It is seldom that flowers form an important feature in the landscape of tropical countries. It is true there are flowers in profusion, but they are mostly hidden in the hearts of virgin forests. The purple blossoms of the lagerstremia, the golden cups of the allamanda, scarlet rhododendrons, and convolvuli, mauve and pink and white and yellow, sometimes star with flashes of colour the river-banks more inland; but orchids, pitcher plants, and flowering parasites are generally entangled and hidden in the branches of forest trees, for, like everything lovely, delicate, and perfumed, these have to be diligently sought for before a closer acquaintance can be made. One of the most ravishing experiences of Sarawak are the mysterious whiffs of perfumes meeting one unexpectedly in one’s walks near the forests, or even on journeys up the rivers. These scented currents are messages from unknown blossoms flowering unseen and unsoiled far from mankind. These rare and exquisite visitations always reminded me of the words of Maupassant, “_C’est une sensation de bien être qui est presque du bonheur._” Now to my mind the people of Sarawak match their strange and beautiful surroundings. They love sweet scents and flowers, and, above all, they love the neighbourhood of water, in which, as a fact, they live the greater portion of the day. Every man, woman, and child swims about the streams near their homes in the same way as we take our walks in our gardens. Men and women alike manage boats with wonderful skill, and women are often seen alone in canoes, paddling themselves in search of fruits or vegetables to be found on the banks of streams sometimes a great distance from their village. If you happen to throw in your lot with these people, you insensibly become, in the course of years, as fond of the water as they are, so that, like them, you find yourself perpetually bathing, and after any exertion have recourse to a bath, much as they plunge into the river to cool themselves. Moreover, they are perpetually washing their clothes--I have often thought I have seldom met cleaner people. CHAPTER III