atives both at Manilla and Hong Kong, who nursed me, and who were
very good to us. We found it very cold there after stewing for six
years in Borneo, and the Bishop caught a chill which made him ill all
the rest of the way home. Had we thought when we left Sarawak in '66
that we should never return there, it would have been a great trial to
bid adieu to our old home, but we had no such intention. We were only
taking Mildred to England, and seeking a necessary change for the
Bishop's failing health. The knowledge that he would not be able to
resume his work in the East dawned upon us by degrees. It was a great
disappointment, but we were thankful that an English vicarage was found
for us, where we could make a home for our children, and where the
duties and pleasures of an English parish remained to us. It is,
however, very pleasant, on a foggy day in November or February, to
return in fancy to that land of sunshine and flowers; to imagine one's
self again sitting in the porch of the mission-house, gazing at the
mountain of Matang, lit up with sunset glories of purple and gold. Then,
when the last gleam of colour has faded, to find the Chinaman lighting
the lamps in the verandah, and little dusky faces peeping out, to know
if you will sing with them "Twinkle, twinkle, little star," or the hymn
about the "Purple-headed mountain and river running by," which must have
surely been written for Sarawak children.

CHAPTER XIX.

THE ISLAND OF BORNEO.

Borneo is so little known that a short account of it may be interesting.
If any one will examine a map of Borneo they will see that it is a large
island, in shape something like a box with the lid open. The interior of
the square part of it presents almost a blank on the map, for the coasts
only are known to the civilized world. Its greatest length is eight
hundred miles, and its greatest breadth six hundred and twenty-five
miles. Ranges of mountains through the centre of the island provide the
sources of many fine rivers which are the highways of the country.

The Dutch claim the south and south-west of the island. They have
settlements at Sambas, at Pontianak, and at Banjermassin; and forts on
the rivers, inhabited by Dutch residents, or Malay chiefs in their pay:
but they have never won the hearts of the aborigines, for the Dutch
maxim is always to get as much money as possible out of native
subjects, consequently they are every now and then obliged to send
European