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A Bundle of Letters and the Massacre o f Witti. 81
out here in Sabah. He converted two Dyaks; one
became a thief, the other a murderer. That missionary
has not yet been eaten by savages ; but poor
Witti has been slaughtered by Muruts, and when it
comes to a question of practical value, of real use in a
savage country, all the priests of France and Belgium,
with all the bishops and cardinals of Italy and Spain,
and the Pope thrown in, with all their gear, and
their books, and their candles, and their relics,
could not equal the worth of poor Witti. ‘ But
no mattaire 1 ’ We will talk of this anon. There is very
little longer for me out here, and one night a cab will
drive up to the dear old gate at home, and out will
get a sallow, long, Oriental wreck, and the cabman
will say, ‘ Here’s a hobjec’ ! ’ and you will say, ‘ Who
is this person ? *
“ Now, good-bye, dearest Bessie; you know my
letter is only chaff.”
Kudat, October 27th, 1882.
Mr d e a r e s t N e l l ie ,—I have not written to you for no end of a
time, but I have not written to any one for an equally long time. I
have been away up in the mountains for nearly four months; such
an awful country—so pretty from the coast; but when you are there,
but for the trees, travel would be impossible—the slopes are so steep.
The scenes of torrents tearing over boulders with cliffs 500 or 600
feet high, rising in sheer precipices from the river-bed, are, however,
very grand ; and if they were in England, the whole place would be
dotted about with “ Gibbs and Gibbesses.” The rainy season is just
coming on, and when it rains here, it does rain simply in torrents.
Borneo is not a place to build one’s country house in, or a place to live
in for pleasure. One “ great philosopher ” said, “ The best thing to do
with it, would be to sink it under the sea;” another said, “ Borneo?
Borneo ? Borneo, sir, is a sandbank ! 1 These persons held extreme
views—but I will refrain from inflicting my adventures and opinions
upon you, as I shall have such a long time for that when I get home,
and now I do so wish the months would fly a little quicker. I can
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