accidentally trod upon the wooden barrel of one of the State Drums—and died in
consequence of his inadvertence. When, therefore, a hornet’s nest formed inside
one of these same drums it was pretty clear that things were going from bad to
worse, and a Chinaman was ordered to remove it, no Malay having been found
willing to risk his life in undertaking so dangerous an office—an unwillingness
which was presently justified, as the Chinaman, too, after a few days’ interval,
swelled up and died. Both these strange coincidences were readily confirmed by
the present Sultan on an occasion when I happened to question the authenticity
of the story, and as His Highness is one of the most enlightened and truthful of
men, such confirmation cannot easily be set aside. But the strangest coincidence
of all was to follow, for not long afterwards, having never seen that portion of
the regalia which was in the Raja Muda’s charge, I happened to mention to a
Malay friend of mine at Jugra my wish to be allowed to examine these objects,
and was at once begged not to touch them, on the ground that “no one could say
what might follow.” But shortly after, having occasion to visit the Raja Muda at
his house at Bandar, I took the opportunity of asking whether there was any
objection to my seeing these much debated objects, and as His Highness not only
very obligingly assented, but offered to show them to me himself, I was able
both to see and to handle them, His Highness himself taking the Trumpet out of
its yellow case and handing it to me. I thought nothing more of the matter at the
time, but, by what was really a very curious coincidence, within a few days’ time
of the occurrence, was seized with a sharp attack of malarial influenza, the result
of which was that I was obliged to leave the district, and go into hospital at
headquarters. In a Malay village news spreads quickly, and the report of my
indisposition, after what was no doubt regarded as an act of extraordinary
rashness, appears to have made a profound impression, and the result of it was
that a Malay who probably considered himself indebted to me for some
assistance he had received, bound himself by a vow to offer sacrifice at the
shrine of a famous local saint should I be permitted to return to the district. Of
this, however, I knew nothing at the time, and nothing could have exceeded my
astonishment when I found upon my return that it was my duty to attend the
banquet which took place at the saint’s tomb in honour of my own recovery!^56
Having shown the wide gulf which divides the “divine man” from his fellows, I
have still to point out the extent to which certain portions of the human frame
have come to be invested with sanctity, and to require to be treated with special
ceremonies. These parts of the anatomy are, in particular, the head, the hair, the