,
did what he could for the cow and calves. When the rebels filled our
house and appropriated our effects, they broke open the plate-chest, and
melted the silver they found. Then Syce came forward and claimed a
portion of the spoil They gave him a lump of silver with some alloy in
it, the produce of some plated salvers, as his share. He pretended to
help them, but this lump he hid in the earth near his cottage, and, on
our return, triumphantly produced it as what he had saved for us from
the wreck. Some years after, this old man was very ill with an abscess
in his thigh, which he was sure would kill him. Bishop doctored and
nursed him through it, but he had given him a good-sized bag of dollars,
his savings, saying he wished Bishop to be his heir. When he got well
and the money was returned to him, he spent it in paying a visit to his
relations at Trichinopoli. I believe this faithful creature worshipped
the bull of our herd, and it was a great trouble to him that the Chinese
cruelly cut off the tail of the poor animal, thereby depriving him of
the means of whisking off the flies which sting so vehemently in that
climate.

CHAPTER XIII.

EVENTS OF 1857.

When we were once more at home we found it would be better to go to
Singapore, and from thence to Penang, for a little quiet. We were both
ill, the Bishop seriously so. We wanted for everything, and the bazaar
in Sarawak could not supply us: besides, ours was the only English
dwelling-house left in the place, except the Borneo Company's premises.
Captain Brooke and Mr. Grant with their brides were immediately
expected, and must be housed at the mission while a bungalow was being
built across the water. We left Miss Woolley to take care of the
expected visitors, the children and I went to Singapore in the _Sir
James Brooke_ steamer, and Sir William Hoste gave a passage in H.M.S.
_Spartan_ to the Bishop and Alan Grant.

I was glad of an opportunity to get my baby vaccinated, which could only
happen at Singapore in those days. We were two months away, and the cool
quiet of Penang Hill was a great refreshment. The first news I heard
there was that Miss Woolley was to be married to Mr. Chambers. This
wedding took place immediately on our return home, the end of July. It
was a great benefit to the Banting Dyaks, for Mrs. Chambers devoted
herself to the women and young girls, and was a true friend to them. She
taught them to sew, and instructed them in morals and