I did not believe what was said about Sarawak, and any warning of mine would not have reached there for a month, but I did not altogether neglect this information, which was secretly given me by my butler, a Chinese, who had lived several years in England, and whose death by cholera in 1859 I much regretted; but sent to the sultan and ministers intimation of what I had heard, and the stern remark of the tumanggong, that if such an attack were made, not a Chinese should, by the following night, be left alive in the whole country, effectually curbed them. This Achang, though a very quarrelsome fellow, had soon a case of just complaint against a British subject, which he brought before my court; when it was over, I asked him how he would have obtained a settlement of his claims, if his intention to murder me had been carried out. I never saw a man’s countenance change more, and thinking he was about to fall on the ground, and to clasp my knees, either to beg for pardon, or, what is more probable, to entreat that I would not believe the story, I told my writer to lead him out of the court. At Bau the letter from the Tien Ti Hué was shown to nakodah Jeludin by the writers of the kunsi, whilst he was detained a prisoner there, and this was not invented by him as a startling incident, but mentioned casually in the course of conversation; this Malay afterwards died fighting bravely in the last charge to break the ranks of the Chinese. During the month of November, 1856, rumours were abroad that the Chinese gold company intended to surprise the stockades, which constituted the only defences of the town of Kuching, and which, as no enemy was suspected to exist in the country, were seldom guarded by above four men each; but Mr. Crookshank, who was then administering the government, took the precaution to man them with an efficient garrison, as it was said that during one of their periodical religious feasts, several hundred men were to collect quietly, and make a rush for the defences which contained the arsenal. On Sir James Brooke’s return, however, strict inquiries were instituted, but nothing could be discovered to implicate the gold company in a plot, and it appeared unlikely they would attempt it during the absence of the ruler who could have so soon revenged it. On the 18th of February, the chiefs of the gold company assembled about 600 of their workmen at Bau, and placing all the available weapons in their hands, marched them down to their chief landing-place at Tundong, where a squadron of their large cargo boats was assembled. It is generally reported that, until they actually began to descend the stream, none but the heads of the movement knew the object, the men having been informed that they were to attack a Dayak village in Sambas, where some of their countrymen had lately been killed.