of thought which tells in time to their bodily disadvantage. In no part of the world is muscular Christianity more required, as it supports a frame of mind that will enter into all active pursuits and recreations without abating a jot of self-respect or enthusiasm in the sacred cause; and in this respect I have observed of the French Catholic missionaries, with whom my feelings are in no way enlisted, that they pursue an active and enterprising line of duty calculated not only to spread their influence, but to preserve their European vigour of constitution. At Singapore, and other settlements, you might see them walking to great distances, under the heat of the sun, and at all times of the day and night, pursuing their calling. The consequence of this line of action has been that, while they count thousands of converts, the class-room and house-keeping Protestant missionaries have, I may say, done nothing,-absolutely nothing-in the same direction. I do not make these comments in a hostile spirit, but as one of their well-wishers, who would like to see their efforts better directed, and crowned with more success. Amongst the natives secular education will not effect what is aimed at, it in fact does damage-as I have shown above-rather than good. It must be religious. teaching, open and undisguised, and this is only to be arrived at by personal contact with the people in their homes. But the lady influence is against this consummation; the Catholic missionaries have not this drawback, such as it is. By lady influence, I mean the not unnatural attraction to stop at home, an impediment which no doubt an exceptional few despise and get over. An unmarried priesthood, on the contrary, finds the wide world its appropriate sphere. Thus Le Favre ransacked the forests of the wild interior, while his confreres spread themselves over Cochin China, Corea, Tartary, and Thibet, while our married missionaries stayed in the European settlements. Uxoriousness was the great fault imposed on our missionaries by their fellow Protestants, and so much am I impressed with its application, that I would advocate that no man should be advanced to the high office of missionary till he had served ten years unmarried, and had stood the ordeal with an unblemished character for virtue and self-abnegation. The pious world would thus rid itself of sensualism and save a deal of mis-spent money. If this portion of the narrative is not the most reassuring part of Abdulla's account of the Malacca Mission, his troubles with the German missionary are at least unique. It appears that Abdulla was handed over to this missionary by Dr. Milne, to assist in translating the New Testament into Malay, the original one by the Dutch being a bad one. But now commenced a series of squabbles that upset our autobiographer's equanimity. The German's system seems to have been to first construct a Malay grammar out of the rules of Lindley Murray, and then to translate the Scriptures on these principles, which thus became a Bible in Malay words but in English idiom. This, of course, was utterly unintelligible, and the sources of constant quarrels; but Abdulla was true to his salt, and at last gave in, telling the German it was his Bible, so he could do as he liked. When they got to the Acts of the Apostles, the German at length told Abdulla, "that where a phrase is wrong, it is of little consequence, as these are a mere history." Whatever the German's views may be, I cannot forget the teaching of an orthodox Calvinist, to this effect,-that damnation would come of not believing every word. Yet here is a missionary saying many of these words were of little consequence. So when they got to the end of their labours, we have the humiliating admittance that there were in the whole work not to be found ten phrases which were not wrong. Now I have merely the manuscript of Abdulla's work, but it was afterwards printed in full at the mission press itself, and affords the best proof that his criticisms were true. IX. THE DUTCH REPOSSESS MALACCA. "THUS it was with me when a rumour reached Malacca that an English schooner had been captured by pirates between Penang and Malacca, in which there was an English lady, whom they had carried off somewhere to the eastward. The schooner had sailed out of Penang. Two or three days after this another report got abroad, that Colonel Farquhar was about to sail in search of her. And he took with him four or five natives of Malacca, with a clerk called Inchi Iabin Abdul Ujia, that is he who is named Inchi Siang. So they sailed from Malacca; and it was kept a close secret from the first, no one knowing, only this, that Colonel Farquhar had gone to seek the lady; but of this I cannot write, for I did not know the circumstances. However, after they had returned to Malacca, I made cautious inquiries, when I learnt that the English had gone to seek a place to found a new town. First, Colonel Farquhar went to Siak, with a view of getting the raja to allow of a town being settled at Tanjong Iati; but it was found that at that place in the north-east monsoon the waves were so high that neither ships nor prows could withstand them. On this account the place would not suit; so they went to Diak, but hence, owing to some reason unknown to me,. they passed on to Carimon. And when they arrived here they viewed the land and the hills, with which they were much pleased; so they sought an anchorage, but they could nowhere find a secure harbour. Further, they sounded all round, but found the water too deep, and there was no shelter in gales, owing to the proximity of rocks. So this would not suit, and they embarked and sailed for Johore, where they landed and viewed the place. But what was their notion of it? I do not know, for they again embarked and returned to Malacca; and having arrived there, a day did not go over before they created Captain David (Davis) deputy in charge of Malacca, and they sailed again in the same direction. Two days after Colonel Farquhar had sailed from Malacca, there came two large Dutch ships and one schooner, bringing with them the Governor and secretaries, with officers and Dutch troops, also Javanese, with their equipments: these came to take over Malacca. And at that time the majority of the races inhabiting Malacca were glad of the Dutch taking the country, as they were imbued with the opinion that then they would have more easy times of it than they had under the English; but they did not anticipate that with these would come leeches that would draw the very blood from their bodies. And at that time I was in great distress, owing to the thoughts of my useless labour, so long continued, in mastering the language and letters of the English; and should these not remain, to whom could I sell my merchandise ;* moreover, they would be forbidden goods. And I did not know a word of Dutch, so I felt depressed, and was ashamed when I met the Dutch descendants in Malacca, for their faces were red with joy, as their race had now returned. And many of them said to me, 'What is the use of English to you now you * That is, his professional acquirements. H |