power should be given him, even to blank papers impressed only with the royal sign manual. Thus armed, he felt that he could act as he thought best, without being harassed by continual instructions from the distant and excitable powers of his own country. His very first policy was such as would never have been acted on by one differently situated. He remained for months absolutely passive, as though he had crossed the Atlantic in vain; but he knew that his quiet influence was all the time preparing the way for a better state of things, more effectually than would immediate hostilities: he preferred patience to violence, and his reward was, that he most quickly arrived at the triumphant completion of his embassy, and was spared all the evils of a violent policy. Mr. Brooke was in so far a similar situation, that he was able to bide his own time, without fear of being recalled from any misconstruction of his actions, or without the temptation to gain favour at home by active measures and gallant exploits, ending only in self-display, when a quieter line would in the end be most efficacious. Prompt, resolute, and courageous when necessary, he yet preferred showing to the natives the more peaceful aspect of his national character: Would that, amid all the valiant achievements which have filled the annals of our country's foreign policy, there had been a greater proportion of peaceful victories! Many no doubt there have been, where our moral pre-eminence has taken the place of sword and bayonet; but those weapons of blood have been but too active, and where they have been used in any but the cause of just vengeance, we may boast indeed of a conquest over the bodies of men, but not over their hearts or souls.

For the benefit of those who may not be acquainted with the circumstances of Mr. Brooke's expedition, we will now, as much as possible in his own words, give an outline of that career which has brought him into notice. This outline shall be brief, for we hope afterwards to consider, as distinct topics, the passages of the book before us which refer to the physical nature of the island of Borneo, and also to the characters of its native inhabitants, especially as that may affect their ultimate conversion to Christianity.

In the year 1838, Mr. Brooke made a statement of his proposed object, which forms a most interesting appendix to Captain Keppel's book. The commencement of this we will extract here:

'The voyage I made to China opened an entirely new scene, and showed me what I had never seen before, savage life and savage nature. I inquired, and I read, and I became more and more assured that there was a large field of discovery and adventure open to any man daring enough to enter

upon it. Just take a map and trace a line over the Indian Archipelago, with its thousand unknown islands and tribes. Cast your eye over the vast island of New Guinea, where the foot of European has scarcely, if ever, trod. Look at the northern coast of Australia, with its mysterious Gulf of Carpentaria; a survey of which it is supposed would solve the great geographical question respecting the rivers of the mimic continent. Place your finger on Japan, with its exclusive and civilised people; it lies an unknown lump on our earth, and an undefined line on our charts! Think of the northern coast of China, willing, as is reported, to open an intercourse and trade with Europeans, spite of their arbitrary government. Stretch your pencil over the Pacific Ocean, which Cook himself declares a field of discovery for ages to come! Proceed to the coast of South America, from the region of gold-dust to the region of furs—the land ravaged by the cruel Spaniard, and the no less cruel buccanier-the scene of the adventures of Drake and the descriptions of Dampier. The places I have enumerated are mere names, with no specific ideas attached to them: lands and seas where the boldest navigators gained a reputation, and where hundreds may yet do so, if they have the same courage and the same perseverance. Imagination whispers to Ambition, that there are yet lands unknown which might be discovered. Tell me, would not a man's life be well spent-tell me, would it not be well sacrificed, in an endeavour to explore these regions? When I think on dangers and death, I think on them only because they would remove me from such a field of ambition, for energy, and for knowledge.

'Borneo, Celebes, Sooloo, the Moluccas, and the islands of the Straits of Sunda and Banka, compose what is called the Malayan group; and the Malays located on the sea-shores of these and other islands may with certainty be classed as belonging to one people. It is well known, however, that the interior of these countries is inhabited by various tribes, differing from the Malays and each other, and presenting numerous gradations of early civilisation; the Dyaks of Borneo, the papuans of New Guinea, and others, besides the black race scattered over the islands. Objects of traffic here as elsewhere present interesting subjects of inquiry; and whilst our acquaintance with every other portion of the globe, from the passage of the Pole to the navigation of the Euphrates, has greatly extended, it is matter of surprise that we know scarcely anything of these people beyond the bare fact of their existence, and remain altogether ignorant of the geographical features of the countries they inhabit. Countries which present an extended field for Christianity and commerce, which none surpass in fertility, rich beyond the Americas in mineral productions, and unrivalled in natural beauty, continue unexplored to the present day; and, in spite of the advantages which would probably result, have failed to attract the attention they so well deserve. The difficulty of the undertaking will scarcely account for its non-performance, if we consider the voluntary sacrifices made on the shrine of African research, or the energy displayed and the sufferings encountered by the explorers of the polar regions; yet the necessity of prosecuting the voyage in an armed vessel, the wildness of the interior tribes, the lawless ferocity of the Malays, and other dangers, would prevent most individuals from fixing on this field for exertion, and points it out as one which could best and most fully be accomplished by Government or some influential body.'-Vol. i. pp. 367, &c.

The conclusion of the same document is also most interesting, especially when we know of his final success.

'I cannot but express my regret, that from pecuniary considerations as well as the small size of the vessel, and the limited quantity of provisions she carries, I am unable to take a naturalist and draughtsman; but I should

always hail with pleasure any scientific person who joined me abroad, or who happened to be in the countries at the time; and I may venture to promise him every encouragement and facility in the prosecution of his pursuits. I embark upon the expedition with great cheerfulness, with a stout vessel, a good crew, and the ingredients of success as far as the limited scale of the undertaking will permit; and I cast myself upon the waters— like Mr. Southey's little book-but whether the world will know me after many days, is a question which, hoping the best, I cannot answer with any positive degree of assurance.'-Vol. i. p. 381.

Captain Keppel's sketch of Mr. Brooke's life previous to 1838 we also insert.

'But before illustrating these circumstances from his own journals, it may be acceptable to say a few words respecting the individual himself, and his extraordinary career. I am indebted to a mutual friend, acquainted with him from early years, for the following brief but interesting outline of his life; and have only to premise, that Mr. Brooke is the lineal representative of Sir Robert Vyner, Bart. and Lord Mayor of London in the reign of Charles II. Sir Robert had but one child, a son, Sir George Vyner, who died childless, and his estate passed to his heir-at-law, Edith, his father's eldest sister, whose lineal descendant is our friend. Sir Robert was renowned for his loyalty to his sovereign, to whom he devoted his wealth, and to whose memory he raised a monument.

"Mr. Brooke was the second, and is now the only surviving son of the late Thomas Brooke, Esq., of the civil service of the East India Company; was born on the 29th April, 1803; went out to India as a cadet, where he held advantageous situations, and distinguished himself by his gallantry in the Burmese war. He was shot through the body in an action with the Burmese, received the thanks of the government, and returned to England for the recovery of his prostrated strength. He resumed his station, but shortly afterwards relinquished the service, and in search of health and amusement left Calcutta for China in 1830. In this voyage, while going up the China seas, he saw for the first time the islands of the Asiatic Archipelago-islands of vast importance and unparalleled beauty-lying neglected and almost unknown. He inquired and read, and became convinced that Borneo and the Eastern Isles afforded an open field for enterprise and research. To carry to the Malay races, so long the terror of the European merchant vessel, the blessings of civilization, to suppress piracy and extirpate the slave-trade, became his humane and generous objects; and from that hour the energies of his powerful mind were devoted to this one pursuit. Often foiled, often disappointed, but animated with a perseverance and enthusiasm which defied all obstacle, he was not until 1838 enabled to set sail from England on his darling project. The intervening years had been devoted to preparation and inquiry; a year spent in the Meditteranean had tested his vessel, the Royalist,' and his crew; and so completely had he studied his subject, and calculated on contingencies, that the least sanguine of his friends felt as he left the shore, hazardous and unusual as the enterprise appeared to be, that he had omitted nothing to insure a successful issue. "I go," said he, " to awake the spirit of slumbering philanthropy with regard to these islands; to carry Sir Stamford Raffles' views in Java over the whole Archipelago. Fortune and life I give freely; and if I fail in the attempt, I shall not have lived wholly in vain.”

"In the admiration I feel for him I may farther be permitted to add, that if any man ever possessed in himself the resources and means by which such noble designs were to be achieved, that man was James Brooke! Of the most enlarged views; truthful and generous; quick to acquire and

appreciate; excelling in every manly sport and exercise; elegant and accomplished; ever accessible; and above all, prompt and determined to redress injury and relieve misfortune, he was of all others the best qualified to impress the native mind with the highest opinion of the English character. How he has succeeded, the influence he has acquired, and the benefits he has conferred, his own uncoloured narrative, contained in the following pages, best declares, and impresses on the world a lasting lesson of the good that attends individual enterprise, when well-directed, of which every Englishman may feel justly proud.”

Such is the sketch of Mr. Brooke by one well competent to judge of that to which he bears witness. In pursuance of the mission thus eloquently and truly described, that gentleman left his native shores in the year 1838, in his yacht the Royalist' schooner, of 142 tons, belonging to the Royal Yacht Squadron, with a crew of upwards of twenty men. His general views were distinct and certain; but the details into which they shaped themselves have been so entirely guided by unforeseen occurrences, that it is necessary to look to his first visit to Borneo for their explanation; and in order to do so, I must refer to his private journal, which he kindly confided to me, after I had in vain tried to persuade him to take upon himself the publication of its contents, so rich in new and interesting intelligence. Vol. i. pp. 2, &c.

Mr. Brooke's own journal thus describes the preparation necessary for his project.

"I had for some years turned my mind to the geography of the Indian Archipelago, and cherished an ardent desire to become better acquainted with a country combining the richest natural productions with an unrivalled degree of luxuriant beauty. Circumstances for a time prevented my entering on this field for enterprise and research; and when the barriers were removed, I had many preparations to make and some difficulties to overcome. ❝“In an expedition conducted by government, the line of discipline is so distinctly understood, and its infringement so strictly punished, that small hazard is incurred of any inconvenience arising from such a source. With an individual, however, there is no such assurance, for he cannot appeal to the articles of war; and the ordinary legal enactments for the protection of the mariner will not enable him to effect objects so far removed beyond the scope of the laws. I was fully aware that many would go, but that few might stay; for whilst a voyage of discovery in prospectu possesses great attractions for the imagination, the hardship, danger, and the thousand other rude realities, soon dissipate the illusion, and leave the aspirant longing for that home he should never have quitted. In like manner, seamen can be procured in abundance, but cannot be kept from desertion whenever any matter goes wrong; and the total previous ignorance of their characters and dispositions renders this more likely, as the admission of one "black sheep" goes far to taint the entire crew.

"These considerations fully convinced me that it was necessary to form men to my purpose, and by a line of steady and kind conduct, to raise up a personal regard for myself and attachment for the vessel, which could not be expected in ordinary cases. In pursuance of this object, I was nearly three years in preparing a crew to my mind, and gradually moulding them to consider the hardest fate or misfortune under my command as better than the ordinary service in a merchant-vessel. How far I have succeeded, remains yet to be proved; but I cannot help hoping that I have raised the character of many, and have rendered all happy and contented since they have been with me; and certain am I that no men can do their duty more cheerfully or willingly than the crew of the 'Royalist.'

"I may pass over in silence, my motives for undertaking so long and arduous a voyage; and it will be sufficient to say, that I have been firmly convinced of its beneficial tendency in adding to knowledge, increasing trade, and spreading Christianity. The prospectus of the undertaking was published in the Geographical Journal, vol. viii. part iii. of 1838, when my preparations for sea were nearly complete. I had previously avoided making any public mention of my intentions, for praise before performance is disgusting; and I knew that I should be exposed to prying curiosity, desirous of knowing what I did not know myself.'-Vol. i. pp. 5, &c.

On the 16th of December, 1838, the 'Royalist' finally quitted England, and on the first of June in the following year, the adventurous party reached Singapore, which port formed their head-quarters for subsequent refittings, and for communication with Europe. On the 1st of August they anchored off Borneo, but this year they remained but a few months, during which time Mr. Brooke made many interesting exploring expeditions, and formed an acquaintance with Muda Hassim, the Rajah of Sarawak, who is afterwards most prominent in the history. He then returned to Singapore, and his next voyage was devoted to the islands of the Celebes. That expedition, and also ill-health, prevented his again visiting Sarawak till the end of August 1840. From this time began the extraordinary part of his career. Instead of only exploring the country, he now became immersed in its politics. Muda Hassim enlisted him on his side against an army of rebels in the interior, and by a long course of events, in all which the virtues we have ascribed to him are most conspicuous, he at length received the appointment of Rajah of Sarawak in September 1841, Muda Hassim giving up his position-having only undertaken it during the civil warwith the intention of returning to Borneo Proper, of which his uncle was the sultan. Once in power, his influence increased most rapidly; he established courts of justice, in which he arbitrated between the oppressive Malays and their Dyak dependents in a manner that astonished the former, and made the latter look on him as their friend. He then directed his attention to the establishment of commercial intercourse between Borneo and Europe, and as a first step, he waged desperate war with the swarms of pirates that have for ages infested the whole coast. This would appear to have been the occupation of whole tribes, whose cruelties and depredations put an entire stop to all improvement in the general state of the island. For this purpose he received assistance from several of H. M. Ships, and in company with Captain Keppel of the Dido,' he had many a sharp encounter, before the haunts where these lawless wretches protected themselves in most formidable array could be broken up. In 1845 Mr. Brooke was appointed Her Majesty's agent in Borneo, and sailed for Borneo Proper (the chief town of the island),