Borneo and the Indian Archipelago: with drawings of costume and sceneryMarryat, Frank
History
Borneo and the Indian Archipelago: with drawings of costume and scenery
Marryat, Frank
Borneo -- Description and travel; Malay Archipelago -- Description and travel
The scarcest monkey in Borneo is the proboscis, or long-nosed. I saw but
two specimens of this animal, one a female, with the nose very long, and
pendulous at the extremity; the other a male, very young, and with the
nose more or less prominent, and giving its face a more actual
resemblance to that of a man's than I had ever before seen. This monkey
has never, I believe, been brought to England alive. The British Museum
has a stuffed specimen. It is not so mischievous in its habits as the
tribe in general.
As Rajah Muda Hassan has been so frequently mentioned, it may be as well
to give a succinct outline of his history. At the death of the late
sultan, Muda Hassan was the heir-apparent to the throne, but he resigned
in favour of his nephew, retaining the office of prime minister, which
office he had held during the former reign, not only to the satisfaction
of the sultan, but also of the people, with whom he was deservedly a
great favourite. His influence, being even greater than that of the
sultan, occasioned a jealous feeling, and a contention of party, which
induced Muda Hassan to retire to Sarawak with his wives and personal
attendants. He was succeeded in his office of prime minister by an Arab,
Pangeran Usop, a man of unbounded ambition, who by his harsh and
tyrannical conduct soon became hated by the Brunese, who longed for the
return of Muda Hassan, under whose sway they had been quiet and happy.
Pangeran Usop, aware of the popular feeling, now considered Muda Hassan
as his enemy, and took every opportunity of vilifying and creating
suspicion of Muda Hassan on the mind of the sultan, who was little
better than an idiot. He asserted that Muda Hassan and his brother
Bud-ruddeen were leagued with the English, and were their only
supporters in their pretensions to the isle of Labuan, and that they
would assist the English in taking possession of Borneo.
These reports, although at first treated with disdain, continually
repeated had their effect, not only upon the sultan, but upon the
people; and Muda Hassan, who was informed of what had been going on, and
had not deigned to notice it, now considered that it was advisable to
repair to Borneo, and refute the charges brought against him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account