atives thought of the European Rajah
Brooke playing at leap-frog, but it is certain that the rajah did not
care what they thought. I have said little of Mr. Brooke, but I will now
say that a more mild, amiable, and celebrated person I never knew. Every
one loved him, and he deserved it.

After we had warmed ourselves with play, we lighted an enormous fire to
keep off the mosquitoes, and made a bowl of grog to keep off the effects
of the night air, which is occasionally very pernicious. We smoked and
quaffed, and had many a merry song and many a witty remark, and many a
laugh about nothing on that night. As it is highly imprudent to sleep in
the open air in Borneo, at ten o'clock we broke up and went to repose in
the boats under the spread awnings. Just as we were selecting the
softest plank we could find for a bed, we had an alarm which might have
been attended with fatal consequences. I omitted to mention that when we
rose to part and go into the boats, one of the party threw a lighted
brand out of the fire at the legs of another; this compliment was
returned, and as it was thought very amusing, the object being to leap
up and let the brand pass between your legs, by degrees all the party
were engaged in it, even the rajah and the natives joined in the sport,
and were highly amused with it, although with bare legs they stood a
worse chance of being hit than we did. At last the brands were all
expended and the fire extinct, and then, as I said, we went away to
sleep under the boats' awnings. We were in the act of depositing our
loaded rifles by our sides in a place of security, when the unearthly
war cry rose in the jungle, and in the stillness of the night these
discordant screams sounded like the yelling of a legion of devils.
Immediately afterwards a body of natives rushed from the jungle in the
direction of the boats, in which we supposed that our European party
were all assembled. Always on our guard against treachery, and not
knowing but that these people might belong to a hostile band, in an
instant our rifles were in our hands and pointed at the naked body of
natives, who were now within twenty yards of us. Mr. Hentig was on the
point of firing, when loud shouts of laughter from the Dyaks arrested
his hand, and we then perceived that Mr. Brooke and others were with the
natives, who enjoyed the attempt to intimidate us. It was fortunate
that it ended as it did; for had Mr. Hentig been more hasty, blood must
have