most before he is able to walk. Use has with him become
second nature and, really, I have known some Brunai men paddle all day
long, chatting and singing and chewing betel-nut, as though they felt it
no exertion whatever.

In the larger canoes one sees the first step towards a fixed rudder and
tiller, a modified form of paddle being fixed securely to one _side_ of
the stern, in such a way that the blade can be turned so as either to
have its edges fore and aft, or its sides presented at a greater or less
angle to the water, according to the direction in which it is desired to
steer the boat.

I was much interested, in going over the Pitt-Rivers collection, at the
Oxford University Museum, to find that in the model of a Viking boat the
steering gear is arranged in almost exactly the same manner as that of
the modern Malay canoe; and indeed, the lines generally of the two boats
are somewhat alike.

To the European novice, paddling is severe work, more laborious than
rowing; but then a Brunai man is always in "training," more or less; he
is a teetotaller and very temperate in eating and drinking; indeed the
amount of fluid they take is, considering the climate, wonderfully
small. They scarcely drink during meals, and afterwards, as a rule, only
wash their mouths out, instead of taking a long draught like the
European.

Mr. DALRYMPLE is right in saying that a State visit is like a Quakers'
meeting. Seldom is any important business more than broached on such an
occasion; the details of difficult negotiations are generally discussed
and arranged by means of confidential agents, who often find it to their
pecuniary advantage to prolong matters to the limit of their employer's
patience. The Brunai Malays are very nice, polite fellows to have to
deal with, but they have not the slightest conception of the value of
time, and the expression _nanti dahulu_ (wait a bit) is as often in
their mouths as that of _malua_ (by-and-by) is by Miss GORDON CUMMING
said to be in those of the Fijians. A lady friend of mine, who found a
difficulty in acquiring Malay, pronounced _nanti dahulu_, or _nanti
dulu_ as generally spoken, "nanty doodle," and suggested that "the nanty
doodles" could be a good name for "the Brunai Malays."

As writing is a somewhat rare accomplishment, state documents are not
signed but sealed--"_chopped_" it is called--and much importance is
accordingly attached to the official seals or _chops_, which are large
circu