ial
enterprise.

"Standing on the summit of one of the above-mentioned hills, a
fine bird's eye view is obtained of the city below. The
ramshackle houses are all built in irregular blocks or clusters,
but present on either side a regular frontage to the broad
river, and following its sweeping curve, form two imposing
crescent, divided by a fine water-way. Behind these main
crescents are various other blocks and clusters of buildings,
built higgledy piggledy and without plan of any sort. On the
true left bank are some Chinese shops built of brick, and on the
opposite bank a brick house of superior pretensions and a waving
banner proclaiming the abode of the Chinese Consular Agent of
the British North Borneo Company. * * *

"A heterogeneous collection of buildings on the right side of the
upper part of the city forms the _palace_ (save the mark!) of
the Sultan himself. A little further down a large, straggling,
but substantial plank building, with a corrugated iron roof,
marks the abode of the Pangeran Temenggong, a son of the former
Sultan and the heir apparent to the throne of Brunai. Two steam
launches are lying opposite at anchor, one the property of the
Sultan, the other belonging to the heir apparent. * * *

"The public reception room of the Sultan's palace is a long
apartment with wooden pillars running along either side, and
supporting a raised roof. Beyond these on either side, are
lateral compartments. At the far end, in the centre of a kind of
alcove, is the Sultan's throne. The floors are covered with
matting. * * *

"Although the glories of Brunai have departed, and it is only the
shadow of what it was when PIGAFETTA visited it, a certain
amount of state is still kept up on occasions. A boat comes
sweeping down the river crowded with Malays, a white flag waving
from its stern, seven paddles flashing on either side, and an
array of white umbrellas midships. _It is_ the Pangeran di
Gadong coming in state to pay a ceremonial visit. As it sweeps
alongside, the Pangeran is seen sitting on a gorgeous carpet,
surrounded by his officials. One holds an umbrella over his
head, while another holds aloft the _tongkat kraidan_, a long
guilded staff, surmounted by a plume of yellow horse hair, which
hangs down round it. The most striking point in the attire of