Peace being established along the north-west coast by the energetic action of Sir Thomas Cochrane and the wise policy of Brooke, the latter decided to visit England after an absence of nearly nine years. He knew that the action with the Balignini would deter those pirates from visiting the coast for some time; he was satisfied that the Brunei Government could do no mischief; the Dyak pirates were still under the influence of the punishment they had received, and Sarawak was prosperous and safe. So leaving his cousin, Arthur Crookshank, in charge, he started for England, where he was sure to be well received, as Captain Keppel’s successful _Voyage of the Dido_ had made the ruler of Sarawak well known to all Englishmen. After a tedious voyage Brooke landed in England on October 2nd, and was soon surrounded by friends and relations. The Queen received him at Windsor Castle, and he was so fêted by all that he had but little time left to transact business. Brooke could not but feel that his countrymen fully appreciated the services he had rendered to England. He was presented with the freedom of the City of London, many clubs elected him a member by special vote, Oxford honoured him with her distinctions. The undergraduates went wild with enthusiasm at the mention of his name, for he was pre-eminently a leader to create that feeling among young men. He made friendships, which were lifelong, with Earl Grey and the Earl of Ellesmere. Mr Wise gave him a grand dinner, and there delivered a speech which was an unqualified eulogium on his employer; it was not only eulogistic, it was fulsome in his praise. I remember well all the circumstances, and they are important; they impressed themselves deeply in my mind. My father, who was present at this dinner, when he came home, said to me, ‘I cannot understand Wise. He has just made a speech in which he has declared that Brooke is one of the greatest and best of men, whilst privately he tells me he is a robber and a murderer.’ On my father asking for an explanation, Mr Wise excused himself, saying that it was the necessity of his position which forced him to dissemble. Brooke, who before he left Borneo had been named Commissioner and Consul-General, was now called upon to accept the position of Governor of the new settlement of Labuan, and was placed at the head of an efficient staff. I was appointed secretary to the Rajah, as Commissioner, and was thus brought into the closest relations to him. We were all ordered to hold ourselves in readiness to proceed to Borneo in H.M.’s frigate _Meander_, Captain Keppel, on the 1st February 1848. How high were our hopes when we sailed from Portsmouth! They nearly made us forget the discomforts of our position on board—discomforts almost inseparable from an attempt to turn a ship of war into a passenger vessel. Our progress appeared to us slow, first from very stormy weather, and then from incessant calms.