ndition. Surely the heart of the white and black
man is the same: yet such is the fate of thousands and thousands of
human beings, not only of the sons of Africa, but of the inhabitants of
these magnificent islands I am describing. To what nobler purpose could
the power and influence of Great Britain be turned, than by putting a
stop to such atrocities, and by bringing the blessings of Christianity
and civilisation among a people so capable of benefiting by them?

But to return to my history. The natives of Borneo have a very just
conception of the rights of property; they look upon certain lands and
fruit-trees, or on other trees and shrubs useful to them, as also on
their lakes and rivers for fishing purposes, as belonging to certain
tribes or individuals; and any aggression thereon is the cause of
quarrels and warfare. I had heard the people talking of an expedition
some of them had made into the territory of a distant tribe, when they
had cut down some cocoa-nut and palm-trees, and committed other
mischief; but they spoke of their enemies as a weak and pusillanimous
race, who were unable or unwilling to retaliate, and I thought no more
of the matter. When sent into the woods to gather bark or gums, or the
heads of the cabbage-palm, or to catch fish on the river or neighbouring
lake, I used to be interested by the vast number of birds and insects--
the beauty of the plumage of the one, and the brilliancy of the tints of
the other.

I must not omit to mention the cabbage-palm. This tree is surrounded,
at each girdle of growth, by a cincture of sharp thorns, which are more
numerous and needle-shaped as we approach the leaves. The head
contains, like all other palms, a soft spike, about the hardness of the
core of the cabbage. This, when boiled, resembles the asparagus, or
kale, and, uncooked, it makes an excellent salad. The interior of the
tree is full of useless pithy matter. It is therefore split into four
or more parts, the softer portion being cut away, and leaving only the
outer rind of older wood, which is necessarily hard. These narrow,
slightly-curved slabs form the principal flooring of the houses in
Borneo, as well as the posts and rafters. In England it is constantly
used for umbrella-sticks. The most interesting birds were the pigeons,
with feathers of the richest metallic hues. The plaintive cooings of
their notes as they issued from the solitude of the sombre woods, were
mournful but sooth