f the
two streams, and the country around is well cleared for this part;
while the graves on the right bank bear witness to the population
of former days. It is represented to have been a flourishing place,
and the neighborhood well inhabited, until the breaking out of this
unhappy war. The situation is delightful, and advantageously chosen
at the confluence of the two streams.

"_5th._--Ascended that to the left for a short distance. On the
left hand, just above Leda Tanah, is the small creek of Sarawak, the
original settlement, and from which the larger river now takes its
name. I intended to have returned to-day; but as the weather threatened
another deluge, I stopped till the following morning. It was a curious
sight to see the whole army bathe, with the commander-in-chief at
their head, and his Pangerans. The fare of these people is anything
but luxurious, for they get nothing but rice and salt; and they
were thankful in proportion for the small supplies of tea, sugar,
and biscuit I was able to spare them.

"_6th._--Quitted Leda Tanah, and reached the Royalist in five hours,
one of which we were delayed by the way. The river is remarkably
pretty; banks cleared of jungle, with fine trees, and a view of the
mountains. Many parts are exceedingly shallow; but the natives state
there is a channel for a moderate-sized vessel as far as Leda Tanah."

On Mr. Brooke's return on board the Royalist, he found his steward
Rankin, who had been lingering some time, still alive; and a seaman
named Daniel, whom he had left with a slight fever, suddenly expired
at ten at night in a fainting fit. He writes in his journal: "It is
difficult to allege the immediate cause of his death, which probably
arose from some organic complaint of the heart or the brain, quite
independent of fever. Five minutes before his decease the man's
pulse was high and full. The steward will follow in a few days; and
death, which has never before entered on board, will thus strike
two blows. To me it is a satisfaction that neither is in any way
attributable to climate.

"_7th._--Muda Hassim rendered me every assistance. A grave was
prepared, and wood for a coffin, so that by two o'clock we proceeded to
inter the dead. His last resting-place was situated on a gently rising
ground behind the Chinamen's houses. The ensign was placed over his
simple bier, and he was carried by his shipmates to the grave. All who
could be spared attended, and I performed the s