[12] Landing-place.
[13] A title by which every European is addressed.
CHAPTER VIII.
Preparations for Departure—Leave Sarawak—A Squall—A Dutch Dinner—Batavia—Weltereoden—Life in Java—Buitenzorg—Koerapan—Dutch Soldiers—A Review—Modes of Execution in the Archipelago—The World-Wide Circus—Return to Singapore—Leave for Europe—Gibraltar.
Our days were now numbered in Sarawak, and we had but little time before us, as we intended making a journey to Java, the principal Dutch possession in the Eastern Archipelago, ere we returned to England.
Packing up now became the order of the day. The skins of beasts and birds of all kinds strewed the floor of our little bungalow, transforming it into a sort of miniature museum, for we had made a very fair collection considering our short stay in the country, including no less than one hundred different specimens of butterflies, three of the rare and lovely Brookeana amongst them. It may be of use to collectors of the latter to know that the safest and most convenient way of carrying them any distance is not to set them up when freshly caught, but to simply fold the wings back till they lie flat against each other, and place them thus singly in a common envelope. They will then keep for six months, or even more, unimpaired. This is a far simpler method than that of setting-up, which, even though the amateur be experienced in the art, is always open to the danger of the butterflies becoming detached and shaking to pieces in their box.
We left Kuching at midday on the 21st of July, after bidding adieu to all our friends, not without regret at leaving a land where we had passed so many pleasant days. The Raja Brooke (a small trading steamer of about 300 tons) was heavily laden, not only with cargo, but also with over 100 deck passengers—Malays going on a "Haji pilgrimage" to Mecca. There was also on board an old Hindoo, the proprietor of a dancing bear, who had been making a good thing of it in the Sarawak capital. The captain, L., and I, were the only inmates of the saloon, and after dinner, it being a fine evening, we sent for our Hindoo friend and his bear to give us a private performance—which had, however, to be suddenly nipped in the bud, the pilgrims insisting on coming aft en masse and joining in the fun.
We had a fine passage to Singapore, though half-way across a heavy squall struck us, and the sea, which half an hour before had been as smooth as glass, rose rapidly. The poor bear, especially, had a rough time of it, and narrowly escaped being washed overboard by one of the green seas which we shipped over the bows. The Raja Brooke, however, behaved uncommonly well throughout, and by sundown there was nothing left of the turmoil but a long, heavy swell, which, judging from the groans we heard forward, was playing the very deuce with the internal economy of the pilgrims! We reached Singapore in forty-nine hours, notwithstanding the storm and adverse wind—a wonderfully quick run.