Eastern Archipelago, and acquainted himself as perfectly as possible
with the minutiæ of seamanship and with every useful art. And when his
preparations were all complete, on the 16th of December, 1838, he set
sail for Singapore, in the yacht Royalist, a vessel of one hundred and
forty-two tons, manned by twenty men and officers, with an armament of
six six-pounders and a full supply of small arms of all sorts. Such were
the mighty resources wherewith he began an enterprise which has ended in
raising him to the government of a petty kingdom, and to almost
sovereign influence over the whole empire of Borneo Proper.

The reader has already had glimpses of the feelings which prompted this
expedition. In a communication to the "Geographical Register" he more
fully unfolds his views; and from this and from his familiar letters it
is not difficult to gain a clear idea of the character and motives of
the man. That his ardent mind had been fired by a study of the career of
his great predecessor, Stamford Raffles, is evident. That he was himself
one of those energetic, restless natures, to which idleness or mere
routine-work is the severest of penalties, is equally evident. He had,
moreover, a large share of that kind of enthusiasm which the cool,
sagacious men of this world call romance, and which delights to fasten
on objects seemingly impossible. He was like the old knights, rejoicing
most when the field of their devoir was distant and dangerous. Yet not
altogether like them. He was rather a man of the twelfth century,
disciplined and invigorated by the hard common-sense and sharp
utilitarianism of the nineteenth century. And we must not forget that he
honestly wished to benefit the native races. Every page, nay, almost
every line, in his journals and letters, bears witness to his profound
compassion for the despised and downtrodden Dyaks. Aside from this, when
we remember that he was a genuine Englishman, proud of his native land
and thoughtful always of her aggrandizement, we need be at no loss to