Mr. Crookshank, who was in charge of the Government, sent word to Mr.
Johnson, who immediately came from Sakarran with a fleet of Dyaks,
delighted to have a chance of fighting the Chinese, and carrying plenty
of heads back to their homes. At the same time a gun-boat was stationed
on the river to prevent any communication between Bau and Kuching. Upon
this the kunsi came very humbly and begged pardon, declared the whole
story was a fabrication, and that they never intended mischief. We only
half believed them, but the Dyaks were dismissed, and unfortunately the
gun-boat no longer kept watch on the river. Our Christian Chinese
teacher "Sing-Song," was of the Kay tribe, the same as the Bau people,
and once a month he went there to teach his countrymen. There were a few
Christians among them. One, a goldsmith, did his best to let us know
that danger was impending, but the kunsi suspected him, and put him in
prison; we were therefore quite unprepared for what took place. On the
17th of February, three Chinese kunsi were flogged by order of the
court at Kuching, for taking the law into their own hands, and seizing a
runaway prisoner, as well as the captain of the boat in which she
absconded, although he was not guilty of hiding her. This seems to have
put the finishing touch to the factious state of feeling at Bau. The
Rajah and the Bishop had determined to take a trip together on the 15th,
in the life-boat, to Sadong, and from thence to Linga and Sakarran. The
Rajah had been ailing for some time, and we hoped this little voyage
would do him good. We prepared all the provisions for this trip: bread
and rusks were made, salt meat was cooked, and everything was ready
packed in the provision baskets (this was of great importance to us
afterwards). That evening we all met out walking, on the only
riding-road there was in those days. Rajah spoke to the school-children,
and we all amused ourselves with the little Middletons, boys of four and
five, strutting along with turbaned hats and long walking-sticks. It was
a dull evening, and we all felt unaccountably gloomy. We fancied it was
because Rajah was not well enough to come and dine with us, as he had
purposed in the morning; but during dinner I remembered afterwards that
the Bishop said, "If any sudden alarm were to take place to-night it
would rouse him and make him all right."

We certainly went to bed without expecting anything to happen, but,
about twelve o'clock, we were ro