“And there is still another reason why I cannot go there,” said he. “The present Governor-General will soon resign,——I do not know his successor, nor what I may expect of him.[1] In order to do something in time for [[398]]those poor people, I must speak to the present Governor before his departure, and if I went now to Ngawie, that would be impossible … Tine!”
“Dear Max!”
“You have courage, have you not?”
“Max! you know I have courage when I am with you.”
“Good!”
He went and wrote the following, in his own opinion an example of eloquence:—
“Rankas-Betong, 29th March 1856.
“To the Governor-General of the Dutch Indies.
“I have had the honour to receive the official letter of your Excellency of the 23d inst., No. 54. In reply to that document, I feel constrained to beg your Excellency to grant me an honourable discharge from the service of the Government.
(Signed) “Max Havelaar.”
It needed not so long a time at Buitenzorg to grant the asked-for discharge, as was needed to decide how Havelaar’s accusation could be turned away. For the latter a month was required, and the news of the discharge arrived in a few days at Lebak. [[399]]
“God be praised,” said Tine, “that you can be your own self at last.”
Havelaar received no instructions to surrender the Government to Verbrugge; he therefore awaited his successor. The latter was a long time in coming, because he had to travel from a remote corner of Java. After waiting three weeks, the ex-officio Assistant Resident of Lebak, who had, however, still acted as such, wrote the following letter to the Controller Verbrugge:—