ing to madness pure and simple, and, as such, to regard it
as a form of disease, to which any Malay is liable, and which is as
involuntary on his part as an attack of smallpox. This, I venture to
think, is a mistaken view of the matter. It is true that some _amok_ are
caused by madness, but such acts are not peculiar to the Malays. Given a
lunatic who has arms always within his reach, and the result is likely
to be the same, no matter what the land in which he lives, or the race
to which he belongs. In independent Malay States everybody goes about
armed; and weapons, therefore, are always available. As a consequence,
madmen often run _amok_, but such cases are not typical, and do not
present any of the characteristic features which distinguish the _amok_
among Malays, from similar acts committed by people of other
nationalities. By far the greater number of Malay _amok_ results from a
condition of mind which is described in the vernacular by the term
_sakit hati_--sickness of liver--that organ, and not the heart, being
regarded as the centre of sensibility. The states of feeling which are
described by this phrase are numerous, complex, and differ widely in
degree, but they all imply some measure of anger, excitement, and mental
irritation. A Malay loses something he values; he has a bad night in the
gambling houses; some of his property is wantonly damaged; he has a
quarrel with one whom he loves; his father dies; or his mistress proves
unfaithful; any one of these things causes him 'sickness of liver.' In
the year 1888, I spent two nights awake by the side of Raja Haji Hamid,
with difficulty restraining him from running _amok_ in the streets of
Pekan, because his father had died a natural death in Selangor. He had
no quarrel with the people of Pahang, but his 'liver was sick,' and to
run _amok_ was, in his opinion, the natural remedy. This is merely one
instance of many which might be cited, and serves to illustrate my
contention that _amok_ is caused, in most cases, by a condition of mind,
which may result from either serious or comparatively trivial causes,
but which, while it lasts, makes a native weary of life. At such times,
he is doubtless to some extent a madman--just as all suicides are more
or less insane--but the state of feeling which drives a European to
take his own life makes a Malay run _amok_. All Malays have the
greatest horror of suicide, and I know of no properly authenticated
case in which a male Mala