Taking a Census. 191 



to his palace, and the chiefs to their villages, and the people to 

 their houses, to tell their wives and children all that had hap- 

 pened, and to wonder yet again what would come of it. 



And three days afterward the Rajah summoned the priests 

 and the princes and the chief men of Mataram to hear what 

 the great spirit had told him on the top of the mountain. 

 And when they were all assembled, and the betel and sirih 

 had been handed round, he told them what had happened. 

 On the top of the mountain he had fallen into a trance, and 

 the great spirit had appeared to him with a face like burnish- 

 ed gold, and had said : " Oh, Rajah ! much plague and sick- 

 ness and fevers are coming upon all the earth, upon men, and 

 upon horses, and upon cattle ; but as you and your people 

 have obeyed me and have come up to my great mountain, I 

 will teach you how you and all the people of Lombock may 

 escape this plague." And all waited anxiously, to hear how 

 they were to be saved from so fearful a calamity. And, after 

 a short silence, the Rajah spoke again and told them that the 

 great spirit had commanded that twelve sacred krisses should 

 be made, and that to make them every village and every dis- 

 trict must send a bundle of needles — a needle for every head 

 in the village. And when any grievous disease appeared in 

 any village, one of the sacred krisses should be sent there ; 

 and if every house in that village had sent the right number 

 of needles, the disease would immediately cease ; but if the 

 number of needles sent had not been exact, the kris would 

 have no virtue. 



So the princes and chiefs sent to all their villages and com- 

 municated the wonderful news ; and all made haste to collect 

 the needles with the greatest accuracy, for they feared that if 

 but one were wanting the whole village would suffer. So, 

 one by one, the head-men of the villages brought in their bun- 

 dles of needles ; those who were near Mataram came first, 

 and those who were far off came last ; and the Rajah received 

 them with his own hands, and put them away carefully in an 

 inner chamber, in a camphor-wood chest whose hinges and 

 clasps were of silver ; and on every bundle was marked the 

 name of the village, and the district from whence it came, so 

 that it might be known that all had heard and obeyed the 

 commands of the great spirit. 



