and religious liberties with despotic Europe, we might be sorely pressed to defend, it behoves every loyal man to cherish and uphold a race of sailors who combine, with all their faults and all their vices, many of the finest attributes of a seafaring people.

They may be pirates; they may be buccaneers: so were we; and we still pride ourselves upon the naval glories of men who founded our reputation as a naval nation upon what was nothing less than robbery upon the high seas. Restrain, and bring the Malays under our rule gently, and they will serve us heartily and zealously in the hour of England's need; they are the best race of colonial sailors we possess: grind them down, shoot them down, paddle over them, and they will join the first enemy, and be their own avengers.

A TROPICAL SHOWER.

341

CHAP. XXIV.

A tropical Shower.-Early Breakfast. The Malay piratical Soirée. Jadee upbraids them for being surprised. — Preparing for Action. — Demeanour of English and Malay Seamen.-Malay Charm for shooting straight. My Coxswain his Piety. Burning, sinking, and destroying. - The Renegade turns Traitor.-The large Reptiles of Langkawi.-The Tale of the Oular-besar, or Great Snake.-The Snake choked by a holy Man. A remarkable Fossil. — A Pirate's Hidingplace. Lovely Scenery.-The Anger of the Skies.-Struck by Lightning. Close of Operations against Quedah.-Conclusion.

ABOUT midnight, down came the rain-vertically, mercilessly, as it only can and does in the tropics. We got up, for sleep was impossible, and drank and washed, washed and drank, of the water like veritable ducks. Flashes of vivid lightning lighted up the bay occasionally, and showed us, not only that a considerable force of Malay vessels had at last been caught, but that our own flotilla was pulling in from to seaward.

342

EARLY BREAKFAST.

That they too saw us was very evident from the occasional noise which was heard, and the number of lights dancing about on shore. At about three o'clock in the morning, we sent away to the "Diamond” gunboat, and got a bag of rice and some fish, as well as a cask of water: the fire was lighted at once, and I gave an order for "carte-blanche" in the gastronomic way. It was indeed a delightful breakfast, though an early one, for the dawn was only just breaking. Let any one fast eight-and-forty hours, and he will think the same, even supposing that he should have had, like ourselves, one green cocoa-nut, and an unlimited quantity of birds'-nests to refresh himself with meanwhile.

When the sun rose, and the night-mists rolled back from the lands around us, our little flotilla lay at anchor in the northern part of a beautiful bay, which revelled in all the loveliness of Malayan scenery. " The Hyacinth" was just appearing at the opposite extreme of the bay, having passed round the south end of the Lancavas as we had done by the north.

The pirates were fairly caught. Their vessels consisted of two queer-looking schooners, mounting ten small guns each; one of them had 12-pounder carronades, the other, 3-pounder and 6-pounder

or

THE PIRATICAL MALAY FORCE.

343

guns. Three large and handsome prahus and a tope constituted the rest of their force, the prahus showing three or four guns, and the tope a 32pounder carronade. These vessels were all covered by an eight-gun battery, situated on a small conical hill in the elbow of the bay; this battery it was that had so roughly handled the "Teda Bagoose," Good-for-Nothing," the slashing brig of our imperial allies. There was much excitement on shore; armed men were passing and repassing rapidly amongst the cocoa-nut trees that lined the beach, boats were paddling to and fro, but there was no village to be seen. The pirates were evidently surprised. They had doubtless counted upon the grace of another day or two, when this rear-guard would have escaped, as most of the forty prahus did that we had seen at Trang in the previous year.

It was necessary to await Captain Warren's arrival in the gig of the "Hyacinth," before we could do anything against the enemy; and I had plenty of time to hear Jadee descant in flowery terms upon the beauty and advantages of the Lancavas Islands over Quedah proper, of which, however, in the good old days, it formed a part. One of its chief merits in my sea-king of a coxswain's eyes, was the wonderful

344

PREPARING FOR ACTION.

facilities its labyrinth of islands and channels offered for the safe hiding of a fleet of a thousand prahus. “D— pouls!” said Jadee, anglicising his opinion of the enemy's prahus now cut off. "Ah! you dpouls! Had I been their captain, Tuhan, do you think I would have anchored in such a place as this, whilst Orang-putihs were cruising about? Ah! you d- pouls! The Datoo cannot be here," added Jadee for my coxswain did him the justice to believe that so experienced a tactician would not be caught in an open bay. Then my worthy Jadee proceeded to point out some localities famous in his recollection for Love and War, the only two deities he believed in, and of sundry foiled chases he had had of prahus in and amongst these Lancavas since he took Company's pay.

Captain Warren was seen to be approaching, and the word was now passed to clear for action! Jadee and his crew did so with extreme alacrity. He adorned himself according to the most approved rules of Malay military etiquette. His sarong was wrapped tighter round the waist, and brought round the thighs, so as to leave his nervous little legs more than usually free; a red sleeveless waistcoat, quilted so as to resist a knife-cut, hung slack round his person, leaving his muscular chest and