may use his weapons, almost before he has learned to
stand upon his feet. Not so the young idea of Trengganu. Men go about
armed, of course, for such is the custom in all Independent Malay
States, but they have little skill with spear or knife, and, since a
proficiency as a scholar, an artisan, or as a shrewd man of business
wins more credit than does a reputation for valour, the people of
Trengganu generally grow up cowards, and are not very much ashamed of
standing so confessed. In his own line, however, the Trengganu Malay is
far in advance of any other natives on the East Coast, or indeed in the
Peninsula. He has generally read his _Kuran_ through, from end to end,
before he has reached his teens, and, as the Malay character differs but
slightly from the Arabic, he thereafter often acquires a knowledge of
how to read and write his own language.

But a study of the Muhammadan Scriptures is apt to breed religious
animosity, in the crude oriental mind, and the race of local saints, who
have succeeded one another at Paloh for several generations, have been
instrumental in fomenting this feeling. Ungku Saiyid of Paloh--the
'local holy man' for the time being--like his prototype in the
_Naulahka_, has done much to agitate the minds of the people, and to
create a 'commotion of popular bigotry.' He is a man of an extraordinary
personality. His features are those of the pure Arab caste, and they
show the ultra-refinement of one who is pinched with long fasts and
other ascetic practices. Moreover, he has the unbounded vanity and
self-conceit which is born of long years of adulation, and is infected
by that touch of madness which breeds 'Cranks' in modern Europe, and
'Saints' in modern Asia. He preaches to crowded congregations thrice
weekly, and the men of Trengganu flock from all parts of the country to
sit at his feet. The Sultan, too, like his father, and his great-uncle,
Baginda Umar, has been at some pains to ensure the performance of
religious rites by all his people, and, as far as outward observances
go, he appears to have been successful. Moreover, the natives of
Trengganu love religious and learned discussions of all kinds, and most
of them:

When young, do eagerly frequent
Doctor and Saint and hear great argument
About it and about,

though, like poor Omar, they never seem to arrive at any conclusions
which have not previously been used by them as a starting-point. All
this makes for fanaticism,