but scantily furnished with earth, and that is of a vegetable nature. It is true that the whole of the soil of the surrounding district is alluvial, and strongly impregnated with gold, but not to nearly so great an extent as that found in the fissures above described; hence i the soil in these differs in the relative quantities it contains. The golden shower into which Jupiter is fabled to have transformed himself appears to have fallen here.

" Antimony is found in a vein in the same rock, the fissures of which produced the gold above described."

BORNESE SPIDERS.

The spiders, so disgusting in appearance in many other countries, are here of quite a different nature, and are the most beautiful of the insect tribe. They have a skin of a shell-like texture, furnished with curious processes, in some long, in others short, in some few, in others numerous; but are found of this description only in thick woods and shadedplaces: their colours are of every hue, brilliant and metallic as the feathers of the humming-bird, but are, unlike the bright colours of the beetle, totally dependent on the life of the insect which they beau- tify; so that it is impossible to preserve them.

MIDDLE CLASS OF SARAWAK.

The nakodahs of Sarawak are now men of wealth, and traders on a large scale, some of the boats recently built being as large as 100 tons. They sail annually to Singapore, carrying sago and the other productions of the coast, which they exchange for European goods, Javanese cloths, and brass-work, and the coarse basins and earthen-ware manufactured in China, and brought down by the junks. Until within very recent times none of these .people would have been known to possess money sufficient to build a boat, knowing that it would assuredly have been taken from them. Their improved condition is also seen in the appearance of their houses, which three years since *ere 'built entirely on nibong posts tend of atap leaves; but, finding that the European influence is likely to be permanent, (which at first they feared might not be the case,) all the better classes have within the above-named period raised houses on posts of baleen, and with wooden sides, which would be considered palaces in the capital city of Bruni.

HIGH LIFE IN BORNEO.

It is difficult to conceive how the women of the upper class pass their time con- fined in the harems of the great: the apartments allotted to them are small and dark, and each wife or concubine has a number of slaves of her own, with whom the other wives do not interfere • their cookery, and all their proceedings, appear to be carried on entirely independent of each other. The indolent enervated per- sons who now form the principal part of the nobles of Braid and Sambas confine themselves to the apartments of the women during the whole of the day; what little business they transact being done about ten or eleven at night, which is to them what the day is to other people. They are fond of playing at chess; and those of them who are industrious, as were several of the murdered pafigerans, employed themselves in the manufacture of krises, and the carving and polishing of their beautiful sheaths and handles: in this work they excelled all their sub- jects. The education of the existing nobles of Bruin has been much neglected; and the greater part of the young nobles, with the Sultan at their head, can neither read nor write. Of such a state of things the middle classes of Sarawak would, as has been already observed, be ashamed.

Mr. Marryat served as a Midshipman on board the Semarang survey- ing-ship, in a voyage undertaken to examine the Indian Archipelago; and which, instead of lasting seven years, was cut short at the end of four, in consequence, as Mr. Marryat infers, of the ill-conditioned be- haviour and unpopularity of her captain, Sir Edward Belcher. The ac- tive Midshipman occupied himself in sketching what striking features be SSW in those distant regions ; and his first intention was to publish fac- similes of his drawings of costume and scenery, so as to convey the truth, such as he saw and could delineate, without improvements or making-up by an artist, who "composes scenery of foliage not indigenous to the country, but introduced to make a good picture." To his drawings Mr. Marryat was advised to add letterpress : he has therefore had recourse to his own journal, and the logs of some of his messmates on occasions when he was not present, to give an account of the voyage of the Semarang, the scenes they saw, and the adventures they met with.

There is a narrative of the passage from Spithead ; but the voyage really commences from Singapore, and embraces a survey of the coasts of Borneo, and of the islands of the Indian Archipelago as far as Celebes in the parallel of New Guinea towards the South, reaching even to Japan Northwards. The chief intermediate places touched at were Manilla, Singapore, Hong-kong, Chusan, the Loo Choo group, and a great number of islands whose names are unknown, and some of which are uninhabited. All teem with novelty of scenery, or of men, or both. It is to be re- gretted that no map is published with either of the two volumes. When the region is virtually unknown, a map is necessary from that circum- stance itself; and if it has already been surveyed it is a great assistance to the reader, who may not have one at hand. The requirements of service, the subordinate position of a Midshipman, and, as is intimated, the obstacles which the Captain of the Semarang often interposed to the indulgence of relaxation, pleasure, or observation, were not favourable to leisurely inquiry ; nor perhaps, had the opportu- nities offered, was Mr. Frank Marryat's the species of genius to have profited by them. There is something of Captain Marryat's natural, truthful, and effective, yet rather superficial style, in the sketches. They bring the scene before us ; they please the mind, and satisfy the reader. We see the promenade at Manilla, with its mixture of classes— pure Spanish, half-breeds, English residents, and frank and free naval officers; the reader is present, though our author was not, at Captain Belcher's attack upon the prahus, which he took for pirates, and where he evidently seems to have been precipitous ; • we mount with the party up the perpendicular sides of the hills in Sarawak, where the practised natives, " to the manner born," laughed at the awkwardness and terrors of the tars ; and so it is wherever Frank Marryat carries us. But if the reader is desirous of full, solid, and specific information, especially if he wants to use it for didactic purposes, he must resort to the pages of others. The following sketch of a scene at Borneo, when the diplomatic inter- ferers, after waiting a week, got tired out and determined to bring matters to a crisis, may be taken as a sample of the Midshipman's style.

DIPLOMATISTS AT BORNEO.

At seven in the evening the party repaired to the audience-chamber, leaving their arms behind them; for they felt that any effort from five Europeans to de- fend themselves against so many hundreds, would be unavailing, and that more would be gained by a show of indifference. They landed at the platform; and the barge, in which were Lieutenant Baugh (since dead) and myself, was ordered to lie on her oars' abreast of the audience-chamber, and to keep her 6-pounder, in which there was a fearful dose of grape and canister, pointed at the Sultan him- self during the whole of the interview.

It was an anxious time: the audience-chamber was filled with hundreds of armed men, in the midst of whom were five Europeans dictating to their Sultan. The platform outside was crowded with the wild and fearless Murata: not a na- tive in the city but was armed to the teeth and anxious for the fray.

We, on our parts, were well prepared for fearful vengeance; the barge was so placed that the assassination of Mr. Brooke and the Europeans would have been revenged on the first discharge of oar gun by. the slaughter of hundreds; and in the main street lay the steamer, with a spring on her cable, her half ports up, and guns loaded to the muzzle, awaiting, as by instruction, for the discharge of the gun from the barge to follow up the work of death. The platform admitted one of the steamer's guns to look into the audience-chamber, the muzzle was pointed direct at the Sultan, a man held the lighted tow in his hand. Every European on board had his musket ready loaded, and matters assumed a serious appearance. From where I was on the barge, all appeared hushed in the audience-room. 1 could see the prime minister, Made, and Budruddeen, as they rose in turns to speak. I could perceive by the motion of their lips that they were talking, but not a sound came to our ears. This state of things lasted about half an bout and then there was a slight stir, and Mr. Brooke and his party marched towards us through the crowd of warriors. By dint of threats he had gained his point. The Sultan had signed a treaty, by which he bound himself to respect the British flag, to make over to us the is- land of Labuan, to destroy the forts on Pulcm-Cheremon, to discountenance piracy, and to instal Muds and Budruddeen into offices becoming their birth and high rank.

I have since heard Mr. Brooke remark, that, considering the natives were well aware that our guns were directed against them, the self-possession and coolness shared by every one of them were worthy of admiration. They never showed the slightest emotion: their speeches were free from gesticulation, and even their threats were conveyed in a quiet subdued tone; and everything was carried on with all the calmness and deliberation that might be expected at a Cabinet Coun- cil at St. James's.

This advancement of Mr. Brooke's friends, if made, as it doubtless was, with their own consent, did not last long. They were all shortly murdered by the imbecile Sultan and his advisers ; which drew upon him another visit from the British navy, and a still more unpalatable treaty. Some if not all of the Princes died with the spirit of the ancient Sea- Kings; a race which the Borneo nobles are said greatly to resemble.

" It was here that we heard the news of the murder of our old friends Nab. Muds and Budrnddeen. It appeared that they had been accused of being.pnvy to the attack of the English on Maludu, and supporting our claims to the island of Labuan. Budruddeen died as he had lived, a brave man and worthy of a bet- ter fate. On the approach of his enemies, he retired to his house with his sister and favourite wife, both of whom insisted upon sharing his destiny. For some time he fought like a lion against a superior force, until his servants one by one fell dead. He then retired, dangerously wounded, to an inner chamber, with his wife and sister, and allowing his enemies to follow him till the house was filled with them, he fired his pistol into a barrel of gunpowder, which had been placed in readiness, and at once destroyed himself, his friends, and his enemies. But this barbarous murder on the part of the Sultan of Borneo and his advisers was not left unpunished. Sir Thomas Cochrane went to Bruni with his scpadron, and reduced the Sultan to submission, and a proper respect for the English and those who were friendly with them."

The plates are a very conspicuous feature in Mr. Marryat's work, and exhibit considerable artistical ability for an amateur. His single figures and still-life often look like transcripts from nature. His groupes con- vey an idea of the reality ; but a want of art in composition is visible, except in the Chinese Joss-House facing the tide. The two priests are perfect monks ; the two figures in the foreground are " Celestial" daimons; and the whole impresses the notion which has often been ad- vinced, of the resemblance of some of the religious forms of the further Asiatics to those of the Romish Church.